One day the thought that I do not meet my own expectations and can look and feel better takes over a person completely. Most often we start changing our bodies and modeling them in times of great emotional stress. This can be experienced stress, the fall of self-esteem due to a breakup with a partner, and in rare cases, the fear of losing a loved one because of their dissatisfaction with us, but also people increase their social status (social significance) in the eyes of others through a change in their own appearance.
In marketing, there is such a thing as business risks. It is the simulation, calculation, and consideration of those difficult situations that are possible with the unfavorable outcome of the formation and development of a business. We will talk about such risks in the field of psychology in this article, risks that arise during weight gain, as well as during weight loss.
At any stage of training at the gym it is important to understand that until you are internally motivated and there is no need in the form of a psychological need to incorporate into your daily schedule mode, diet and exercise - there will be no result. In other words, you must model your body for yourself, not for someone else. This must be acknowledged first and foremost to yourself. You have a partner today, not tomorrow. Prove something to somebody and something from the psychological point of view is not bad, but in life the main person is yourself, and to prove something is necessary first of all to yourself, as well as to set priorities in the sphere of what we are worthy and what we can.
Age categories
Any gym, closer to the summer, there are people (from 30 to 45) dreaming "quickly, to pump up abs for vacation", "lose weight to go with my wife on vacation", "to prepare the body before the summer", etc. Just think about these phrases. Just think about these phrases, because the man admits his problem is "hanging stomach", "fat", "flabby body", but how he does it! There is a problem, but it is not included in the person's conscious list of priorities and significance. He came to the gym for "friends so they don't laugh," for "his wife," for "to look normal at the beach." The list could go on, but these people have one thing in common - they go to the gym, run on the treadmill, ride the exercise bike for a month during which they "need to get in shape right away" and never come back.
There are also exceptions among this age group, people who stay in the gym, have been training for years, and are in good physical shape. The survey reveals a large number of former athletes among them, they have a base, but have not exercised for years (runners, skaters, boxers, etc.). A change in their body is possible from a few months to a year and a half. Of course, ideally they should have started earlier, but those who have started now can achieve results. But what result we set for ourselves at this age, and at what result we will work, is a separate topic for conversation.
The other category (from 15 to 20) come in groups of 3-5 people, occupy the bench and enthusiastically begin to work the barbell. Among them there is necessarily a leader, who after a year of training already visible some muscles and he, with the help of deserved authority, tells how to achieve the same outstanding success. Out of such a group usually only one person remains after 3-4 months. And that's in the best case! The goal of this age most often revolves around: I want biceps, chest or shoulders like a (any name can be put here).
Another category (from 21 to 29) come to the gym in pairs or individually. Hormonal background has already calmed down, the body more or less formed, and, having looked at their closest relatives can safely say that by 25 years old I'll go bald as an older brother, and by 28 will be a belly like Uncle Vasya. Admitting your imperfection is the first step toward perfection. It's very difficult and courageous. At this age, it's especially difficult to see the future and set a long-term goal, but there's a huge upside. Before the age of 25, you can have time to build an impressive base, which is enough to maintain for decades to come. People who come to the gym in this age period most often achieve impressive successes and can boast of a beautiful body and adequate self-esteem at the age of 40 and 50.
Before you start changing your body, it is necessary to get a doctor's report about the absence of pathologies of the heart, liver and kidneys. It is necessary to control issues related to pressure, including intraocular and intracranial pressure. With this approach, it is not only realistic, but also desirable to change oneself, because changes in the body happen anyway. But these changes occur on their own, without your participation, uncontrollably and not for the better! After one year of training it is necessary to have another check-up and be glad that your body is not only transformed externally, but also is healthier.
In the process of working on yourself you will face a set of different types of risks, which differ from each other by the causes and peculiarities of occurrence. Let's take a closer look at the psychological risks of weight correction.
