If you can manage to set aside the time you need in the gym, treat it like the precious commodity it is. Don't waste your time with these top 7 items most people get trapped doing.
1 - Don't work out too much! Sounds contradictory? It's not. I know of people who spend 90 minutes on cardio, then another hour on weights and who knows how much time researching the latest supplements. You're body can only benefit from a certain amount of exercise. Go over that amount and it's all wasted.
2 - No more long rest periods between exercises. Usually this happens when you see a friend and you spend 10 minutes chatting about fitness. Talking about getting fit isn't going to help you get fit. Don't take as many breaks and instead schedule some time over coffee when you're both of you are away from the gym.
3 - Plan your workouts. Make sure you know what exercises you're going to do, how many reps you'll do of each and how much weight you're going to use. If you're constantly trying to figure things out on the fly, you'll double your time in the gym.
4 - Have two exercises in mind. You've most likely got a set routine you want to use to work all the muscles in a group. If, for some reason, someone else is using the machine you need, this can slow you down dramatically. I like to have two exercises using different pieces of equipment in my plan book. Exercise A and if that isn't available exercise B.
5 - Get intense! Push yourself further than you thought you could go. Physical gains don't happen when you're barely pushing yourself. You need to be going to failure on almost every exercise. Even if you're just building strength and have no interest in bulk, you should still work to failure, just at a higher level. Remember, bulk comes between 8 and 10 reps and strength comes when you're doing between 12 and 15.
6 - No "cheat reps". If you're like me, you've had a few cheat reps when you're starting to run out of steam. It happens and you don't want to beat yourself up over it. But, you do need to realize it's not helping you. You're almost better off just not doing those reps. Fewer reps with perfect form is always better than more reps dong incorrectly.
7 - Get a check-up from a professional. If a regular meeting with a personal trainer isn't in your budget, consider having a check up ever 90 days to make sure you're maximizing your time in the gym. A professional trainer will know how to get you through that plateau and on to bigger gains.
If you could only relate to 2 or 3 of those items, don't just brush them aside thinking you're well beyond this information. Take those 2 or 3 things and concentrate on fixing them. It will give you more time away from the gym and increase the quality of your workouts. - 16004
1 - Don't work out too much! Sounds contradictory? It's not. I know of people who spend 90 minutes on cardio, then another hour on weights and who knows how much time researching the latest supplements. You're body can only benefit from a certain amount of exercise. Go over that amount and it's all wasted.
2 - No more long rest periods between exercises. Usually this happens when you see a friend and you spend 10 minutes chatting about fitness. Talking about getting fit isn't going to help you get fit. Don't take as many breaks and instead schedule some time over coffee when you're both of you are away from the gym.
3 - Plan your workouts. Make sure you know what exercises you're going to do, how many reps you'll do of each and how much weight you're going to use. If you're constantly trying to figure things out on the fly, you'll double your time in the gym.
4 - Have two exercises in mind. You've most likely got a set routine you want to use to work all the muscles in a group. If, for some reason, someone else is using the machine you need, this can slow you down dramatically. I like to have two exercises using different pieces of equipment in my plan book. Exercise A and if that isn't available exercise B.
5 - Get intense! Push yourself further than you thought you could go. Physical gains don't happen when you're barely pushing yourself. You need to be going to failure on almost every exercise. Even if you're just building strength and have no interest in bulk, you should still work to failure, just at a higher level. Remember, bulk comes between 8 and 10 reps and strength comes when you're doing between 12 and 15.
6 - No "cheat reps". If you're like me, you've had a few cheat reps when you're starting to run out of steam. It happens and you don't want to beat yourself up over it. But, you do need to realize it's not helping you. You're almost better off just not doing those reps. Fewer reps with perfect form is always better than more reps dong incorrectly.
7 - Get a check-up from a professional. If a regular meeting with a personal trainer isn't in your budget, consider having a check up ever 90 days to make sure you're maximizing your time in the gym. A professional trainer will know how to get you through that plateau and on to bigger gains.
If you could only relate to 2 or 3 of those items, don't just brush them aside thinking you're well beyond this information. Take those 2 or 3 things and concentrate on fixing them. It will give you more time away from the gym and increase the quality of your workouts. - 16004
About the Author:
Victoria Jamison is the owner of Fit Supermom and has a passion for helping people with their weight loss program. She specializes in cardio fitness, diet nutrition and weight training.
