We all want to get shredded up at the gym, yet no one really is (including myself)! Below is a little something-something I’ve put together to potentially help out people who are in my situation :0
Check it out my story:
I started reading up (magazines, blogs, etc) on optimizing my workouts as I realized I was putting in TONS of hours at the gym and not really seeing results, or at least not what I was looking for. I feel now I have a fairly firm grasp on on the lifting game and feel the knowledge I gained could be beneficial to pass on. I know everyone has different workout goals: I’m trying to put on size while others might be trying to just stay fit (and not necessarily put on pounds of muscle), but ultimately I feel the below info is fairly critical for either regiment.
Take what you would like out of this, leave the things you don’t like… as I mentioned, just something I threw together…
Fair warning, there won’t be a lot of structure to this. It’s probably going to be a bunch of random points in no particular order:
The ’system’ needs to constantly be shocked. Muscles get lazy and will do anything to avoid pain or discomfort, so after a few weeks of training, it’s always a good idea to switch up your exercises. Work the same muscle groups, just different ways.
Your days should vary, meaning you should not just do the same workout day after day after day. When I’m at the gym, here are my workout routines:
A.) ARMS: 20 minute warm up run. Biceps, Triceps, and Forearms (I’ll alternate the exercises I do for each muscle group every week or so). Abs.
B.) CHEST: 20 minute warm up run. Chest (I’ll also usually throw in some legs this day). Abs
C.) SHOULDERS / BACK: 20 minute warm up run. Back and Shoulders (typically a lighter weight day for these groups), then Abs.
D.) LEGS: 20 minute warm up run. Leg machines and squats. Abs.
As you can see, I do a 20 min run in the beginning and always end my workouts with ab work (not a whole lot, but some). The run is to get my blood flowing (some people do this at the end of their workout to “clean lactic acid”… I feel they are crazy). You want as much blood flowing as possible as it spikes your metabolism and gets your body working. Yes, it gets you tired, but not too tired, and your body is less likely to get injured from the lifting as it is warm. The reason I do abs daily is because I hate doing them. I can’t just sit down and have an ‘abs day’ or something because I would be in too much pain the following day. As long as you change up what you are doing for abs, it will be good. I typically always use a yoga ball and have a bunch of different exercises I do with that, but I find the best results always come from yoga ball work.
Believe it or not, taking rest days is ESSENTIAL. Hard to get yourself to stray away from a daily routine, but unless you are an all-pro body builder, your body needs a break. Personally I work out 3 or 4 times a week MAX. Most magazines say the same thing and typically split up the off days in a “two day on, one day off… one day on, two day off” cycle. I’m bad at this because of my schedule, but I’ll go Mon and Tuesday, then take Wed off for golf (in the summer), Thursday I’ll go, and then MAYBE Friday if I don’t have anything going on. Weekends I typically take off.
The ultimate goal (which sounds too good to be true) is to have your system working while you are not. It’s pretty much the hardest thing, but I feel I’m getting better at it, and here’s how:
There are 2 times when your body develops/grows muscle the most: While you are sleeping and up to about 40 minutes after you are done working out (in that order). Be sure to get full night sleeps, especially on days that you have worked out. Also, consume protein after your workouts (preferably no later than 40 minutes after your workout ends). Protein should be a big part in your diet, not to put on ’size’ or muscle, but rather to keep your body working. Remember, the ultimate goal is to have your body work while you are not. It’s kind of like setting yourself to auto-pilot for your health.
What to eat and why: the ultimate question. This was the HARDEST part for me to finally understand and start to practice, but I can honestly say it really helped me out. Here are a few key foods that I have recently been eating a lot of:
- Mushrooms (raw = amazing for you)
- Bright colored veggies (the brighter they are, the better they are for you)
- Spinach (protein packed)
- Wheat breads / bagels
- Yogurt (protein packed)
- Fish (awesome for you)
- Eggs (this can be tricky… there is an INCREDIBLE amount of protein (well, 6 grams) in eggs, but it’s the whites that are good for you. The “good part” aka the yolk is full of cholesterol. Not the worst kind of cholesterol for you (it’s the ‘good’ kind), but still, too many egg centers is probably not the best. Sometimes I’ll make 4 eggs for breakfast but only have 2 yolks instead of all 4)… this tip I stole from a housemate :0
- Almonds (AMAZING for you… huge in protein, vitimins, and essential oils… plus they are awesome! The dry roasted ones (the ones with nothing on them… I get mine from Costco) are the way to go.) Yeah, they are a little fatty, so don’t eat too many in one day.
- Chicken (protein packed)
- Vegetables in general… because you just can’t go wrong with veggies.
My diet is very high in protein, which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend, but having a decent amount of protein is absolutely necessary for having your body ‘continue to work while you aren’t working out’. Also, space out your meals… the whole “3 meals a day” is a strange concept… it’s much more optimal for your body to intake food when it needs it instead of sitting down and loading up 3 times a day. Breakfast is essential. Without breakfast your metabolism will slow for the entire day, slow your body down, weaken your workouts and energy levels, and give you an overall bad day.
Diet plays a huge role and should not be taken lightly. This was the hardest part for me to figure out but when you think about it for a while it makes total sense. You are what you eat, and you wouldn’t put 87 octane gas in a Ferrari (I probably would!), so the better the food you ingest, the better the results are going to be. One last thing, which is also a hard one to understand but uber important: You have to eat a lot. Healthy food, of course, but it needs to be in your system. It’s like in monopoly, my strategy was always “You’ve got to spend money to make money”. Applied to this, it would be: “You’ve got to eat a lot, to get a lot out.” Starving yourself and going to the gym does not work and here’s why:
You’ll have no energy. Your body can’t get your metabolism up without energy (think of it as putting fuel in the tank). Ultimately your workout is doing nothing and you are wasting your time. Stay energized, stay hydrated, and you will start seeing improvements.
Random fact: drinking Cold water during workouts allows your body to stay focused and stronger better than luke warm water… weird huh? Also, taking “gulps” instead of sips cools your body down faster. Also a sports drink at the gym is better than water. A cold sports drink? whoa!
Sprints. No one ever does them, but what better way to shock the system… out of control for overall fitness and agility. Very hard to do, but worth it. I don’t really do them, but I should.
Jump Rope. Yeah, it’s lame, but an incredible aerobic workout that gets my heart racing faster than anything else I do… very very very effective (yet you don’t see many people using them!)
Lastly, stretch out when you are done with your workouts. A lot of people stretch a ton before they start working out (I used to be one of them), but now I don’t stretch out at all before (it just tires me out). I’ll do one set of something, then stretch the muscle group, then do my other two sets (*I typically do 3 sets of 8-12 reps for everything… with a minute break between. Heavy breathing is what you want when lifting… it means you are doing something right).
I’ve got a million other things that I’ve read up on, but the above are by far the most important. I feel that anyone spending time at a gym should know these things because they will make your time well spent and optimized. Again, take from it what you would like, leave out what you wish to not do, but I think it will help you to achieve any gym goal you may have. These are honest things that I make a conscious effort to do and really feel they have worked well for me. There are no fancy pills or crash diets… just hard work (which you are already probably doing at the gym) mixed in with giving your body what it needs to keep working while you are done with your workout.
That’s my take, but again, I’m no bodybuilder (or even that huge), but these tips seem to be working.
Let me know if I messed up something or if there’s anything to add to this. I definitely don’t know everything, and probably got some stuff wrong in here, so correct me if I’m wrong.
- Cucumber
FAQ’s: Was it good? Yes.
