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…in no particular order!
1. Train Big Muscles before Little Muscles: this works on two levels–in your workouts and within your week. So within your week, you should generally train legs within the first two or three days, as well as chest and back, before training your smaller muscle groups like biceps, triceps, and shoulders. Of course, this tip can’t apply to everyone’s routine–what if you follow a circuit training program, or a full-body program, or a superset program? In any case, if you’re training a big muscle group and a little muscle group on the same day (for whatever reason), you should perform your large-muscle group exercises before your smaller-muscle group exercises. So if you’re training chest and triceps, do chest before triceps.
2. Keep your Workouts at an Hour or Less: This is the optimal window for your workouts, whatever your fitness goals. After an hour, your cortisol levels increase, which actually hinder your attempt to build muscle. Think of cortisol as the weightlifter’s kryptonite; the higher your cortisol levels, the less effective your workout will be (that’s why post-workout nutrition is so important, because it helps blunt the effect of the increased cortisol levels that intense training creates). So try to keep your workouts under an hour.
3. Keep a Journal: If you’re training and you don’t keep a journal, well…are you really training? So much of exercising has to do with progress, and the only way to check progress from workout to workout is with a journal. Keeping a journal revolutionizes your workouts; suddenly, you can change specific aspects of your routine if you’ve plateaued, or you can try (and should try) to beat your numbers in every subsequent workout–that means either trying to squeeze out one more repetition, or finish 20 reps (for example) on the last exercise in your circuit for the first time. When you look over your training logs, you can say, “wow, I’ve come a long way;” and if not, you at least have an example of something that did NOT work, and you can adapt your workout from there.
4. Don’t Forget your Core: We are all guilty of this, at some point. The workout draws to an end, and…your ab routine is suddenly postponed until next time. But your abs aren’t the only thing that you should be training–you should make it a habit to train your lower back at least once a week via a weighted exercise (or unweighted, given your individual fitness level) like Hyperextensions (if you don’t know what this is, just Google it ). Shoot for 3 sets of 15 reps, or try out a timed set (like 45 seconds or a1 minute) for a different feel.
5. Low Volume for Strength, High Volume for Mass: Generally, if you’re trying to gain strength, you’re workouts should be much shorter that your typical mass-building workout. While you may rest longer between sets, you should be doing fewer sets (usually around 3 or 4) per exercise, and your exercises should consist primarily of compound moves like the bench press, deadlift, and squat. Of course, many variations to this rule exist and you should pursue whatever fitness program works best for you. But in general, a mass-building workout consist more exercises, more sets, and higher repetitions per set (and many more isolation exercises, like dumbbell flyes, cable curls, etc.) than strength-building workouts do.
6. Prioritize your Weaknesses: If you have a small chest, for example, consider training chest twice a week, or earlier on in the week, or on its own day. That’s what it means to prioritize your weaknesses. Not only will you be (presumably) better rested when you train the muscle, but you’ll also be more focused. And never underestimate your mental preparedness for a workout.
7. Focus, Focus, Focus: I want to cry whenever I see someone talking on the phone in the middle of an exercise. So much of training has to do with focus, and that means visualizing the muscle contracting during each set, preparing yourself for the subsequent set in-between sets, and visualizing yourself completing the set successfully before you perform the set. So bring music, block out extraneous sound, focus on your lift–whatever your fitness goal is, devote your time to the gym to exercising. Not only will your workout take less time (hopefully), but it will be much more effective.
8. Periodize to Achieve Any Fitness Goal: Whether it’s preparing for a marathon or gaining 10 lbs. of muscle, or even getting lean before your wedding, periodization is one of the only scientifically proven methods of achieving your fitness goals (within reason, of course). For sample programs, look at some of my previous posts (”From Weight Loss to Definition: Training Specifically” and “Get Huge with Periodization”; keep in mind that individual workout programs may differ based on individual fitness levels and preferences).
9. Rest Less for Muscle Size: The International Sports Science Association suggests that rest periods between 30 seconds and 1 minute are optimal for gaining muscle size. This rest period goes by faster then you think, so you might want to bring a stopwatch or just watch the clock.
10. Cardio AFTER you Lift: Perform cardio after you lift, particularly if you’re trying to decrease body fat. If you’re not lifting on a given day and still performing cardio, do it in the morning after consuming about 25 grams of whey protein and (if you want) a cup of coffee.
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