What Holds Us Back?

What holds people back from working out?

Let’s talk about ourselves for a minute. Baby Boomers. It’s pretty well known that our generation went from the fittest ever to the flabbiest. We’re in worse shape now than our parents were at this age, and our parents didn’t often leave the couch.

Only 35% of us exercise on a regular basis. Check out this article from AARP for more on where we were back in the day and how we got where we are now.

The goal of BoomerMuscle is to help Baby Boomers build muscle in a way they can feel right away. Anyone who goes down the Boomer path can and should expect a transformation: from whatever state your muscles are in now to bigger and stronger than before. That goes for beginners and advanced. Whether you just want to be stronger and fitter or if you want to build up serious muscle, this program will help you get there.

So what holds you back?

There are plenty of academic studies out there that point to reasons why. Psychology Today once said the biggest reason was fear of discomfort. The idea that people naturally avoid anything that might cause discomfort, like: feeling sore, getting sweaty, breathing hard, etc.

That’s probably at the core of why most people avoid working out, especially muscle-building workouts. The BoomerMuscle Method is designed to make you feel a pump (some call it soreness). So if you’re super sensitive to something like and think of it as discomfort, you’d naturally struggle with a muscle-building workout.

Allow me to flesh out some other reasons. I’ve been at this for nearly 50 years now, and I still battle my own demons to stay on track. These are ones I struggle through each day.

It’s Boring

Ok. The idea of doing repetitions is the definition of repetitive. Got it. Think of it more like meditation that will literally give you a feel-good high as you go. Focus on the Mind/Muscle Connection.

Crank up music that lifts you up and takes your mind to a different place. Learn to love the muscle pump as you dig into those reps. Feel those endorphins kick in and enjoy the natural high.

It’s only boring if you fail to get into it. If you’re thinking about it being boring, you’re not grooving into the Mind/Muscle Connection.

Stop thinking.  Focus on the feeling.

I Don’t Have Time

We’re all too busy nowadays. And even when we’re idle, we’re staring at video screens large and small, occupying ourselves with Facebook and so on. It makes it seem like we’re on 24/7.

To fight this one, I’ve always relied on a realistic workout schedule and try to:

1. Limit each workout to 35 – 50 minutes.
2. Keep it to 4 Days per week

I’m Too Tired Today

This is a tough one. It’s very easy to convince yourself you need a break, so you grab a glass of wine on the couch with your spouse. Very easy at our house.

With this one, I remind myself that I will feel differently just a few minutes into the first set of exercises.

Working out causes you to breath harder, and the extra oxygen helps wake you up. And I will sometimes have a glass of iced coffee before I start for a little jolt of caffeine.

As you progress, your body releases feel good hormones, like endorphins, that literally make you feel good.

All of a sudden, you will realize you weren’t so tired in the first place.

Find Passion

It’s a choice, really. Do you want the idea of working out to feel like drudgery? Or do you want to feel a sense of passion about it?

Sounds like a dumb question. But think about it. 99% of your success at this or anything else is all in your head and heart. You can do anything you really desire to do.

And frankly, if you can’t get into a positive, passionate state of mind, you’re going to struggle.

Researchers have shown that passion is a core element for success in working out, especially for us Baby Boomers. Think about the great thing you are doing for yourself. Get jealous about giving yourself the time to do it. You are becoming stronger, better looking, happier and more confident. Those are things worth feeling passionate about.

What’s the Point?

This one comes up when you’re down on yourself, noticing all your physical flaws vs. the progress you’ve made. In my case, I’ve always had to battle the bulge. My body was designed to store stuff, not burn it up. So, if I’m down, I can easily start listing all my less than perfect parts.

Well, this a time to be tough on your whiny self. Time to Shut-up and just do it. Failing to workout will only make your flaws worse. Working out will only increase your strong points.

So just do it

For more: There are additional articles on this site about motivation. Check out the posts directly below.

Why is My Workout Not Working

Why my workout not working, you ask?  Sadly, the numbers indicate that many people’s workout programs are failing.

• 67% of gym members never go: Statistic Brain:  
• 46% of people who had downloaded fitness apps no longer used them: researchers at NYU.
• Many will quit their workout routines within two weeks of their New Year’s resolutions, and about 50% will quit by June: researchers at the University of Scranton.

People start off with serious commitment. They want to get stronger, look better, lose weight. But many just give up.

Why?

You can Google for days and find nice little lists of reasons. In fact, you can read more on my list, directly below,  by clicking here:

1. Intimidation
2. Fear of Failure
3. Your aching weak spots
4. Lack of motivation
5. Scheduling is difficult in your life.
6. Lack of Passion

However you want to slice a list, I think there is a basic disconnect with many of the training programs being promoted today. I think it’s especially problematic for aging Baby Boomers as we sort through the philosophies of today’s gurus.

What the Gurus get wrong:

1. Lack of Periodization: This is all about constantly mixing up your workout routines rather than focusing on the same basic routine on specific days. Fitness gurus who argue for Periodization claim the body needs constant variety. It’s BS.
2. Lack of Muscle Confusion: Basically a subset of the above. Again, today’s gurus will try to convince you that your muscles need to be constantly confused in order to respond to stimulation. This is also complete BS.

Those are good reasons it might take 12 DVDs to package a workout routine, or why you’d need to hire a personal trainer to continually explain to you what you need to do.

Complexity is the Problem

Complexity is, in my opinion, one of the biggest reasons today that people are sabotaged in their workout programs. Albert Einstein, no slouch in understanding complexity, said it nicely:

“If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.” 

It’s in the best interest of the Gurus and the fitness companies to keep you in a state of awe and confusion. Lots of scientific-sounding jargon and in-your-face attitude makes it all seem credible somehow. Don’t be fooled. For every good point, there’s a pound of BS tossed in.

Other gurus will knock things like:

3. Don’t Do Isolation Exercises. For example, they will tell you that doing triceps pushdowns can’t possibly work to build muscle. Again, this is BS! It’s part of the current era fitness culture that thrives on complexity and variety. Compound movements in weight training, jumping up on boxes, flipping giant ropes and tires and so on.

4. Don’t Use Machines. Here, their complaint is that machines restrict your motion to the specific area of intent and for some reason that’s bad. Your muscles don’t think or ponder these issues. They just do the work and it does not matter how you create resistance: machines, barbells, dumbbells, resistance bands, bodyweight — they all work just fine.

Repeating more of this crap is not helpful for anyone, so I’ll leave it there.

I’m living proof to the contrary on those points. Isolation exercises are great ways to target and build specific muscles. Machines are just as effective as free weights and often safer to use. Today at 60, I have more muscle mass than I did in my 20’s. And I rely on breaking all 4 of those Guru ‘Rules’ noted above.

I focus each workout on a specific muscle group. I use isolation exercises to really hone in on specific muscles. I rarely change my routine and instead focus on consistency. Simplicity — and simply showing up and doing it. It works.

Check this Simple Workout plan you can do at home with minimal equipment, or in a full gym setting.

Our muscles do not have independent brains. They do not think or judge. They simply respond to what our actual brain tells them to do.

The muscles don’t have an opinion on anything. You can’t confuse something that cannot think. But you can easily baffle the crap out of people if you pile on the complexity.

The problem is all in our heads. Don’t let the complexity peddlers get to you. Keep it simple.

Why do you think people quit on their workouts? Please share below in the comments. Or drop me a line: Brian@BoomerMuscle.com