Risk one
Setting a goal: "I'm fat and I want to lose weight, I'm fat and I want to pump up, I have a belly and I want to remove it, I want to pump up, I want to gain mass, my pants are bursting, I have hormones and I want to run...." - that's not a goal. It's your fantasies and lack of purpose.
To begin with, according to Dr. "House" everyone lies. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell me do you need to lose weight before you gain weight? Yes, that little tummy isn't going anywhere after you pump up your breasts. And you will look with beautiful breasts and a nice belly not at all like you expected. By the way, the sides that go into the hips will also stay in place. Those who have a very subtle figure and do not have deposits on the stomach and hips can skip this point - lose weight and immediately begin programs to gain weight. Everyone else should estimate how many kilos you need to lose before you grab a barbell and start working with big weights.
Your best friend - treadmill, exercise bicycle, twists with sticks and competent trainer, who will alternate aerobic, cardio and power loads. Here is where the first risk will arise - "I've been running for two months and I'm wet as a mouse, I don't go near the barbell, and the weight is still there. I go to the gym, not a fitness club, why do they make me swing a stick...". The answer is "You will run for two more months and it won't do any good, because you eat sweets and flour at home. Because your diet is not balanced and what you burn at the workout, you eat at home on the computer or the TV."
Stop lying to your trainer about sticking to your regimen. Stop lying to yourself that you want a beautiful body. If you lose weight, you lose weight day and night, and at work, and at home, and in the gym. Get rid of excess fat before you build muscle mass. Calculate your weight using a formula. Find out if you are underweight or overweight. Talk to your trainer about your goal for the first six months.
Risk two.
Body rebuilding: "I feel so bad about working out, my stomach hurts, I feel nauseous, I have a cough, bowel problems, insomnia. All my muscles are burning. My knees hurt. Potency problems have started... etc." - It's not an illness, it's a wrong program, your ambition "I'm going to do one hundred squats" and laziness.
Your body is in shock after the first workout. Especially if you are overweight and over 40. Everything fails. Everything hurts too. The first month a person without basic training, as well as the second must exercise in full force, but on a special program that is made by the coach. It takes into account muscle weakness and lack of endurance. It is also necessary to choose for yourself what you will do in the gym or smoking, exercising or drinking. Simultaneously will not work, that is, of course, if you have a lot of health, you can combine these processes, but the result of weight loss or muscle growth - WILL NOT.
Muscle pain will last from one to three years. After each workout, after weight gain, it will migrate through all the muscles. After changing the program, even after three years, the loaded muscles will still be sore. You have to be prepared for that. That's why you need to use sports nutrition, amines, etc. The cough will go away as well as all other symptoms after you quit smoking. Your liver will go back to its normal size after you give up alcohol and the intestines will start to function normally after you normalize your diet and include porridges, dried fruits, etc. in your obligatory diet. Insomnia will also pass after developing a regimen - going to bed at the same time, it is desirable to get up similarly. You rebuild your life, you rebuild your body. It's like a second job, if you're not ready for it, you shouldn't even start. Out of 10 people who come to the gym after a year remains - 1.
Risk three
Speed of change: "We came together with Vasya at the same time, we're both not athletes... and he's been rocking out for two years, and I'm still the same. He must be drinking something..." - It's not him drinking something, it's his body structure, his age, your own laziness, his eating and training disorders.
The rate of change is different for everyone. Even everyone's muscles grow and visualize at different rates. If a person is anatomically and genetically developed triceps, then a couple of exercises is enough for its relief and growth. So are trapezius, delts, chest, abs, etc. That's why hypothetical Vasya gets his biceps pumped once a week, and the volume exceeds yours by 1.5 times, while you need to exercise your biceps more or more often and maybe with other exercises. Instead of measuring what you're not growing, measure what's changing!
Don't look at others and compare your dynamics to someone else's. Let others compare their changes to yours. Still, if you're doing it for yourself: working out, eating, sleeping, leading a healthy lifestyle - the changes in your body will be visually noticeable in as little as six months.
