# Why do so many people fail at fitness/bodybuilding?



## Earl-Hickey (Apr 20, 2010)

I reckon about 95% of people who want to get "in shape" or some other such ambition fail, hard.

what do you think the reason for this is?


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## russforever (Apr 2, 2009)

lazyness? expect to see instant gains in a 4 week flex magazine work out?


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

Lack of knowledge/motivation.


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## Andy Dee (Jun 1, 2008)

Because when after a month of training and nothings happened, they decide nothing will ever happen and fckoff back to the tv and carryin being lazy.


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

normally short span of dedication for me, really up for it and into it for a few month and then slip back down the slope to mc d's and missing gym, then get more depressed and then find it hard to get back into. do it probably twice a year, not this time though... fingers crossed


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## essexboy (Sep 7, 2008)

How to you quantify failure? Does the guy who weighs 120lb, who gains 30 lbs of natural lean muscle, but does not posess the the required genetic predisposition to compete or look like the perceived image of a "bodybuilder" qualify as a failure?

The biggest mistake is comparing the individuals results to others.If you take this to logical extremes, then everyone who doesnt look like Jay Cutler is a failure.


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## frowningbudda (Dec 16, 2008)

To busy comparing themselves to everyone else or the elite.

Should just be your own man/woman


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## strangey (Jun 4, 2009)

russforever said:


> lazyness? expect to see instant gains in a 4 week flex magazine work out?


and lack of knowledge they think quick fat burn is 15lb+ a week where as we know 5-10lb is good going


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## littlesimon (May 24, 2010)

Lack of knowledge.


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## Was_Eric (Jul 3, 2008)

unrealistic goals


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## sizar (Nov 13, 2008)

Lack of knowledge motivation and will power


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## Was_Eric (Jul 3, 2008)

love and harmony play a big part


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

littlesimon said:


> Lack of knowledge.


lack of money..


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

Certainly mis-education is one of the main reasons, as a result of bad marketing, for failure in the fitness industry.

People are sold gimmicks, quick fixes and general BS about what it takes to get lean / fit / muscular etc. It's no wonder they are disappointed after 6 weeks of doing half assed walks (or half assed classes etc) on treadmills that they have't lost any weight.

Look at the amount of retards who think steroids are the answer to getting bigger on this forum. Nothing to do with training/ eating / sleeping...


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## Dagman72 (Apr 2, 2009)

martin brown said:


> Look at the amount of retards who think steroids are the answer to getting bigger on this forum. Nothing to do with training/ eating / sleeping...


 :thumb:

Also it is a lifestyle change concerning exercise, eating, cutting out bad habits etc - and most people cannot do that consistantly.


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## russforever (Apr 2, 2009)

mal said:


> lack of money..


im jobless still and im managing just about


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

russforever said:


> im jobless still and im managing just about


must be tough mate,lol im not taking it that serious and

its costing me a fortune every month :cursing:


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## russforever (Apr 2, 2009)

mal said:


> must be tough mate,lol im not taking it that serious and
> 
> its costing me a fortune every month :cursing:


yee all my money pretty much is gone when i get it on food and rent, hardly go out at the moment


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

what about gym fee's or do you train at home.


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## russforever (Apr 2, 2009)

mal said:


> what about gym fee's or do you train at home.


got a deal with me gym i used to work there, i clean the weights and put them away cause the cleaner cant move the weights:thumbup1:


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

i might try that one,good idea! :thumb:


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## Cra16 (Jan 23, 2010)

For 10% of people it comes easy, for the other 90% they have to work hard and smart. 90% of those 90% don't want to do what it takes, so only 19% of people sucseed in the gym  .


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## boofstien (May 29, 2010)

Confusion and Bad Advice

If they have the above and bad genetics they have no chance.


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## MillionG (Nov 17, 2009)

Lack of vanity.


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## Lois_Lane (Jul 21, 2009)

Lack of training knowledge or effort. 99% of people i see in the gym simply do not train correctly or train in a manner that is enough of a stimulus to promote new muscle growth.


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## MillionG (Nov 17, 2009)

Lois_Lane said:


> Lack of training knowledge or effort. 99% of people i see in the gym simply do not train correctly or train in a manner that is enough of a stimulus to promote new muscle growth.


x2

I'm probably one of them, but I try atleast :tongue:


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## Críostóir (Dec 12, 2009)

lack of commitment

If you put your mind to something you are passionate about you will follow it through

"The mind is everything; what you think you become" Buddha.


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## piper (Jan 4, 2009)

Seing a small guy lifting heavier weights than u puts people off.

I just blank everyone and everything out but if I see a huge fuka then I say to myself I wanna be bigger than him and I train harder till I'm nearly sick!

No pain no gain...


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## d4ead (Nov 3, 2008)

I think most fail because when rsuts are slow they train more instead of less and end up over training....

