Exercise Tips

"My workouts are much better...Thanks for these great Exercise Tips!"

If the subject of nutrition is confusing to you, exercise is probably a COMPLETE mystery.

For those individuals who do engage in a fitness program, I really feel sorry for you. I can think of no other activity where individuals consistently apply more and more effort, yet receive little or no results.

If you’ve ever spent any time in a gym, you’ve probably noticed one glaring issue...

None of the gym patrons ever really change their physiques!

Week after week, month after month, they all look the same! Some may be in better shape than others, but nobody seems to be making progress – including you. At least, however, you have the motivation to put forth the effort.

For those individuals who aren’t currently exercising, I guess it's like this: People want to make big changes in their bodies, but they don’t want to put in any effort. News flash: Making permanent, lasting changes in one’s physique requires many things – but without effort or a true desire to change, you’re not going anywhere. So first and foremost, YOU need to supply the effort.

While I can’t give you motivation, I’ll provide some basic exercise guidelines to get you pointed in the right direction; however, if you are truly motivated to engage in fitness programs that WORK, then I will point you to the best source of fitness info available: T-Nation

T-Nation provides hundreds of different training programs as well as nutrition and supplement info – and it’s all free. There are new articles added daily, but you should begin by using the site’s "Search" function to find articles specific to your goals and training level. The forums are also an indispensable source of info, especially for beginners. The folks at T-Nation have the finest collection of fitness minds on the planet writing for them. It is the ONLY source for fitness info you’ll ever need.

To save you a little searching, here are the most important exercise tips and answers to common questions:

• Thou shalt lift weights. The cornerstone of your fitness program WILL be weight training. For most men, this is obvious. For women, however, I’m still hearing the same old garbage. If I hear another woman say, "I don’t want to lift weights because I’ll look like a man", I’m gonna’ lose it. ARGGHH!!! Ladies, unless you decide to engage in the wonderful world of "chemical assistance", it ain’t gonna happen!
• Another misconception that drives me crazy is the notion that if females do weight train, they should only use light weights to tone and tighten. Wrong! Lifting little chrome dumbbells for lots of reps does nothing but make you good at lifting little chrome dumbbells for lots of reps. It does nothing to get your body in shape. You need to lift heavy & progressively increase the weight to get ANY results, let alone "tightening and toning". Women do NOT need to train differently than men!




• One of the on-going myths in the fitness world is "Cardio burns fat while weight training makes you big". I’m not going to spend a lot of time explaining WHY this is a preposterous statement. Instead I’ll just make this easy - aerobics are absolutely UNnecessary if your goal is fat loss (In fact, too much aerobic activity can slow or even reverse your lean muscle gains). Manipulations in your DIET combined with effective weight training are the keys to fat loss. Aerobic exercise DOES improve cardiovascular efficiency. However, so does taking shorter rest periods between sets of weight training exercises. A good rule of thumb is to keep your rest periods short enough so that you're always breathing harder than normal throughout your weight training session. If you're breathing so hard you can hardly speak, then you're overdoing it. In other words, unless you’re training for a marathon, ditch the cardio. That statement alone should stir up the sheep.
• Futuristic-looking, complex machines designed to give your muscles the "ultimate workout" are junk compared to good-old barbells and dumbbells. Using simple free weights on basic multi-joint exercises, like squats and lunges, is still the most effective means of resistance exercise ever invented.
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• Performing hundreds of crunches a day will give you strong abdominal muscles, but they will do nothing to rid your mid-section of fat. Thigh adductor and abductor machines (the two most useless and misleading pieces of equipment on the gym floor) might help you move your foot from the accelerator to the brake quicker in your car, but they will do nothing to eliminate the cellulite from your thighs. Simply put, there is no such thing as spot reduction!
• Here’s an oldie but goodie. "If you stop working out, your muscles will turn into fat". As cool of a trick as that would be, muscle can no sooner turn into fat than the bowling ball in your closet can turn into a pot of gold. If you stop working out, your muscles will simply adapt by shrinking. Nuf’ said.

• To get started on a basic weight training program takes just that – starting one. If you are completely new to weight training, hire a personal trainer to show you the following two steps: How to perform basic free weight exercises SAFELY and how to structure a workout on paper (including the terminology such as sets, reps, etc.). This can be done in one hour. After that, thank the personal trainer for their time and then never pay a trainer another red cent. I worked as a trainer for over fifteen years. Trust me, with T-Nation’s wealth of information, you can do this on your own. Don’t strive for perfection – focus on progress.
• Write down everything you do. Record your workouts and meals in a training log of your choosing.

Lastly, don't fall into the trap of over analyzing and endlessly searching for the perfect program or training philosophy. There isn't one. I think some people go through this process to avoid actually getting in the gym and going to work. Research is great, but there comes a time when you just have to suck it up and hit the weights! Also, keep in mind that thinking about starting a new diet and training program is much harder than actually doing it. I won't say you'll enjoy it, at least not in the beginning, but you'll love the changes you'll make in your body and get addicted to feeling and looking good.

"This has motivated me to get in shape!"

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