Risk number four
Training program: "the coach has written a program, but I do not like it... the coach has written a program, but it does not suit me... it bores me... I do not get tired... on the internet this exercise is called meaningless... and on the web-site it says to do it this way, but the coach said to do it another way, etc.". - this is not a bad training program, it's either you're doing the exercises wrong, or you're reading too much instead of training.
First, there are different methodological schools of sports training, which implement the views and experiences of sometimes completely incompatible techniques and theories. These approaches include training organization, and exercise technique, and even the sequence of exercises during a single workout. Moreover, the same exercise can be used for both "burning" and "working on mass."
Secondly, each coach, depending on the level of preparedness of his charges, will create different training programs, taking into account their individual dynamics and achievements. Another of the main points that are often not taken into account when complaining about the programs, if you are an amateur, then some of the exercises are either generally contraindicated to you, or the coach offers to perform them in a lighter version.
Risk number five
Opinion of close people: "My mom/girlfriend/wife/colleagues at work tell me that I have changed a lot and not for the better... It became tough... they tell me all the time that I drink all kinds of trash... that my liver will fail... that it is too late/early for me to do sports...". - these are not your problems or thoughts at all. Do you personally have problems with your nerves, well-being and health? Do you personally know what you drink or what you inject? Have you weighed all the risks?
Be prepared to face the negativity of those around you as soon as they find out about your desire to change your body. Questions from loved ones will hurt and offend "Why do you want it?", "What complexes?", "Nothing to do? It's as if on purpose they will pull you back to the fat mass in which your body was. Then there will be envy, dirty looks, whispers behind you. Replays will change to "Well, of course, what else can he / she do, no worries!", "And you know how much money it costs?", "But they are all sitting on chemistry, there is no such a body for nothing! You'll have to wait another year or two for admiration and compliments. But even then there will be some jealous characters trying to learn the secret of how to "quickly lose it all and pump up," on the one hand, and on the other to inquire into unsightly secrets of how you did it. The fact that it exists, I am sure every philistine, sitting in a chair and chewing another potato pie.
Sometimes you have to choose between your beautiful body, your dream and your relationship, the love of a loved one or the gym. Sometimes you can catch not the approving, but envious look of a loved one ..., and here again you need to think what is more important for you personally. Think about it, weigh it up and make a choice. And before you put the point, once again think about whether you will be satisfied with the choice you made in a year, another year or a third.
Risk six.
Exhaustion and overload: "I did my legs 5 days ago and they still hurt...I can't do anything after the workout, I'm very tired...I have no strength and energy at all..." - congratulations, you probably got carried away, overestimated your strength and are exercising more than four times a week, without a trainer, according to your program and not watching your diet.
The diet when exercising can be designed for weight loss or weight gain, and this involves a sports diet. Of course, there can be indulgences. You can eat a chocolate bar and candy - once a month, but in general, the diet must be balanced and verified. Be sure to include protein in your diet. When the body does not get enough useful nutrients before, during and after training, the muscles begin to "eat" themselves.
It is impossible to compensate for physical exertion received at the gym with ordinary food of an average person. First of all, because ordinary people do not do five sets of the bench press with a barbell of 80 kg. And they don't run on a treadmill for 15-20 minutes.
Risk number seven
I reached the final: "I don't feel like running...I don't feel like squatting either. And I'm bored. No one in the gym to look at... My motivation is gone... Coach, tell me what I should do... what spot to get in shape...". - People around you stare at you even when you're wearing a long sleeve shirt and you think that you're the most beautiful person in the gym? Go to a competition, sit in the parterre or in the gym, where the professionals, if you're really not worse, but even better, take a month off from training.
Figure. A time curve of psychological risks.
If you've read the article to this point, you've come to the conclusion - exercising is a life-changing experience on all levels. It's a psychological mindset of success and hard work every day. Take another look at the psychological risks of weight loss (see Figure).
It can be assumed that there is a certain time curve of occurrence and course of the highlighted risks. Being aware of it, one can prevent a number of psychological problems and decrease the number of losses among exercisers.
