You can have the best training or nutrition program but if you cant adhere and get it done then it’s all a waste.
Thats why it’s important to also work on your mindset.
Taking care of my health and fitness has taught me many life lessons outside of fitness. It has changed my life for the better in many aspects.
Health and fitness can teach you a lot of life principles.
It’s fantastic to see clients crush their health and fitness goals, but nothing beats the feeling of seeing them improve other aspects of their life with it (career, relationships, etc.).
In saying that a poor mindset can all but ensure you wont ever see any results with your health and fitness.
Here are some common mindset mistakes I see online clients make:
#1 Not taking responsibility.
This is a killer.
Not taking responsibility would be when you say things like “work is busy this week, so I cant get my workouts in” “I have a lot going on, so I cant focus on my nutrition” “My boss is making me stay late so I missed all my workouts and didn’t meal prep” “my genetics just don’t allow me to build muscle or lose body fat” , etc.
Basically, you are blaming things outside of your control, when you do this you justify it in your head. If you want something you will make the time for it, no matter what you tell yourself.
Even if something happened that was out of your control, it’s helpful to ask yourself how YOU could’ve handled the situation better. It is freeing to start taking responsibility for your actions, you realize everything is up to YOU.
#2 Short-term thinking.
Most of us don’t think long-term with our choices. When it comes to training and nutrition clients who are ok with taking deload weeks, maintenance periods, periods of slowing gaining weight to build muscle, are the ones who see the best results long term.
The clients who do everything possible to lose body fat in 6 weeks are the ones who struggle to see results long-term. Everything they do is with short-term methods, they don’t think about how what they want to do isn’t sustainable in the long run.
When making decisions, start thinking long term with them as well.
One thing we teach clients is a long term approach to their nutrition. We call this nutritional periodization. To learn more about it, read this blog here.
#3 Relying on motivation.
When clients first get started they are super motivated to get going. But about 4-5 weeks in you start to see this motivation dwindle. This is when the coaching really starts. How many times have you started a training program or diet and crushed it the first few weeks but then your motivation slowly goes away?
What do you do when that happens?
Motivation comes and goes. It won’t always be there. If you just rely on motivation you are setting yourself up to be disappointed in your results.
You must eventually get things done when you don’t want to. There is no way around this.
#4 Being “on or off.”
One thing I really try to dial in with online clients is getting away from that “on” or “off” mindset. What does it mean to be “on” or “off”?
“On” would be when you are doing everything, nailing your nutrition, nailing your workouts and not shying away from the program. “Off” would be when one thing goes wrong or off-plan then EVERYTHING goes with it.
This is a BIG mistake. I always like to tell clients to think of training and nutrition as a dimmer switch. Sometimes you are more on than others, but we never fully turn off the lights.
People who fully turn off the lights are the ones who are restarting every few months.
Maybe you normally workout 6 days per week and track your food every day, but a stressful time comes up in your life.
In this situation, most people think that if they can’t give 100% then they should just take a break.
But just going 2-3x per week for 30-45 minutes is all you need to maintain your progress. Sometimes just maintaining is PROGRESS. Read this blog here on how easy it is to maintain your progress once you get it.
In this scenario, nutrition-wise maybe you just focus on good habits like slowing down when eating and just making sure you get a lean source of protein in 2-5x per day.
Having this mindset will help you stay in the routine of going to the gym and it will make it much easier to come back when you can dedicate more time to fitness and nutrition.
Conclusion
There you have it. The 4 most common mindset mistakes made by clients.
If you are struggling to stick with your goals chances are you are making at least one of these four mistakes.
Instead of searching for the next best diet or best training program look at working on your mindset.
If you need more structure/guidance with your training and nutrition fill out the coaching application here and lets get to work!
