The real reasons we cant make progress!

Smont

Smont

Legend
List is in the second post.


My goal is to improve at something every year, Big change every month would be awsome but it's not a reasonable request nor is it a reality. Some of these I've done myself, many of these are what I see clients and the forums do and soooooooooooo many ppl are screwing themselves hard and making no progress even over the course of a year. This year I made significantly LESS gains then normal and the reasons for my lack of gains are obvious to me, I had a few injuries, I fell off the diet every injury, I started training other ppl more and missing my own workouts and I didn't set any real goals. My initial goals for the year were a flop and I failed to set new goals. So without babbling too long, next post is all the reasons we screwed ourselves over again this year.
 
In no specific order

You didn't set real goals or stick to a plan long enough to make changes- everyone thinks they can change 5 years of fyck ups in 5 weeks. Fat chance.

You can't follow a meal plan- you don't particularly need some special diet, buy you need some structure and a way to accurately asses how much your eating and you need some kind of routine. You can't intermittent fast Monday, eat 2 meals Tuesday, binge on Wednesday and then eat balanced on Thursday, I mean I guess you could strategically figure out how, but if you can't even follow a basic plan then what's the odds you follow a elaborate one.

You convince yourself that your BF is muscle- I see no shortage of this one, only guys do this. Bob is 200lbs and wants to get ripped, but he won't cut below 185 because he says he's loosing muscle and he doesn't even have visible abs. The truth of the matter is Bob has a lot of bf and he probably needs to cut to 150-160lbs to see his abs, but he never gets there because he stops his cut at 18% in fear of LOOSING TOO MUCH FAT ON HIS ARMS so now his arms look small. Bob will never make progress.

The next goes hand in hand, on a bulk Bob confuses weight gain for muscle gain, this is the biggest delusion I see. How many guys say how much weight you gain in the comments of someone's cycle. How many times has there been a thread where someone claims they added 20lbs of muscle with no pictures. They also say how they gained 30 on SD and 30 on anadrol, wow bro you should look like ronnie Coleman by now :/

Those same guys- Relying on drugs because your diet and training is trash, these guys gain 10-30lbs of mostly fat and water every cycle and loose 90% after every cycle and the rest between cycles and look exactly the same year after year. Lots of 150lb guys on test and tren at Plante fitness who never get any bigger. Same guys always wanna know what your talking and when they here it's less they must be lying 🤥

Honorable mention 1. is the ppl who are severely undertraining because there scared of over training

Honorable mention 2. The paralysis by analysis. You spend more time looking for the right workout then actually working out.
More time looking for a fad diet then just eating healthier and looking for the magic pill, potion or shot.

Correct these mistakes and stop spinning your wheels year after year.

And if you're waiting for new years to make a change your probably gonna wait too long so start now
 
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@Smont “You convince yourself that your BF is muscle- I see no shortage of this one, only guys do this. Bob is 200lbs and wants to get ripped, but he won't cut below 185 because he says he's loosing muscle and he doesn't even have visible abs. The truth of the matter is Bob has a lot of bf and he probably needs to cut to 150-160lbs to see his abs, but he never gets there because he stops his cut at 18% in fear of LOOSING TOO MUCH FAT ON HIS ARMS so now his arms look small. Bob will never make progress.”

This one 100% had me for the longest time when I was younger doing dirty bulks. Still messes with my head a bit from time to time
 
Great post! I think the meal plan and tracking is a hugggge one. Can be eye opening what it can add up to if you track and weigh every single thing.
 
WickedWarlock said:
@Smont “You convince yourself that your BF is muscle- I see no shortage of this one, only guys do this. Bob is 200lbs and wants to get ripped, but he won't cut below 185 because he says he's loosing muscle and he doesn't even have visible abs. The truth of the matter is Bob has a lot of bf and he probably needs to cut to 150-160lbs to see his abs, but he never gets there because he stops his cut at 18% in fear of LOOSING TOO MUCH FAT ON HIS ARMS so now his arms look small. Bob will never make progress.”

This one 100% had me for the longest time when I was younger doing dirty bulks. Still messes with my head a bit from time to time
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Me too, it wasn't until I bit the bullet and got leaner did I see progress really take off. After the initial "skinny fat look" that happens mid cut, once we break past that and start getting actually lean, that's when you see the results. Unfortunately, most people will never get there and they usually just want to argue about it.So I stop trying to convince people they need to do it. I turned someone down last week cus they wanted to start a bulk and there 20% easy, probably 25%. I said we need to diet a significant amount of fat off and his response was he wants to bulk/recomp. I just said I'm not the guy for you. I want to help ppl, not lie and steal your money
 
Smont said:
I started training other ppl more and missing my own workouts and I didn't set any real goals.
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This is a struggle my wife had this fall after getting back into shape after her mastectomy and multiple surgeries she was asked to run a boot camp type class. it was a huge hit, people loved it, but it cut into her own training time substantially. I told her I'd love for her to do it again in 2025 because she enjoys it and the people she's helping are total newbs that need her, but she needs to structure it in a way that doesn't stop her from taking care of her.

