5 Reasons Your Workout Isn't Working

By Jessica Smith for Shape.com

Have you been working out consistently for months (maybe even years) and yet the scale is creeping up? Here are five ways your workout could be keeping you from losing weight, and what our experts recommend to start shedding pounds again.

Comments

[Yarden]

02:33 PM on 12/25/2011

I would like to add some of my personal tips that I have found useful.

1. Eat healthy and balanced. High protein to rebuild broken down muscle tissue. Good carbs for energy and other biological functions and healthy fats for various reasons. Remembers, you only want to eat food that has been grown,swam,or walked!

2. Strength training/Yogalaties mix. A good strength training program with mixture of Pilates and Yoga does wonders. Strength training builds muscle and burns calories. Yoga elongates the muscles to make you more toned as well as increases flexibility. Pilates for a better abs, stronger core and better back.

3. Tea. This is my secret weapon to health and body weight. I have maintained single digit body fat % by drinking hot tea daily. Actually, I have not been sick for 3 years and I give most of the credit to hot tea! Green tea and Oolong tea have properties for good skin, prevent sicknesses and diseases. The tea's also have properties that use your fat cells as energy! Its a natural fat burner and its the healthiest of its kind.

4. Get out and walk around more. Take walks around a beautiful park, beach or lake. Get in tuned with nature. This can guide you towards great health all the way around!

[psandysdad]

12:05 PM on 12/16/2011

Next big secret I'm about to share: the perfect diet which always works.

1) Eat less.

2) Exercise.

[roarkee12]

09:31 AM on 12/16/2011

There's only one reason and that is you consume more calories than you burn.

[TecKNOWLEDGEy]

12:53 AM on 12/14/2011

I agree with these reasons. I use Beachbody programs to stay in shape, which are very balanced and fun, so not stale at all, are very challenging but can be modified, and burn a lot of calories since they use total body movements. A lot of what you get out of exercise also depends on your diet and getting proper rest so you need those dialed into the equation. If you want to check out good workout programs look here: www.beachbodycoach.com/tecKNOWLEDGEy

[kadellagroove]

12:20 AM on 12/13/2011

honestly.. you could go on and on about reasons why your routine isn't working but when i'm in the gym, the thing I see the most is people only pushing themselves about 50%

If your half assing it its not gonna do you any good.

One thing that has always bothered me is this "its easy... its simple" mentality. Trainers, magazines, websites, etc always make it seem so easy to be fit and healthy because it makes them money.

but the honest truth is that while it doesn't have to be complicated, it certainly is not easy to be healthy and fit and especially to lose weight. I am probably one of the most fit of my friends, I am constantly given a hard time for not going out friday night cause I'm in the gym, or for skipping out on certain foods and not drinking beer.

I love being healthy and fit but its hard sometimes making myself go to the gym... its hard passing up those cakes in the grocery store.. its hard pushing myself 100% every time. and sometimes I slip... everybody does and then its hard not to beat myself up.

if you want to be healthy and lose weight, get a trainer who doesn't believe in only one method, listen, don't over complicate it, and stay dedicated and focused and be prepared to scarifies. if you do that... you WILL succeed.

[ConfuciusSay-]

11:45 PM on 12/12/2011

Why are workouts not working? Here are my top 5 reasons:
1) You are not squatting 3 figure weight to parallel.
2) You are not progressively adding weight from workout to workout.
3) You think that a 10 pound dumbbell is heavy, and machines are better than free weights.
4) You are doing too much useless cardio instead of heavy compound exercise.
5) You believe that spot reduction actually works, and are trying situps to shrink your abdomen.

From experience, there's no shortage of people trying out treadmills, "body sculpting", Zumba, and yoga. And while those are all good, and fun, they will never give you the dense muscle mass that resistance training does.

[JSDKoeln]

08:05 AM on 12/13/2011

I agree with most of what you said, but with yoga you're wrong. Believe me, it puts on and sculpts muscle. It also helps keep the spine stretched. When putting on heavy muscle in the back especially, muscle becomes shorter. That is the last thing we want.

As for cardio... yes, we do need it. But it is not so much for fat burning but for other reasons, like maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and cardiovascular health. It also does help burn excess fat that you want to shred around the muscles you've been working on.

But there's no getting around it... resistance training is the most important part of it all.

[Mrs Bell3211]

02:06 PM on 12/13/2011

I also agree with this comment. I can't speak about Zumba or yoga because I have never tried either, but the rest is pretty spot on. Not increasing weight, for whatever reason, is a horrible mistake because you won't be making any progress. While I don't think cardio is totally useless, there are more beneficial ways to get your heart pumping than hanging out on the treadmill for an hour. I agree that free weights are better than machines, but if you are a beginner with poor form, they are a good place to start. And as far as squatting goes, I wish more people would do it! I can't tell you how often I see people at the gym with decent upper bodies and terrible lower bodies! Squats are wonderful for you when done properly, and are absolutely not performed enough.

[arierich]

09:32 AM on 12/12/2011

Great post. I recently increased my dumbbells from 5 pounds to 12 pounds. At first it was a challenge, during some of the sculpting exercises, but now I'm getting used to it. Those times where it is too much of challenge (after a few sets), I switch it back to 5 pounds. Also, I totally understand the sugar cravings after a workout, but I am learning to substitute the junk stuff in my cupboard with healthier stuff like Kashi bars and mixed nuts, for a quick, after-workout snack.

[lovesholiday]

11:51 AM on 12/11/2011

very simple - Switch to a plant based diet do moderate to light exercise and you will look and feel in the best shape you ever thought imaginable.

[Highschool Athlete]

01:27 PM on 12/11/2011

You need protein in your diet. about 30 grams every 3 hours. This is easy to get with chicken breast, turkey, tuna, you need this stuff in your diet, especially if you"re trying to build muscle andit will also keep you full longer.

[lovesholiday]

01:36 PM on 12/11/2011

Wrong! Studies show that the healthiest diet is one that is high in carbohydrate, low in fat, and moderate in protein. Increased intake of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are recommended for weight control and preventing diseases such as cancer and heart disease. High-carbohydrate, low-fat, moderate-protein diets are also recommended for optimal athletic performance. Contrary to the information on fad diets currently promoted by some popular books, a diet that is high in protein can actually contribute to disease and other health problems.

[kadellagroove]

12:15 AM on 12/13/2011

actually high protein diets help burn more calories.