If you want serious results, start with an “old school” approach to your training. When it comes to any aspect of working out, whether it’s dieting, training, choosing a gym or even choosing what equipment to use, having an old school mentality will be beneficial. Forget about what the latest fad is and work hard!
Hard work can make anything work.
Whatever you’re doing, work hard. Hard work will get you results, simple. I think there’s a bit of a misconception about what hard work really is when it comes to working out. I used to think that hard work was merely showing up, doing the workout and then leaving. I’d sweat, feel some pain in my muscles, breathe a bit heavier than usual, and wonder why I wasn’t seeing what I wanted to see when it came to performance and physique.
When it comes to training, hard work is painful. Hard work is not being able to talk in between sets because you’re so out of breath. Hard work is, well, hard. Your training shouldn’t be easy, it may be fun but it definitely shouldn’t be something you can do while you talk on the phone!
Machines, fuhgedaboudit!
Just forget about machines when you’re in the gym. Cables for pull downs, seated row, and triceps push downs are all good because they provide more than just a single plane of movement. But as for the rest of ’em, fuggedaboudit, don’t even bother. Focus on training as much as possible with free weights, you can sneak a leg press exercise into a legs day, but for the most part stick to the basics like squats, deadlifts, and other free weighted exercises.
The resistance changes when you have to not only push or pull the weight but balance it as well. Whether you want fat loss or lean muscle mass, and especially if you’re after performance, stay away from the machines.
Eat with a purpose – forget the fads.
Focus on having a well balanced and healthy diet.
You’re training in a way that will help you reach your goals, so you should be eating in a way that’ll help you see the same benefits. During exercise we’re breaking down muscle and depleting our bodies of nutrients. So, when we eat, we should eat in a way that’ll give our bodies the nutrients they need to stay healthy and to repair the muscle tissue we have broken down when we train.
- Have a good source of lean protein with each meal. Protein repairs the muscle fibers that are broken down when you work out. It can come in the form of beef, chicken breast, fish, or dairy, but if you’re working out you need to be eating protein.
- Don’t forget about the veggies. Vegetables are filled with the vitamins and nutrients your body needs to stay healthy, take them out of your diet and your risk getting sick or rundown.
- Have foods that are sources of good fats like almonds, fish, and avocado. These sources monounsaturated fats will give your best friend in the fight against fat lost a much needed boost (your metabolism).
Above all else, don’t over-complicate things. If it takes a few weeks to just understand how the hell you do each exercise in a workout, simplify it. Over thinking will take the intensity out of your workouts which at the end of the day is the thing we all need most.
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What tips would you add to get the most out of a workout?
