Trainer shares tips on how to maintain fitness progress and avoid burnout

Setting realistic goals is essential to making progress on any fitness journey. Many see great results in the first few weeks and months of training. But over time, they may find that they are no longer making progress. Some might even experience burnout from overexertion and injury.

Cameron Fallon, a former S+C coach for major AFL and international soccer teams, Princess Diana’s former personal trainer, and founder of the BFT gym, says several factors contribute to burnout and progression plateaus. Staying tuned to the changes in the body and adjusting our fitness program accordingly is crucial. It’s also important to be thoughtful when setting goals, to keep in mind that burnout can occur and to include this as part of the process.

While it’s possible to do it alone, Fallon shares how having an onboard personal trainer can help increase results and combat burnout.

What are some of the considerations to keep in mind when setting fitness goals? How can we determine if these goals are realistic for us?

Make them measurable – If you can track it, you will achieve it. Evolt body scans are a great way to track body composition scans. We use them for our 8-week challenges to track progress.

Make the timeline sustainable – quick fixes don’t work. If you want to maintain the results in the long term, you have to act sustainably. If you’re too restrictive, you run the risk of having a major blowout and never going back to your workout because you were too hard on yourself the first time.

Talk to a Pro – Whether it’s lifting more weight, building muscle, or shedding fat, talk to an industry expert who can guide you toward achievable goals for your body.

What are some of the most common mistakes that hinder long-term growth?

Lift the same weights or work at the same intensity and don’t ramp up your workout.

Your body needs a new stimulus to push it further, to grow, to adapt, or to change. Change up your exercises and movement patterns, change up your reps and add more weight to keep your body guessing so you can avoid plateauing!

For this reason, we divide our training at BFT into eight-week progressive blocks. Programs are never the same, and each of our 13 programs evolves over the eight weeks – whether through repetition, time under tension, work time, etc.

What are some of the main causes of burnout and what tips do you have to prevent it?

overtraining– Doing two HIIT sessions a day for an extended period of time is likely to lead to burnout or an injury. Many people fall into this trap when trying to get results quickly.

Not taking into account other lifestyle factors– If you are very stressed or not getting enough sleep, it may be best to slow down some of your workouts until you feel better.

Not eating right– Diet is so important. Even if you’re not that active, a diet rich in protein, vegetables, and whole foods is important to properly fuel your body.

Not sleeping enough– You need eight to nine hours; Strive to get it as it is important for the recovery of your body and mind.

not recovering– If you constantly stress your body and don’t let it recover, it’s likely to lead to burnout or injury. As you exercise, warm up and cool down, stretch, get a massage, eat well, drink plenty of water, and get enough sleep

How can coaches help?

At BFT, we have a one trainer to 12 person ratio, so each member can get the help and attention they need during a session.

A trainer can help people get out of their comfort zone or adapt training to their abilities. This means members receive more personalized training that works for them.

And also to help members move with good technique and avoid injury.

See also: Blood flow restriction training at Asaya with exercise physiologist Terry Burge