Expectations

If you haven’t worked out in a consistent way then you probably have false expectations.  I’m sure many of you heard stories about a friend who gained 20-30 pounds of muscles in just a few months.

Can that even be possible? Not even close. The only way to come close to that is by using steroids which is wrong on so many levels for a normal person.

If it is that unrealistic then why do people believe it to be possible? It is because the majority of people measure their results on a weight scale. Unfortunately the weight scale doesn’t tell you the whole story. It cannot tell you how much muscle you have compared to fat.  In other words the person saying that he gained 20 pounds probably added 15 pounds of fat and only 5 pounds of muscle.

            Or maybe you know someone that lost 40 pounds in just 2 months to get in shape for the summer season. Wait a few more months and see if that certain someone didn’t put back on more than the initial 40 pounds. This is because when you’re engaging a diet with a high caloric deficit your body adapts to the situation in order to keep itself alive.
As a consequence your energy demand significantly drops. When you’ll get back to eating normal, the excess calories will be stored as fat. Another important aspect is that our bodies aren’t built to support drastic changes, so even if you can keep your weight, you’ll have health problems in the future.

So what are some reasonable expectations?
Fist of all you should know that in this domain exact numbers are not always exact. Our body is a very complex system so even a minor difference between two individuals lead to different results although the same diet, rest, and exercises were used. With that in mind let’s define a range of progress that can be expected.

• Muscle gaining:

I’m sure you’ve heard of the 3 somatic types (Endomorph, Mesomorph, Ectomorph). I don’t think these types are too relevant since every person is always a combination of these 3. The way I see it you’re either genetically gifted, or normal. With proper nutrition, the right routine and sufficient rest you should be able to gain 5-15 pounds of muscle in a year. Doesn’t sound like much right? Bodybuilding isn’t an overnight sport. If you want results you’ve got to have patience. Think about it, if you work out for 5 years you can get up to 50 pounds of muscles, which I’m sure sounds a lot better. So the key here is to enjoy every workout, every step of the way and not just count the days till you reach your goal.

• Fat losing:

Here things are a little different because I’m sure you can lose more than the recommended value. This value ranges from 8 to 12 pounds / month. If you get beyond this, you can deplete your body’s reserve of vitamins and minerals, be left without energy and thus be forced to compensate with other stimulants such as caffeine, or destroy your muscles which are so hard to gain. As you can see the process of loosing fat can be accomplished a lot faster but it is important to don’t over do it, to drink a lot of water and supply your body with vitamins.
            With all these things in mind you should really think twice before buying the next magic supplement that promises you easy and effortless results. Now whenever you hear about a “newly discovered” workout routine you should know better.

Posted in: Other