Before the Gym: What You Need to Succeed

Create good "before the gym" habits to set yourself up for success and get the results you desire.

Eat Healthy
I can't preach this enough. A healthy and nutritious diet is ABSOLUTELY KEY in order to build the body you want. If you don't give your body the fuel it needs to work hard and build muscle, you won't meet your full potential.

It all boils down to QUALITY and QUANTITY: Fill your diet with healthy and nutritious foods and eat the correct number of calories to fit your personal needs.

 

QUANTITY: How many calories should I eat?

Myfitnesspal is a great way to track calories to help you stay on track. I also highly recommend cooking your own meals. Every Sunday I will cook chicken and dice it up so that I can through together quick and healthy meals in no time at all. Healthy foods also contain fewer calories than junk foods.

 

QUALITY: How do I choose healthy and nutritious foods?

 

There are 3 main components that every meal should consist of:

• Complex Carbs - unprocessed grains, sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal
• Lean Protein - grilled chicken breast, legumes, lean ground beef, fish
• Vegetables - broccoli, spinach, kale, asparagus

Healthy fats - natural peanut butter, olive oil, avocado, fish oil (Note that although these are healthy fats and are a vital part of your diet, they should only make up a small percent of your overall diet)

 

AVOID fast food, refined sugars, saturated and trans fats, simple carbs, all processed foods. Also, be aware that the food at most restaurants is just as bad for you as fast food as they use large amounts of salt, unhealthy fats, and sugar to make most of their dishes.

For more in-depth information on diet and nutrition, be sure to check out my post on Nutrition and Diet: Do's and Don'ts!

 

Stay Hydrated
We all know how important it is to stay hydrated, but for many of us, we tend to let this go by the way side. Huge mistake. Considering that our body's are made up of 90% water, it's no wonder that water plays such an important role in the overall health and function of our bodies. When we are hydrated, our bodies can perform much better which means that you will be able to give it your all at the gym. As a rule of thumb, you should typically try to drink around64 oz of water a day.

Make Time to Workout
Make your workout part of your daily routine. Set aside 30-60 minutes of your day dedicated to working out. If you don't invest the time, you won't see any results. When you think about it, it's not that much time out of your day, so get in the gym!

 

Warm-up and Stretch

Keeping your body ready to workout is important. Incorporating a simple dynamic warm-up routine and stretching before and after exercising can save you from a whole lot of unnecessary soreness and pain from injuries. Static Stretches will help loosen up muscles that are tight while a Dynamic Warm-up will allow more blood flow to your muscles and prepare them for the workout ahead.

I typically like to warm-up by doing a rep of whatever exercise I am about to do using 50% weight and higher reps (you should be able to do around 15-20 reps without too much effort). This will allow your muscles warm up to the movement without putting much stress on them. And then I follow up with a brief stretch (around 10 - 20 seconds for whatever body part is involved in the exercise) Keep in mind that stretching too long before lifting may hinder how much weight you are able to lift, so try to stick to dynamic warm-up with some light stretching where needed. You should also try to stretch when needed throughout the day.

 

Stay Well Rested
Trying to get enough sleep can be a big challenge for a lot of us. I know I struggle with getting my 8 hours, let alone 6, but it's extremely important to try and set aside enough time to get plenty of rest! Sleep is a vital function that allows us to perform mentally and physically through out the day. If you're tired, you definitely wont feel like going to the gym. Your mind will be telling you to go home, grab some fast food and flop down on the couch.. It will not only allow you to feel more enthusiastic about working out, but it will also help your body recover.

Stay Motivated
Just getting yourself to the gym can be tough some times, especially if you just got done working all day and are tired. It is important to motivate yourself, especially if you don't have a workout buddy to help you stay motivate. Remind yourself what your goals are and why you want to achieve those goals. If you aren't quite feeling like going to the gym that day, just go do it! I personally have days where I haven't quite been following the "Before the Gym: What You Need to Succeed" game plan and would rather go flop down on my couch than push myself at the gym, but 9 times out of 10 once I get my workout gear on, do my warm up, and start my workout, I'm ready to tear it up at the gym (or at the very least, push myself through my workout).

 

On occasion, once you start your workout you might know that you won't be able to give your best and That's Okay. You can either go light on your workout for that day or just take that time to analyze what you can do to better prepare yourself in the future and GO HARD on your next workout!

 

Have A Proper Workout Plan

 

 

It is incredibly important to have a good solid workout plan set up to allow you to get the most out of your time at the gym. Strolling into the gym and throwing up a few sets of improper bench pressing and bicep curls won't help you reach your fitness goals. That is why it is imperative to establish an effective workout routine, which consistently challenges you to improve!

 

 

Regardless of what workout routine you are doing, you should always maintain a workout log where you can record sets, reps, and weights for each exercise. Each session, you should prepare for the gym by establishing goals to increase in either weight or reps on a few of the exercises.

 

 

You can check out one of my workout plans here:

My Current Workout Plan

 

Get the Gear

If you are like me, then you hate spending money, but just trust me and invest in some gear for going to the gym! The idea is to create a workout environment that MAKES YOU feel like working out.

 

Get yourself a gym bag and keep it loaded with all of your gym necessities

• Workout Clothes - Dress comfortably. I typically just go with pair of workout short or pants and a short sleeve shirt
• Athletic Shoes - Get yourself a decent pair of shoes for what you are doing. I have a pair of Inov-8 Bare X shoes that I love for weight lifting (not so much for running as they are not made for that)
• Water Bottle - Stay Hydrated! Can't preach enough
• Mp3 Player & Headphones - Music gets you pumped and helps keep your mind focused on the workout. Do yourself a favor and get some ear buds that won't annoy the hell out of you by falling out every five seconds
• Workout Log - WRITE IT DOWN. Track your workout to keep on top of your workout so that you can work to increase your weight/reps.
• Change of Clothes - I for one don't like staying in my sweaty clothes for long.
• Deodorant - No one wants to smell you. Nuff' said.

Remember: Your body is an investment. What you put into it is what you will get out of it.

If you are willing to dedicate yourself and your time to achieving your fitness goals, you will see results. Be willing to spend a little money on workout equipment/gym membership and workout clothes. Healthier foods are always a bit more expensive, but your body will thank you with the results the nutrients help bring.

I hope this acts as a helpful guide to meeting your fitness goals. If you liked it, be sure to check out some of my other posts! And be sure to check back for more great fitness tips, workouts, healthy recipes, and more!
The Basics: What you need to know to get fit

Q & A #1 Q & A #2 Healthy Meals!

As always, feel free to comment! And if you have any suggestions or any topics you would like to see in future posts, let me know.

Source: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek57.htm