Be honest – do you compare yourself to other people’s gym selfies? I think we’ve all done it. Even if you’re not comparing yourself to someone’s Insta feed, chances are you measure your progress against someone in the gym…
Measuring yourself against anyone else (especially someone’s social media “best bits”) can quickly lead to disappointment. So let’s put your own efforts into proper context.
Rewind 10 years, and we were bombarded by images in magazine features and adverts. These days of course it’s social media, especially the image-focused platforms like Instagram which fill our feeds (and our minds) with impossible photos 24/7.
Do you ever get frustrated that you’re not getting bigger, leaner, or snapping into shape fast enough?
Social media has distorted our view of what is real, attainable, and possible for ourselves. Even though we know that lots of those images are filtered, posed, and cherry-picked, we can’t help ourselves. We want to look like that, lift like that, and transform like that… and we want it fast! It’s all at our fingertips, so why isn’t it happening that quickly offline in the real world of everyday life?
The truth is that results take time. Especially if you want to drop visible amounts of fat or put on a significant amount of muscle. It takes longer than a few weeks (no matter what the “12-week transformations” tell you).
The key to success lies in finding a realistic balance. Use other people – or social media – as a source of inspiration to keep you motivated. But make sure the targets you set are yours, not theirs. And once you’ve got your goal in place, shift your focus away from outside influences and onto yourself. Trust the process, stick to your plan, and celebrate your own progress.
Remember, whatever your goal is, the best results come from making small changes, finding healthier habits, and improving your lifestyle. It’s about a shift in what you eat, and how much. It’s looking at how hard and how frequently you train. And it’s not about being swayed by what someone else is doing. Don’t pick and choose a new plan every week. Decide what you really want, and stick to it consistently. Not for a few weeks, but for the long term.
Arm yourself with just a few tried-and-tested supplements to help you along the way.
Whey Protein: it’s important to keep on top of your protein intake, and whey protein is a really convenient and cost-effective way to get a 25-30g protein snack. Or you can use it to amp up the protein in your breakfast oats!
Complete Multivitamin: cover all your bases as you push your body hard and give your body everything it needs to build muscle, stay healthy, and keep the immune system strong.
Omega 3: get your essential fatty acids in order, especially if you are dieting for fat loss. These days you can choose from softgels or an omega 3/6/9 oil – either way, it helps you get only as much important fatty acids as you need.
Why don’t you try PROM3GA™? Our new market leading fish oil supplement providing over 3300mg of Omega 3 Fish oil, combined with 4500IU of Vitamin D3 and 300µg of Natural Astaxanthin. This unique combination of ingredients will support normal heart function, normal muscle function, normal bone health and a healthy immune system.
How long will it take?
It depends… which is why patience and consistency are so important. You could start to see some fat loss happening within 3-4 weeks, but getting lean could take 20 weeks or more. Putting on muscle takes a long time. You might see some faster improvements in strength or size if you’re a beginner, a younger person, or if you have a young “training age”. But if you’ve been at this game a while, you already know that strength and size gains will be incredible slow.
But when the progress does come, it will be all yours. So stick at it – and stop comparing yourself to someone else’s show-reel.
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