What is YOUR limiting factor?
Or put another way, what is the most important thing to work on to get your progress, results, and gains as fast as possible?
Everyone has a different fitness journey. Some are with us to lose weight, others to get stronger, others to keep up with their kids, others just to maintain a healthy life, and others want to make friends and be a part of a community of healthy and fit people.
We all also want results.
The fastest way to get results is to know your limiting factor, focus on it, and crush it.
Here are a few of the most common limiting factors:
Cardiovascular / Metabolic Conditioning
These athletes get winded quickly, which results in more breaks in the workout and an overall decreased intensity. As we know, relative intensity is what get results.
Fastest path for more results – More cardio! Does not have to be long, but think of a steady effort for 20 minutes or so. You need to get your heart working at an semi-elevated rate for a longer period.
In the gym you could modify a workout to have less weight so you can continue to workout with no breaks, or outside the gym you can go for a walk/jog/run.
We also have Zone 2, where you come into class, but instead of doing the class wod, you hop on a cardio equipment (bike, rower, treadmill, ski erg) and get your heart rate to about 70% of your max, and you maintain that for the class. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, your pace should be that you can still have a conversation without interrupting it to breathe. Zone 2 builds the foundation for your cardio.
Strength
These athletes are limited by what they can lift and have goals of being stronger.
Fastest path for more results – If you workout five days per week, three days should be at medium weights, one day should be with light weights, and one day should be heavier than normal. This heavier than normal day gives an extra strength boost. But keep in mind, the extra weight will also reduce workout intensity. So your conditioning may suffer, but if your biggest limiting factor is strength, you should prioritize that.
*Note – Just make sure your Coach knows why you are going heavier, otherwise expect them to come up to you and ask why you are going so heavy!
Nutrition
These athletes are limited by their fuel. Their day to day choices in nutrition are what set them back in the gym, not their workout effort.
Fastest path for more results – Sign up for individual nutrition coaching, a nutrition challenge, or pick up a book on the Zone diet. Even small changes in your diet can result in huge gains both in your workouts and with weight loss!
Free nutrition intro link HERE
Mobility / Flexibility
These athletes want to do more in the gym, but are limited by their mobility. They want to do kipping pullups, but their shoulders are too tight. They want to do overhead squats but their thoracic spine is too tight. They want to do pistols but their ankles are too tight.
Fastest path for more results – Start a ROMWOD or GoWOD routine. These are both paid apps, roughly $10/mo or so, but give daily stretching programs to athletes and are very easy to follow.
*Note – Becoming more flexible takes months and years! Be patient!
Consistency
These athletes hit the gym hard for two weeks, then disappear for two weeks. This just confuses the body (in a bad way) and makes it so, so hard to get results.
Fastest path for more results – Schedule a Goal Setting Session with a Coach (click here) and we’ll talk about what is getting in the way and how we can help you overcome that obstacle.
Ego
Oh yea, I’m going there. For some, their biggest impediment to results is themselves. As I mentioned earlier, intensity is the biggest independent variable to results. You want better results, you need to go faster (with good form of course!)
But some people can’t go faster because their ego tells them they are more fit than they are.
They use heavier weights or do more complex moves than they should be, and this slows them down.
So their ego feels good about heavier weights, but it’s actually dampening their results over time.
Fastest path to more results – let the Coach of the class pick the workout scaling for you. They know you best and have your best intentions in mind!
We all have our challenges, our battles, and obstacles to overcome. The list above is just a sample of some of the most common. If you can figure out your limiting factor on your own and you know your path forward – awesome! If you need help figuring out your limiting factor, schedule that Goal Setting Session (click here). The Coaches at ResoluteFIT are here to help YOU, use us!