Unless your bigdom cos he overtrains and grows but heh you know what I mean


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## Big GJ (Jun 20, 2009)

I work in rentention for a gym and deal with people who wanna quit. The real reason most people fail to acheive their goals is they lack education or knowledge of how to to train smartly. They started coming and doing a bit of this a bit of that with out any structure to their training. They stop losing/gaining weight and start coming less then fall out of the habbit,

Alot of the time they feel to embarrassed to ask for help as they dont wanna appear stupid. There is alot of information out there in regards to training/diet but i think there can be to much info.

This leads to the opposite where thay have to much knowledge and try to much and because they are changing and chopping their plan , they dont find out what works and what doesnt. People need to learn to ask gym staff who are there to help be it the PT's or the instructors , everybodys body is different and people should realise that what works for one person may not work for them. I.E cheryl coles diet might not work for all women, Ronnie Colemans training wont work for all men

Exercise training and diet should be considered a lifestyle and changed slowly, in this country I believe we should start with the kids at school. That is where we go wrong as there is a lack of education to the young teach them the basics of nutrition and exercise, not just team sports. Why not incorporate some of the level 2 NVQ in gym instructor course into the national curriculum?If kids are better educated in how to look after their health from an earlier age maybe there is a chance that they will continue this and grow as people, healthy people.


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## skinnyfat (Mar 30, 2010)

I think its just not wanting it enough, I don't see that as a weakness or a failure. Its very hard work and I look at some of the people on here and its just aspirational what they achieve and in some ways isnt it nice for them that there are lots of people who aren't the same and cant acheive what they have?


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## Dezw (May 13, 2009)

People want to look good but do not want to do the work or follow the lifestyle to do it.

It is why I see so many people nowadays on gear and taking different items to try and shortcut their way there.

The problem is that this will only paper over the cracks for so long before a lack of hard training and good nutrition takes its toll.


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## silver-nitrate (Apr 24, 2008)

Most people want it to be a ten minutes a day thing or a magic pill but it is a lifestyle change .


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## Wee G1436114539 (Oct 6, 2007)

...because the entire fitness industry is set up to ensure their failure. If the industry was set up to actually make it possible for the average person to become educated, do the required work etc then the per member cost to the industry would be too high to be sustainable. It is much better to have high failure rate, a small number of retained / dedicated trainees to give the impression of the possibility of success to the main market and a constant member churn of membership. that way you get less wear and tear, enough foot traffic to ensure secondary spend, a "comfortable" training experience that ensures people will come back at SOME point, and enough membership income from non-attendees to keep the place open.

Don't believe the industry bull**** that high retention is actually a goal, if it was staff to member ratios would reflect that!


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## Fragjuice (Dec 29, 2009)

I'd say it's a lack of enjoyment, as some1 said earlier people want to look good/get healthy, but don't enjoy doing what's necessary to get there. That's why plastic surgery, gastric bands and starvation diets are so popular these days.


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## empzb (Jan 8, 2006)

Combination of a few things but for me it was motivation IMO.

While a student I could not be ****d. Went to the gym a few times on and off but didn't have the drive to suceed. I would look at some guys and think right, gotta smash out the gym now to get big, however I would do a few weeks, realise I didn't have the time / money / dedication and give up until the next time I browsed the forum or checked out a hench friends facebook.

Now I'm in a full time job however I am on the boards every day, reading up about techniques, routines, diets and this shizzle interests me. Seeing the guys and girls on here gives me the motivation to go to the gym, eat that extra bit of chicken, get that extra bit of protien and I am seeing a difference. Also got a gym buddy who I have known half my life who I work with who I go with and that motivates me more. Then the comments I have started to get from the missus and family helps.

Just gotta hit the 14 stone mark and see if I can stay pretty lean!


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## DS1 (Apr 19, 2010)

I think its because people think they can pick up a few weights and get the body in few months.

They dont realise its a way of life and takes years of dedication.

Will power to stick to the diet and training beginners dont realise this. My oppinion any way


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## craftybutcher (Aug 10, 2009)

Mens Health cover models


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## glen danbury (May 23, 2006)

OK, I too work in the fitness industry and to be honest its not lack of knowledge IMO - people have knowledge overload especially with the net about

look on here and you have people talking about all the finer details of nutrient timing, optimal loading parameters etc and have the time they just need to show up - both in training and diet

theres a distinct disassociation between what people know they should do and what they actually should do and thats why theres a greater move in the industry not towards more education but rather more NLP and behavioural/motivational work.

if you lok at things like ten minute gym etc (and many others are copying this type of system) there is a distinct move towards coveys seven habits and people taking personal responsibility to complete there goals

the problem most people have is they dont take personal responsisbility - success is doing the simple things again and again - if all your focus is on education the person will just end up blaming YOU - your advice was wrong, your diet doesnt work etc etc

getting fit, big, cut etc is SIMPLE - however simple doesnt mean EASY

It requires doing the boring hard things day after day and most people dont want to go down this route because they prefer their comfort zones and current habits - fine if thats what they want but IMO more education doesnt help the situation if anything all it does is provide more excuses


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## Andy Dee (Jun 1, 2008)

Some of the crap out there is so far fetched, false and so over complicated, im suprised the people who follow some of these such pointless and difficult principles even turn up for there first session, nevermind quit after a few months of training.

