7 Tips To Boost Your Gym Workouts

So it’s been stated in the press that I work out four times a week in the gym. Yes, that’s true. But there’s something I didn’t share with the reporters which I’m sharing with my readers now.

Sometimes I really have no time to squeeze in an hour or a 45-minute workout owing to my schedule. Well, this is a very common feedback from many people.

In this age and time where we are always racing against time, it is indeed a luxury to have a full hour’s workout.

So what do I do under such circumstances? Besides considering a quickie workout comprising the Big Four, one can also make the effort to train smart by following my 7 gym tips to the T to maximize the gains from your gym workouts. Read on…
 

Tip 1: Avoid Long Unnecessary Warm-Ups

The purpose of a warm-up is to get your body ready for a more strenuous activity. But hell no, it doesn’t have to last very long.

My recommendation for a warm-up will be about 10 minutes. You could do a short bout of skipping or brisk walking on the treadmill. Such activities are ideal for increasing your heart rate, warming your muscles and improving the mobility of your joints. All these will help prevent injuries.

Frankly, if you spend more than 10 minutes on your warm-up, then you are eating into your proper workout time.

Tip 2: Be Equipped With A Water Bottle
Staying hydrated is key to ensuring you perform to your fullest potential during each workout. There is always a water cooler at the gym but simply walking there for a sip of water and walking back after every set wastes unnecessary time. Unless the gym has strict restrictions, I would advise you to carry a water bottle along. With your water bottle next to you when you work out allows you to stay focused on your next set. </br>

 

Tip 3: Have A Clear Workout Plan

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This often quoted saying is so relevant for my third tip. If you are like some people whom I see at the gym (who are either standing around idling or watching other people workout), you are just wasting your time. You will be better off watching a movie at the cinemas instead!

Have a clear workout plan before you start each workout so you know what’s expected of you. And move swiftly to your next exercise so your heart rate stays high, making your workout harder and more intense, leading to greater overall gains.

Tip 4: Stop Waiting For The Machine
This is perhaps the biggest sin of them all. Some people just enjoy waiting for machines. As if we have had not enough queueing to do in Singapore, some people are still adamantly sticking to their guns and waiting patiently for the machine while it is busy being used.
If the machine you want is busy, then don’t stand there waiting for it. Skip it and move on to the next exercise and come back later. It will not kill you to swop the order. Or use free weights to work the muscles that the occupied machine does. The latter is the best option because using dumbbells or barbells or the resistance tube not only works the muscles harder but also recruit the smaller, stabilizing muscles that the machines ignore, giving you a more functional and thorough workout.
 
Tip 5: Quit Resting Too Long
Here’s a tip that is worth thousands of dollars which I’m giving away free…If you are training to lose weight, stick to one-minute rest intervals. If you are training for strength and size, you need to rest between 90 seconds and 2 minutes. Anything longer is too much.  </br>

 

Tip 6: Talking Will Get You Nowhere
You came to the gym to work your body and muscles. You didn’t come to work your mouth and jaw. If your session exceeds one hour, chances are you are building friendships in the gym rather than your muscles. Yes, we know gyms are good hunting grounds for the singles but that’s another story altogether.
 
Tip 7: Watching The Black Box Is A Sin

Most modern gyms have creature comforts. But if you consider this, creature comforts are also forms of distraction for us. They add no value except to interrupt our workout. The biggest culprit is the LCD big-screen televisions. The televisions may be beaming things that are hard to ignore such as live sport, girls in bikinis. I know it’s hard to resist the temptation to look but just remember the story of Medusa. If you look too much and stare too hard, chances are you too will turn to stone. Yes, you will be so stoned and transfixed that you lose your workout focus. Enough said.

Get the body you desire by training smart! Contact my team if you need further help 🙂

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