| Focus September 1, 2005
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Pamela Anstey, our
"Featured Physique" cover model this month, is just 20 years old and has already
made considerable improvement to her physique. Even though progress slows down after the
first year or two of training, you can keep improving your body your entire life by
exercising properly and eating well.
(photo July 2005 by Doug Schneider) |
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How Long It Takes
Last month, I wrote an article called "The Effort It Takes." That article
focused on understanding how much time it would take per week in the gym to achieve
results – an important thing for someone to know in order to determine if an exercise
program can fit into their schedule. If you read that article, you’ll probably
realize that the time it takes per week is much less than most imagine, and that good
progress can be made by dedicating just a few hours per week.
The next question someone may have now is, "How
long does it take before I see results?" After all, planning your week is one
thing, but if you’ve now decided to adopt an exercise program into your lifestyle,
you’ll probably want to know how long it will take to transform you body, or at least
see some results. Hopefully this article will help you understand the process.
As with the amount of effort it takes, the time it takes to
see results is usually far less than some people think, providing you are following
a good-quality weight-training and nutritional program. I stress the importance of the
program, though, because the exercise and nutritional aspects are vital, and if you
don’t have a well-planned program in all areas you’re not going to achieve all
that you could. You don’t want a mechanic to work on your car without the right tools
– to achieve results your tools are exercise and eating, so you have to make sure
you’ve got that right or, frankly, not much may happen at all. Providing that’s
in check, these are some timeframes for progress that average people achieve –
in other words, most of us – based on years and years of observation.
From the very first day, most people will feel a
difference whether it be a certain amount of muscle pain, stress, or the euphoric feeling
that exercise can give. But while you will likely feel something, the differences that
other people notice in your body’s shape don’t come until a short time later.
Still, the length of time it takes is not so very long.
In just two weeks subtle changes can happen to your body
– your legs might be firmer, your shoulders might appear stronger, and, overall, your
body might look more toned. This, obviously, is a result of the adaptation the
body’s undergoing in response to the weight-training program and a change in eating
habits.
In just a month, quite significant results can usually be
seen, again a result of the weight-training program, but also most likely caused by a
reasonable amount of fat loss that the exercise and diet will provide. The body won’t
be transformed at this point, but in only four weeks you can go from just being so-so to
the point where people start to ask, "Are you going to the gym?"
After two to three months of consistent effort
(important!), the remarks usually stray from "Are you going to the gym?" to
"You’ve been going to the gym, haven’t you?" In other words, your
progress will become obvious. And while your body will not likely be transformed at this
point, the differences in it from when you started should not be subtle. People will see
the changes.
In six months the changes are likely to double again from
what was seen in the first three months; more muscle tone, less bodyfat, and depending on
exactly what kind of shape you were in when you started, people will likely stop asking
about the gym and switch to, "Wow, you look fantastic!" The fact that
you’ve been going to the gym and eating well will be obvious. Six months of
consistent exercise and proper eating can yield quite staggering results.
Up to the one-year point the gains you made in the first
six months can double again for the next six, meaning that at the one-year point you can
usually be fully transformed from looking like an everyday person to looking like the kind
of person others want to model themselves after. For most people, the biggest progress
gets made in the first year. For some, though, that kind of progress can be kept up for
about two years. After one to two years, though, it might take five years, even ten years
or longer, to equal the significant changes that happen in the first year or two. This may
seem confusing to some and may cause them to ask, "Why won’t my body just keep
getting better and better at the same rate?" The simple answer is, "It just
doesn’t." Progress in the first year or two is dramatic, and fast, and then your
body usually hits what most call a "plateau." After that you can improve, but it
takes much longer to make progress than at the beginning.
But while gains slow down after the first year or two, the
important thing for someone starting out from scratch to know is that their body will
start changing in subtle ways in just a couple of weeks, they will have quite significant
changes in their body in two to three months, they can have startling changes in six
months, and can look amazing in just one to two years. While that schedule may not seem
like the "overnight miracle" that some people are hoping for, it’s
realistic and it means that there’s time to create a brand-new you by next
summer!
...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com |
