2. If you're looking to get yourself in the gym, there are a
lot of things that you should be aware of beforehand.
3. While simply throughout some shoes on and running out the
door is certainly healthier than sitting on the couch all day,
there are some general guidelines to follow to make sure that you
are replenishing your body and that you do not injure
yourself.
4. Follow these steps and you'll be on your way to looking and
feeling better.
5. First Things First: Nutrition
6. Read up on my nutrition section before grabbing your gym
bag.
7. Nutrition is what fuels you - if you do not have the proper
foods in your diet, you'll only be able to run so far before you
fall over or catch a cramp.
8. Proper nutrition is crucial to building muscle.
9. Make sure your balanced diet consists of fruits, veggies,
complex carbs, proteins and fats.
10. It's also important to start eating more often.
11. Instead of three large meals a day, break it down into five
or six meals.
12. This way you are continuing to stimulate your metabolism
throughout the day.
13. As your activity levels decrease throughout the day, eat
less as the day goes on.
14. Control portions and eat with a purpose.
15. Everything should offer some sort of nutritional
value.
16. For portions - it's a good idea to make sure that meats are
smaller than your palm and that pastas are not larger than your
fist.
17. How to Build Muscle
18. When it comes to building muscle, there are some basics
that you should be aware of.
19. You need to increase your caloric and complete protein
intake - that's the basics in terms of nutrition.
20. When in the gym, make sure you are focusing on form.
21. Compound movements, weight training four times a week.
22. You want as little movement as possible - only target
specific muscle groups.
23. And rest, rest, rest! Muscle tissue repairs when you're
outside of the gym.
24. Also, go for as much range of motion as possible.
25. When it comes to how heavy the weights should be, have each
exercise last 30 to 45 seconds; if it lasts longer or shorter than
that, change the weight accordingly.
26. Finally, get the proper supplements.
27. It's hard to meet the requirements for protein intake -
look into shakes for after your workouts.
28. Endurance
29. Hydration and proper nutrition are the basis for
endurance.
30. This type of training is very draining on your body -
you'll be burning calories like crazy, so you need to make sure
you've increased your caloric intake.
31. When it comes to endurance, you're trying to exhaust your
muscles.
32. Work until you cannot push yourself any further.
33. Reduce the rest between sets and fight the fatigue that
comes on during endurance training.
34. Find Your Motivation
35. When you're stepping into the gym, make sure that you are
motivated to perform each exercise to a certain level of
success.
36. If you're lifting weights, count down your reps until you
reach your goal.
37. Also, ask yourself why you're in the gym in the first
place.
38. To look good? To feel good? The more effort you put in
during your time at the gym, the quicker you'll reach those
goals.
39. Change Things Up
40. Change your workout every couple of weeks to ensure that
your body does not get used to the exercises you're
performing.
41. It's important to always keep the body guessing.
42. Changing exercises, how heavy the weights are, the order
that you perform exercises, your tempo and your rep/set count will
all help keep you from plateauing.
43. Even something as simple as the time of day you train can
cause you to plateau.