When I first started out, I had no idea about recovery, compounds, ectos and mesos, protein synthasis etc so I had no clue how any of it worked or if what i was doing was working or when to expect to see it working so how could I have possibly ever expected any results from any of it? I expected nothing and got nothing so yeh Id agree for me the demotivation was definetely a lack of knowledge.

Now I know a bit about how it works, its far easier to understand what will work for me and I know it can work and is working.

I agree with what Glen said, its simple but its not easy, the training basics might not always work for everyone, but Its definetely where everyone should start imo.


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

I'll tell you the answer the question, or at least have a go.

It's to do with motivational strategies.

There are basically to types of motivational strategy.

1. Towards

2. Away From

I'll give an example of both and how they work/fail.

2. Away From

So, you wake up one day and look in the mirror, and you see something you don't like. You get angry, and want to do something about it, you're motivated, lets go! Lets say you are 100kg. So at 100kg your motivation scores 10/10. You go on a diet, join the gym blah blah blah. 4 weeks later, you are 95kg. That's 5kg away from your max motivation point so now motivation is 8/10. 4 weeks later, you are down to 92kg, and are now 8kg away from your maxiumum motivation point. Motivationometer now down to 7/10. You get the point, so I won't go on.

1. Towards

I think you can work this out from the above.

This you are focused on a set goal, which is your motivation point. As long as you get started, every step in the right direction is an increase on the motivationometer. So you just keep going and going, getting more and more motivated as your head towards that goal.

I hope that makes sense.

You can always tell who will and who will not succeed.

Client 1. Goals

Well.......I'd like to loose a little bit around my tummy, and maybe tone my arms a little. Would like to feel a little fitter so I can play with the kids.

Client 2. Goals

I'm gonna be a competitive athlete.

Their body language and everything is different. The confident stand erect and know what they want. The wishy washy slouch, and talk in a tone that is pre-programmed fro failure.

With a few skills in NLP etc, you CAN turn around the not so confident.


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## glen danbury (May 23, 2006)

B|GJOE said:


> I'll tell you the answer the question, or at least have a go.
> 
> It's to do with motivational strategies.
> 
> ...


both of these will fail IMO

goals need to be time lined and measurable - otherwsie how do you know whether you are reaching them? i now alot of guys who compete but in all honesty I wouldn't rate their physiques so would be classed as competitive athletes etc

when a client speaks to me I want numbers - dates, bodyweight, kg lifted etc something to measure against otherwise its too much of a crapshoot, and it needs to be timelined - when do you want it? if theres no set date then people want feel that positvie pressure needed to get there as they will always put things off or say ''its OK to eat this I will get back on track next week - with a deadline you dont have that wiggle room


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## Ash1981 (Jun 16, 2009)

This leads to the opposite where thay have to much knowledge and try to much and because they are changing and chopping their plan , they dont find out what works and what doesnt.

Thats me,right there in a nutshell.

very clever


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

glen danbury said:


> both of these will fail IMO
> 
> goals need to be time lined and measurable - otherwsie how do you know whether you are reaching them? i now alot of guys who compete but in all honesty I wouldn't rate their physiques so would be classed as competitive athletes etc
> 
> when a client speaks to me I want numbers - dates, bodyweight, kg lifted etc something to measure against otherwise its too much of a crapshoot, and it needs to be timelined - when do you want it? if theres no set date then people want feel that positvie pressure needed to get there as they will always put things off or say ''its OK to eat this I will get back on track next week - with a deadline you dont have that wiggle room


Absolutely agree with you there Glen. I was only describing the differences in towards and away from motivation. Obviously there is much more to achieving a goal than choosing your motivation strategy. As you said, time line, measured etc.

What gets measured gets done!


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## warren (Jun 16, 2008)

glen danbury said:


> *both of these will fail IMO*
> 
> goals need to be time lined and measurable - otherwsie how do you know whether you are reaching them? i now alot of guys who compete but in all honesty I wouldn't rate their physiques so would be classed as competitive athletes etc
> 
> when a client speaks to me I want numbers - dates, bodyweight, kg lifted etc something to measure against otherwise its too much of a crapshoot, and it needs to be timelined - when do you want it? if theres no set date then people want feel that positvie pressure needed to get there as they will always put things off or say ''its OK to eat this I will get back on track next week - with a deadline you dont have that wiggle room


you say both will fail iyo, but that is a wide statement surley. as 90% of women who i have spoke to state there goals as i want to tone up my ... .... .... an lose some flab from ... ... ... i havent had anyone come and say to me , i want to lose 2-3%bf . because most are not long time trainers and have not got the knowledge to know what 2-3% bf% would even look like.


