Sometimes you can put in weeks, months, even years in the gym.
And that glorious room of sweat, iron, and half naked dudes just won’t give back.
Here’s a 7 reasons why, your workout might not be producing the results you want:
You’re not progressing
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As ridiculous as some workouts are, most will produce results if you just stick with it and progress in some way.
Go from doing 5 push-ups to 100 push-ups, and you’ll probably look better.
That’s why progression is so important.
If you bench press 135 pounds for 6 reps, and 3 months later you’re still bench pressing 135 pounds for 6 reps…absolutely shocked at why your chest still looks the same, then you’re a dumb ass.
You can’t expect to progress in any way if you’re moving the same weight you’ve been moving the same weight for the past 3 months.
[easy-tweet tweet=”Workout suck balls? You’re probably making one of these 7 mistakes”]
You need to be pushing more reps, more sets, more ANYTHING.
The #1 thing you must avoid is doing the same shit you were in the past.
You’re not lifting heavy enough
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“Heavy” is subjective.
But for the sake of simplicity, lets say lifting “heavy” is anywhere from 3-8 reps which is where a lot of the Superhero Shredding 2.0 workouts are done.
You can make a lot of progress lifting in this range.
A big problem guys have is that they tend to do a lot of high rep lifting (10+ reps).
Sure it might be easier, but you’re missing a lot of the benefits from not lifting in the lower rep range lifting including faster strength and muscle gains.
You’re too focused on cardio
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I’m not against cardio.
But I am against cardio when used as a primary fat loss driver while factors like dieting are completely ignored.
You can’t overdo cardio when you’re in a calorie deficit.
And you can’t make it your primary form of exercise (unless you want to lose a ton of muscle mass).
You pick crap exercises
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Push-ups are great.
But unless you start doing heavy weighted pushups, it doesn’t matter if you can do 500 push-ups in a row.
You’re still not going to build a big chest.
Same goes with everything else.
Leg extensions alone won’t build the best possible legs.
Exclusively doing lateral raises won’t build boulder shoulders anytime soon.
So learn to pick the exercises that give you the most bang for buck.
These include bench press (barbell or dumbbell), pull ups, rows, squats, and so on.
If you’re just starting out, leave most of the isolation work at the door.
But with that being said….
You’re leaving all isolation work out
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I wrote an article before on how I “hate training arms” and doing isolation arm work like bicep curls.
I’m still in that camp but I also know you can’t expect to maximize any body part without throwing in some isolation work.
It doesn’t need to be a ton, but if you really want some arm-hugging sleeves or diamond-shaped calves, then you need to throw in some isolation work (just not too much).
You hate your workout
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You hate to workout.
Actually scratch that.
You hate any form of physical exercise.
The most exercise you’ve gotten in the past 24 hours was walking from your couch to the freezer so you could make a Hot Pocket.
Well here’s the thing – no one feels sorry for you.
Tough shit.
The world doesn’t care about you and your excuses.
And if you really want to get in shape, then you need to get active.
There’s no secret or hack around it.
You need to learn to reframe what exercise is to you.
Instead of viewing it as something you absolutely dread.
Look at exercise as the “vehicle” you must ride in to build the body and life you want.
If you’ve always been inactive your whole life, then I’m not asking you to hit the gym tomorrow and start a hardcore routine of squats and deadlifts.
Not at all.
What I’m asking is that you do more than you did yesterday.
That’s all.
You’re using shit form
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- Doing lat pull downs but pulling with your biceps instead of your lats.
- Bench pressing but burning out your shoulders and triceps instead of your chest.
- Performing 1/4 rep squats with 3 plates when you really should just be doing 1 plate.
All examples of guys who are either too ignorant to know their form sucks ass or refuse to leave their ego at the door.
No one cares how much weight you’re lifting (or not lifting).
You aren’t warming up
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And I’m not talking about stretching either.
I’m talking about dynamic mobility drills like leg swings before squats combined with adequate warm up sets.
I recommend 3-4 warm up sets before any major lift.
Isolation movements typically don’t require any warmups (although one set before your working set is helpful to just feel out good form).
You don’t commit for the long haul
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Guys will see someone a fitness model or celebrity, their body, and the first thing they ask is “How long will it take to look like him?”
Maybe it’s genuine curiosity.
But in most situations it’s a case of “How much can I half ass this crap, do the least amount of work possible, and still look like a fucking fitness model within the next 3 months?”
Humans are inherently lazy.
We want results in 3 months, not 3 years.
I’m not saying you can’t get amazing results in a few months if you put in the work…
But you can’t expect to maintain those results if your mindset is only programmed to “how much longer will this shit take” mode.
That’s why a lot of people lose weight for the summer but never keep it off.
Want to look fucking awesome and stay that way?
Then you need to understand that there is never an “end.”
How to make sure your workout doesn’t suck balls
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You probably don’t want to go through life doing ball sucking workouts.
Unfortunately most guys go through their entire lives sucking balls.
Follow the advice above and you’ll be better off than 99% of guys out there.
For a complete blueprint on how to workout in a way that actually gets results and helps you keep them, check out Superhero Shredding 2.0.
Haha good and funny stuff as always. I like the point you made about isolation exercises. Some people make it seem like they’re worthless, but you’re right: focus on compound movements and then throw in some isolation work. My arms especially would be screwed if I could only rely on chin-ups and dips to build them up.
thanks man.
yeah they are 2 important pieces to the puzzle.
Great information, as always. The best thing about your e-mails and your posts is that you’re not afraid to tell it like it is, just be blatantly honest.
I’ve been using your Arrow workout since July of last year, and have made enormous progress. The only area I’m not showing huge improvement is losing my gut, but that’s entirely my fault, because it’s really hard for me to give up some of the foods that I love. Even so – even though I’m not making HUGE progress – I **AM** getting rid of the gut, just very slowly. lol
On the other hand, when I first started the workout, I was doing something like 165 lb. rack pulls, and two weeks ago, I lifted 505 lbs. (I’ll admit, it was only one rep, and it wasn’t strictly a “rack pull” when I lifted it, because I had my back nearly vertical, lifting almost entirely with my legs. The point, though, is that if, at ANY point in my life, someone had told me I’d ever, in any way, lift over a quarter of a ton using only my own body’s strength, I’d have said they were fucking insane.)
You’re probably getting tired of reading this, so I’ll wrap it up. Thank you for all of the various workouts you’ve made available, and thank you for your blunt honesty in your e-mails and posts. That’s what keeps the rest of us honest. 😉
Damn that’s some good progress.
Good job, Michael. Any progress pics I could see?
I have a pretty sad “before” picture. I’ll get a “now” picture after work today, and send them. I won’t take an “after” picture, because “after” implies that I’m finished. 😉
ahaha of course, I meant “progress.”
The pictures have been e-mailed (from my other e-mail account).