Smont said:
but he never gets there because he stops his cut at 18% in fear of LOOSING TOO MUCH FAT ON HIS ARMS so now his arms look small
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I feel this so hard. I think it's more like 12-14% for me, but this is big. once the arms start swimming in the shirt sleeves you start to feel smol again lol.
 
Smont said:
Me too, it wasn't until I bit the bullet and got leaner did I see progress really take off. After the initial "skinny fat look" that happens mid cut, once we break past that and start getting actually lean, that's when you see the results. Unfortunately, most people will never get there and they usually just want to argue about it.So I stop trying to convince people they need to do it. I turned someone down last week cus they wanted to start a bulk and there 20% easy, probably 25%. I said we need to diet a significant amount of fat off and his response was he wants to bulk/recomp. I just said I'm not the guy for you. I want to help ppl, not lie and steal your money
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it was so wild this year when I cut from 207 to about 183/185. I held on to more strength this time but knew I was smaller yet I had a couple bros at the gym tell me I looked bigger. it was wild. I felt smaller and didn't really like it, but it was really great to have them put that in my head.
 
I am just getting back into the gym life after 10 years. This is a great post and has reminded me how hard I need to work. Thanks for your time.
 
Smont said:
Me too, it wasn't until I bit the bullet and got leaner did I see progress really take off. After the initial "skinny fat look" that happens mid cut, once we break past that and start getting actually lean, that's when you see the results. Unfortunately, most people will never get there and they usually just want to argue about it.So I stop trying to convince people they need to do it. I turned someone down last week cus they wanted to start a bulk and there 20% easy, probably 25%. I said we need to diet a significant amount of fat off and his response was he wants to bulk/recomp. I just said I'm not the guy for you. I want to help ppl, not lie and steal your money
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If they are paying you to lie, are you really stealing? lol.
 
roan4 said:
I am just getting back into the gym life after 10 years. This is a great post and has reminded me how hard I need to work. Thanks for your time.
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Good luck boss. Set small achievable goals, don't say...... I'm gonna loose 50lbs or I'm gonna gain 20lbs of muscle. Start with baby steps. A few successful baby steps quickly turns into big strides
 
Smont said:
Good luck boss. Set small achievable goals, don't say...... I'm gonna loose 50lbs or I'm gonna gain 20lbs of muscle. Start with baby steps. A few successful baby steps quickly turns into big strides
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Slow and steady in the start, fuel the machine and fell the pain. This will be a great ride. & I am clear on the bull%%$.
 
Smont said:
Good luck boss. Set small achievable goals, don't say...... I'm gonna loose 50lbs or I'm gonna gain 20lbs of muscle. Start with baby steps. A few successful baby steps quickly turns into big strides
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Agreed here! Consistency over time is the key!
 
I agree with your write-up. In December of last year, I started a weight loss journey using a strategic process program. This allowed me to enjoy my favorite foods while losing 32 pounds over 12 months. To be successful, people need to set realistic goals, take a long-term approach, and avoid quick fixes. The keys to success are discipline, consistency, and patience.
 
Smont said:
Me too, it wasn't until I bit the bullet and got leaner did I see progress really take off. After the initial "skinny fat look" that happens mid cut, once we break past that and start getting actually lean, that's when you see the results. Unfortunately, most people will never get there and they usually just want to argue about it.So I stop trying to convince people they need to do it. I turned someone down last week cus they wanted to start a bulk and there 20% easy, probably 25%. I said we need to diet a significant amount of fat off and his response was he wants to bulk/recomp. I just said I'm not the guy for you. I want to help ppl, not lie and steal your money
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This delusion is very common. One of the biggest issues I see with it is related to strength. Some guys will actually start shedding weight, which is great. But once they see their strength start to slowly drop off, they go into panic mode and put the weight back on because they think they are losing muscle. And then in order to justify it, they convince themselves that their body fat is really 10 points lower than it actually is.

At the end of the day, if your goal is to achieve a physically appealing physique, then you have to rely on the mirror. There are too many "influencers" out there telling people how much they should weigh and how much they should be lifitng. Everyone is different and people need to focus on themselves and their own goals rather than compare themselves to some "natural" fitness influencer who takes every picture with a pump, in perfect lighting, with edited photos, lifting fake weights...
 
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