If it were easy, everyone would do it!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your workout will never be easy and it shouldn’t. Now before you stop reading and go off on a tangent about rest days and lighter or shorter workouts; you should know I do not mean that those things shouldn’t happen.
I mean that you should never get complacent in your workout….no matter what kind of workout….it should never be easy. If it’s easy, then it’s time to reassess your fitness goals and dream a little bigger.
I have only been working out with my trainer since March, but I have made so many fitness gains in strength, mobility, and balance that I can already look back to where I began. It makes looking ahead to where I will go a little easier. You see, when I began I couldn’t even do a lunge without using the TRX machine that would allow me to use my arms to help me up. I was so overweight and weak that I could not even do 1 lunge alone! This was eye opening, after all, I still imagined that I was the strong “not that out of shape” woman I once was. Last week, I finally added weight to my kettlebell walking lunges. You see, I can now do a lunge and in an effort to improve and not get complacent, walking lunges, lateral lunges, and weighted lunges have all been added to my repertoire. I used to hate walking lunges. Like walk in the studio and want to leave before I start my workout kind of hate of walking lunges. Those days I would really have to break through my mental wall. However, right before my vacation I did those walking lunges and they were easier than before. I like to say that I have come to an understanding with the walking lunges. However, again, when it gets easy then it’s time to make it more challenging.
I do this with every exercise. I just used walking lunges as an example. Heavy medicine ball slams were to light….go grab the heavier one. Bent over press is to easy….grab a heavier dumbbell (in my case twice yesterday). You see the pattern, there is always something you can do to make your workout more challenging. You can lift heavier, you can lift a little lighter with more reps, you can add a time component to your set. This is where a trainer is handy, but I am now recognizing on my own when it is time to make an exercise harder.
One of the necessary evils of lifting is soreness. However, I like the soreness because it is a reminder of a workout completed well. The soreness keeps me in check with myself and lets me know that I put in the maximum amount of effort that I could. **You should never over train to the point of severe soreness, but a mild soreness could follow a strenuous workout**
My trainer reminds me all the time that I am on a fitness journey. My fitness journey began only a short time ago and I have even longer to go before I meet my goals for weight loss and strength. However, then I will have a new goal, a different challenge, it’s natural to look for the next step. It will never get easier, but it will never be as hard as that first day as a beginner stepping in the gym for the first time.