Why get a personal trainer?
1. A personal trainer can show you how to lift weights safely. The trainer can spot you so that you don’t exceed your limits and drop the weight on yourself.
2. A personal trainer can develop a personal exercise program to help you meet your goals. Maybe you want to lose weight or gain some mass. Perhaps you have special needs that the trainer can help you train for.
3. A personal trainer can help you get out of a stale routine so that you can make new gains. Every three to four weeks consider changing your program so that you keep your body off balance and make new gains. The body adapts very easily and needs variety.
4. A personal trainer can motivate you to get to the gym and lift that weight that extra repetition. If a trainer is waiting for you at the gym you are much more inclined to get yourself out of bed.
5. A personal trainer can help you with your technique. The trainer can help you lift the weight so that you can get the optimum results.
Visualization For Great Workouts
The night before your workout try this:
Close your eyes and think of your workout. Visualize each exercise, set and repetition. Decide on the weight you are going to use. Visualize how good the workout is going to be. By visualizing the workout you will be preparing yourself for a great workout. You will know in your mind that the workout will turn out the way you intended it. You are re-creating the workout as it will be. Great athletes use this technique to score that goal or hit that homerun.
Visualization is a learned skill. The more you practice it the better you will get at it.
Visualization will develop your confidence in executing exercises to their fullest potential.
These are the best conditions for visualizing:
* Be in a quiet environment (just as you are going to bed is good.)
* Make sure that you are relaxed (Don’t let your mind wander.)
* Visualize in detail. (Think of each exercise, set, repetition and weight.)
Bruce Jenner, winner of the 1976 Olympic decathlon, believes that his daily rehearsal of each event contributed substantially to his ultimate victory.
Spotting Techniques
Let me start out by saying that this is a big responsibility for either party. Choose your spotter wisely and make sure that you spot to your abilities.
* Pay attention to the person you are spotting at all times. Don’t look at the pretty girl across the room doing deep knee bends.
* Be prepared to help the person being spotted instantly.
* Ask the person being spotted if they would like you to put your hands on the bar. (Some people do and some people don’t)
* Ask the person being spotted how many reps they think then can handle on their own.
* Make sure that you can handle the weight that you are spotting. If you don’t think you can handle it don’t be macho and help anyway.
* Provide only the effort that the person requires from you. Don’t jerk the weight around while someone is trying to lift it.
* Offer encouragement to the person lifting the weight. This really helps the person lifting the weight. They might be able to squeeze out those last reps.
Mix It Up To Grow!
If you have been training for a while, using the same routine, it is time to “Mix It Up”.
* Try doing a different routine. Change the exercises around.
* Perhaps it is time to get back to basics. Hit it heavy doing those squats, deadlifts and bench presses.
* Try some drop-sets. A drop-set is when you do an exercise at a certain weight and then you peel off a little weight and keep going. Drop a little more weight and keep going until you reach total muscle failure. This makes for an awesome pump.
* Try some tri-sets. Here is an example of a tri-set for chest. Make sure your equipment is ready before starting. Start with incline barbell presses. As soon as you reach failure, between 8 and 12 reps, pickup up a pair of dumbbells and rep out as many flies as you can. From there go straight to the cable crossover machine and squeeze out 12 to 15 more reps. This makes for an awesome pump.
* If you want to grow make sure that you train with plenty of intensity. Carry those sets out to muscular failure.
* Make sure that after trying these things you get adequate rest and food if you want to grow.
Stay Consistent To Make Gains
Consistency is a very important part of any training program. Set yourself up with a realistic workout schedule. Take into consideration all of your other responsibilities when planning your workout. Don’t jump into a program that requires you to workout more times a week than you have time for. Get a great workout three days a week and you will make great gains over the long run. If you should miss a day, make sure that you make it up. Don’t come up with excuses when it comes time to go workout. Get yourself into the gym and make those gains.
You make your own decisions. Decide that you are going to workout. Decide that you are going to get enough sleep, and eat the right kinds of foods on a consistent basis. You have to decide how important your training is to you. Do you really want to make those gains? Don’t wait for a certain day to get started. Some people say, “I’m going to start a program on January 1st.” Why wait until then? Do it now! What is so special about waiting until a date in the future? The longer you wait the harder it will be. Gyms would love to have you sign up for a year on January 1st and quit in February. Many people are enthusiastic in the beginning and then they start missing days until they quit going altogether. Get a realistic program started and be consistent!