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## jimmy007 (May 18, 2010)

because they just want to look good for when they go out and then get sloppy. i think loads of people are like this they want to get fit to benefit the other parts of their life not because they enjoy it so they give up after time


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## D_MMA (Aug 21, 2008)

Lack inner strength!


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## t hall gym (Sep 26, 2007)

because it can be repeitive and boring if you add some variety to your workouts


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## doylejlw (Feb 14, 2010)

because most people see it as quick fix.


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## B-GJOE (May 7, 2009)

t hall gym said:


> because it can be repeitive and boring if you add some variety to your workouts


So is going to work, coming home, drinking a couple of cans of lager, and watching TV every night, but they manage to keep doing that.


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## glen danbury (May 23, 2006)

warren_1987 said:


> you say both will fail iyo, but that is a wide statement surley. as 90% of women who i have spoke to state there goals as i want to tone up my ... .... .... an lose some flab from ... ... ... i havent had anyone come and say to me , i want to lose 2-3%bf . because most are not long time trainers and have not got the knowledge to know what 2-3% bf% would even look like.


maybe a blanket statement but having worked in the fitness industry and looking at the stats of typically dieters i would state pretty much right 90-95% of the time

of those 90% of women you spoke to who had a goal of 'tone up' - how many achieved it? now change it for them to a positive goal of I want to be dress size X by date Y and i ensure you there chances will be much higher

when goal setting things should also be framed in a positive manner - not i want to lose 5kg by x date (negative) but rather i want to weigh X weight by Z date (positive) - even better when setting the goal reword it - *'I will be* X weight by Y date''

to achieve a fitness or body transformation takes alot of effort but its very simple (how much knowledge is required to actually get to the gym, not eat crap which is 80-90% of whats needed for most to make change - the crap debated on these forums etc are only really applicable to the top 10% who we are not discussing here) as such its about ensuring the person just TURNS UP when it comes to training and eating

a bog standard program and general 'healthy' diet will work for most of its done consistantly and stuck to for a decent period and thats where most people fall down IMO


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## arnienoonoo (Jun 2, 2010)

because lifting heavy ,compound:thumbup1: moves aint easy, to many think pec dec or pulldowns will build muscle ,and eating is a sceince to build muscle without shed loads of fat, so for me its 50/50 knowledge and the fact maxing out working to failure:cursing: is for most people, aint the walk in the park they dreamed of lol


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## JoeyRamone (Sep 10, 2009)

glen danbury said:


> OK, I too work in the fitness industry and to be honest its not lack of knowledge IMO - people have knowledge overload especially with the net about
> 
> look on here and you have people talking about all the finer details of nutrient timing, optimal loading parameters etc and have the time they just need to show up - both in training and diet
> 
> ...


The knowledge is there to be found on places like this but a lot of people won't look. People believe so many myths about diet etc. I think one of the main problems is people who are overweight actually just starving themselves because that's the basic information that everyone gets without looking into it.

When I started I focused on having 3 "healthy" meals a day. It was no where near enough. I got tiny amounts of fat and hardly any carbs but from information you hear generally about healthy eating it's salad this and salad that 3 meals a day and don't miss breakfast. If I hadn't only had that stuff to focus on at the time I don't think I would have carried it on and would have stayed fat.


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## Rekless (May 5, 2009)

I also think celebrity culture does no help.

They see transformations such as Christian Bale who went from Skin and bone to beefed up in a short space of time.










People think if he can do it they can but fail to understand these people do this for a job and have nutritionist and personal trainer with them 24/7 7 days a week!


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## warren (Jun 16, 2008)

glen danbury said:


> maybe a blanket statement but having worked in the fitness industry and looking at the stats of typically dieters i would state pretty much right 90-95% of the time
> 
> of those 90% of women you spoke to who had a goal of 'tone up' - how many achieved it? now change it for them to a positive goal of I want to be dress size X by date Y and i ensure you there chances will be much higher
> 
> ...


good anwser mate, my point was really that most come in with a very general statement as they have no idea what is acheivable. but yes your 100% correct that once we havew had a chat and made goals that are smart then its alot more realistic. i still work from a goal setting sceme i learned on my pt course. alot of the pt course was rubbish but one thing i do still use is to make smart goals

s-specific

m-measurable

a-acheivable

r-realistic

t-time framed

i find this helopd the client see changes and how close they are top there goal. reps for your responce


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