Does it seem like your workout just isn't quite working out like you had hoped?
You might be what's called a non-responder.
According to fitness experts, a non-responder is someone whose body simply isn't responding to the exercise he or she is doing.
You spend a month running or lifting weights and nothing, so you give up and go back to being non-active.
A new study, however, finds that there is something you can do about it.
Canadian researchers found non-responders should switch their workout to something that works for their body.
To find out what that is, fitness expert and Tier X manager at Equinox Highland Park Seamus Dooley suggests getting a body assessment.
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"Of a population of about 100 who usually get assessed, about a third of them become non-responders to just generalized exercise," said Dooley.
"The best thing to do is find a coach or a trainer who can offer you those assessment tools, whether it's a VO2 max assessment or a posture analysis or getting your metabolic rate assessed. There are a number of tools to do that," he added.
"You have to find out what your fitness needs are in order to really accomplish what your goals are first," said Dooley.
If you can't go to a gym, Dooley has some at home tips.
"There are also simple starting points like checking your resting heart rate in the morning. If it's high then you should be training yourself in lower heart rate zones in order to become more efficient there. As your resting heart rate increases, then you can give yourself permission to train in the higher zones. Lastly look into your recovery. If you get yourself to a peak heart rate number, monitor how long it takes you to get your heart rate back down to a healthy low number. Two minutes is the standard at getting back to closer to your resting heart rate. If it takes much longer, I would avoid the higher zones until you become more efficient in the lower zones," Dooley said.
"HIIT [high-intensity interval training] is great, but only if your body is ready for it and can recover properly from it," he added.
Dallas businessman and former Army Ranger Sunny Vanderveck decided to get back in shape after 15 years of a sedentary lifestyle.
"It had been 15 years since I had done any real workouts," said Vanderveck.
"I tried my old Army Ranger tactics. Work out a lot, do a lot of cardio, lift a lot of weights, go to the gym every day and it didn't work for me, which was kind of surprising," said Vanderveck, who had become a non-responder.
"I have friends who do a little bit of cardio and get a lot results. They really enjoy it and I always wondered why I just hate cardio. I don’t like anything about it. I don’t feel good when I’m doing it nor when I’m done and I get no results," he said.
He underwent an assessment with a personal trainer and and learned his body would respond better to weight training and a different diet.
In six months, he's lost 22 pounds of fat and gained ten pounds of muscle.
More efficient workouts mean less time in the gym.
He works out only two hours week.
"I eat better. I feel better. I think better and I get it done in two hours a week," said Vanderveck.
