Just because you regularly clock in at the gym doesn't mean you are on the road to results.   Forget marathon workouts and going at it half-heartedly, its time to stop guessing or living in hope of miraculously waking up one day with a perfect body.   I'm not about to give away my best advice for free, what follows are brief excerpts of some of my favourite training tips guaranteed to carve you a better body in less than a fraction of the time most gym members spend hopelessly trying to get in shape.       

Pro Active Training Tips

Assess strengths and weaknesses

Do you know which muscles are tight in your body and need stretching?   Do you know if other muscles are compensating when you perform a movement because of a weakness in the chain?   Do you know which exercises will make your posture or pain worse?   How do you know you are doing the right exercises that are right for your body?   These are just some of the questions that need answering before embarking on a regular exercise programme.            

Train intense but smart

This means training within your capabilities that allows a minimum of a good technique on everything you do.   This mainly points to lifting a weight that is too heavy, doing part of the range of movement or doing more reps than you can manage resulting in quick and poorly performed reps. Good reps are real reps; you can either work the body part the exercise is designed for or take the stress away from the body part, it's as simple as that.    

Big movements

The multi joint exercises works more muscles and burns more calories, whether if its for body building, toning or weight loss the big exercises will get you there quicker.   Performed correctly they have the best carry over effect to functional ability to help you in work, sports and life's tasks.       

Don't do traditional cardio

Through research Olympic Coach Charles Poliquin has identified 6 reasons why aerobic exercise is counterproductive to fat loss.

Continues aerobic work plateaus after 8 weeks of training so anything more is counterproductive.  

Aerobic training worsens power locally and systematically - in other words it can make you slower

Aerobic training increases oxidative stress, which can accelerate aging

Aerobic training increases adrenal stress which can make you fatter

Aerobic training increases body fat in stressed individuals by contributing additional stress

Aerobic training worsens testosterone/cortisol ratio which impedes your ability to add fat burning lean muscle tissue

Rotate exercises

Think of exercises a bit like your diet, the more variety the better.   I once learnt in a lecture that a typical person eats no more than 12 different kinds of food in a typical week.   Do you do the same with exercise selection by doing the same exercises week in and week out?   If so, then time to shock your system by going for a response from your workout with the method of rotating your exercises frequently.   There are many alternatives to the standard exercises; although you are basically doing the same movement you can change the response by using different tools and methods.   You also have less chance of suffering from 'overuse injuries' if you regularly rotate your exercises.   

Move slow & move quick

How many people rush their reps? Have a look around the next time you're in the gym; chances are they are lifting more than they are capable of lifting or practising sloppy manoeuvres because they haven't been shown the proper way.   Don't get me wrong there is a place for fast reps in strength programmes but they must be performed in a safe and correct way.   Now take a note of how long people rest in-between sets, even if this is a woman that looks like she needs to lose weight, I can bet you that she is resting minutes before doing the next set.   It surprises me how many people on weight loss and toning programmes do this, they are resting far too long.   They are taking the same amount of rest needed to achieve a 3-5-rep max.   Decrease the rest time between sets for more intensity in the workout, it is normally the first variable I introduce in a programme to increase the overall intensity.       

Use gravity

Have you noticed the physiques of gymnasts?   You will never see overweight or out of shape gymnast, that's because training against gravity is one of the best things you can do to look your best.   The feedback I get from bodyweight exercises that I include in my programmes for clients is always that they are harder than they look and take the most effort to perform.   Make sure to include gravity-based exercises in your programme.     

Train hard and rest hard

Workouts should be intense and short; whatever method you use it should keep your heart rate elevated and breathing increased whilst resting between exercises.   Workouts should also be structured and have a purpose.   Rest outside the gym is just as important as the workout in order to progress and reach your goal.   Rushing around all day stressed will do you no good especially if you are training the same day.   How can you train hard if your body hasn't rested from the last workout or your mind is focused on stressful issues?   For more information read my article "Is stress making you fat?"     

Complement what you do in the
gym with proper nutrition

Rewarding workouts with a treat is like giving a recovering alcoholic a bar job and paying them with free drinks from behind the bar.   Just because you have trained hard won't turn bad calories into good ones.   The body needs the best nutrition at frequent times throughout the day for optimum results.   Yes there is room for a cheat here and there even if you do want to look your best, but going for a takeaway on the way home from the gym is a recipe for getting nowhere.   Refer to my article "The right fuel" for more of an understanding about post workout nutrition.   Eat clean most of the time and you will go a long way, plan your cheat meals so you can look forward to them, that way they will at least have a purpose in your life.     

Use tricks for a rapid response  

There are many principles to make a workout more beneficial and increase the intensity.   How many people use them? Those that do probably overuse them and spoil the impact they can have.   When response to a workout isn't progressing as quick as it should then different principles like supersets, negatives and rest-pause can make a massive difference.  

In part 4 read about how to transform your day.