This post includes 9 gym workout tips to help you get results faster. No matter if youâre a total beginner or the gym is your second home, these tips will help you maximize your efforts at the gym.
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Whether youâre a complete newbie or a gym girlie through and through, these 9 gym workout tips will help you to elevate your workouts and see results faster.
For some people, the gym is their absolute happy place and working out is a form of self care. While for others, they view it as a strange form of torture.
It goes without saying that attitude is everything when it comes to making the most of your workout time.
Another huge factor is confidence. With these 9 gym workout tips youâll be absolutely DRIPPING in confidence as you stride through your workout routine.
Small Changes Make A Big Difference
You might be thinking, Iâm doing everything right and Iâm still not seeing changes. Itâs a frustrating feeling that we all go through in many aspects of our life.
But small changes can make a huge difference at the gym. There are a couple of tips and tricks that will totally level you up.
These tips are small tweaks you can make to your existing program for big results.
No matter your goals and preferred workout style, incorporating these gym workout tips will help you crush your goals and see changes in no time.
So dive right in and go from gym beginner to total badass.
9 Gym Workout Tips To Take You From Beginner to Badass
Tip #1: Focus On Your Breathing
Breathing is easily one of the most important aspects of any workout no matter what it is. Breathing is how the body delivers oxygen to the muscles, their primary form of fuel. Proper breathing techniques are the difference between an average workout and an excellent one.
When you breathe correctly, your body has the oxygen it needs to deliver a steady supply of oxygen-rich blood to your muscles. This allows them to perform properly. The more oxygen, the higher the performance and the longer they can work before fatiguing.
Not only is deep controlled breathing key for your muscles, itâs also a super important tool for mental concentration. Working it with the correct form and mind-muscle connection (weâll get to these later) is essential for a good workout, and in order to master these, youâll need to focus and concentrate your mind.
Correct breathing techniques vary by workout type so we suggest doing further research. But there is one principle that applies to almost all styles. The goal is to exhale as you work and inhale as your release.
Itâs easy to imagine with the example of squatting. You should be doing a controlled even exhale as you squat down and a slow deep inhale as you rise.
While mastering breathing might seem a bit basic, it is the foundation of a great workout and will have a huge impact on your gym workout routine.
Tip #2: Master Mind-Muscle Connection
In the fitness world thereâs all kinds of talk about mind-muscle connection that the beginner just might miss.
Mind-muscle connection is all about building the communication between your brain and your body. Although you may be able to do many things without thought like breathing, walking, and running, your brain is activating all kinds of muscles to help you do that exercise.
Building your mind-muscle connection is all about training your mind to connect to a single muscle or an isolated muscle group so that you can train that part of your body more effectively.
Going back to the example of squats. When you do a squat you use all kinds of muscles in your legs, core, back, and more. If your goal is to grow stronger glutes, then focusing your attention on your glute muscles will actually increase the amount that muscle activates during the movement. The result? Each squat gets you that much closer to your goal.
If youâre interested in learning more about the science, check out this study.
So how do you do it? No matter the exercise, just focus on squeezing the muscle in focus as hard as you can while doing the movement. Thatâs it! One small tip, you might find it helpful to look at some images of human muscles to understand where they are, where they attach, and how they work.
Tip #3: Set The Vibe
This might seem like a no-brainer but one of the best ways to enjoy your workouts more is to set a vibe that gives you all the energy and empowered feelings to fuel a top-notch session.
When it comes to the vibe check, it really comes down to three main things:
- Playlist
- Outfit
- Setting
First, the power of music is unbelievable. Turning on the right tunes has the ability to drastically increase our energy levels and boost our mood. In fact, several studies have found that listening to music can boost your athletic performance. Hereâs just one of them.
Hereâs the one weâve been digging recently:
Secondly, feeling more confident actually makes us more confident. If you want to kill it in the gym, try putting a bit of extra effort into your gym looks. Just like people say to dress the part for work, do the same at the gym.
Plus, there are tons of affordable workout clothes available so you donât need to spend a bunch of money to elevate your workout fits.
Lastly, make sure that you are setting the right environment for yourself. Choose a gym that makes you feel comfortable and even better if it motivates you to be there.
If you donât have the luxury of choosing your gym, find the area that’s the most comfortable for you and make it your own. Bring over all your equipment, set it up nice, and return to it for your workouts to make it your little home base.
Tip #4: Go In With A Plan
Weâve all been there, wandering aimlessly around the gym not sure what to do next. Not only is it de-motivating, it can also kill the vibe.
Take 5 minutes before every workout to put together your plan for the day. Whether just mentally, in a note on your phone, or in a workout planning app, having a plan will greatly increase the efficiency of your workout.
Weâre big fans of following courses and guides as well. Just make sure you choose a plan that was designed by someone reputable with personal training certifications.
We love Booty by Bret because itâs a great full body program designed by the foremost glute growth expert in the world, Bret Contreras. Itâs backed by tons of research and uses highly effective methods to help you achieve your goals.
Tip #5: Commit To A Warm-Up & Cool Down Routine
Adding an additional five to ten minutes on either of your workout can seem excessive but they are so important to activating the right muscles, maintaining balance in your body, and avoiding injuries.
People often turn warm-ups into a whole pre-workout but all you need is five to ten minutes of light and functional movements to increase blood flow and prepare the muscle groups youâre about to workout. You can keep it simple and stick to a similar routine each time, just make sure itâs targeting the muscles used to the exercises youâll do in your main workout.
Cooling down should also be simple. Itâs super important to stretch out your muscles to avoid excessive soreness and tightness. Just five to ten minutes of dynamic stretching is all you need.
Tip #6: Fuel Your Body
If you want the gains and body of a serious athlete, you need to fuel your body for success.
Nutrition is hugely important for energy and muscle growth and you canât perform at your best with an empty tank.
Thereâs lots of information out there about nutrition, but it doesnât have to be complicated.
Simply eat whole balanced foods and your body will thank you.
If you want to customize your diet around your workouts, we recommend adding a source of carbs before your workout, like a banana or a bowl of oatmeal, and extra protein post-workout. Like a greek yogurt bowl or protein shake.
If you want to know all the science behind working out and protein consumption, we love this video from Natacha Océane.
Tip #7: Master Your Form
Having poor or incorrect form is one of the biggest mistakes beginners make and one of the best ways to absolutely tank your progress.
This is one of the harder gym workout tips to take on because improving your form can be hard especially without the help of a professional.
Your technique is way more important to your results than the weight and speed in which you perform your exercises.
Not only will it help you work the right muscles, it will also prevent you from getting injured and having to take time off from your routine.
If you donât have access to a professional, do your homework. Read about correct form, watch videos, record yourself and watch it back. Itâs worth it!
Tip #8: Learn How to Constantly Work Harder
Fortunately, our bodies are quick to adapt to new conditions but when it comes to working out and getting stronger, it means we need to be quite clever in making sure that weâre constantly pushing ourselves harder.
To avoid plateaus and keep seeing gains, we need to work harder each and every workout.
How you do this depends on what type of workout youâre doing. For running, run faster or farther. For weight lifting, lift more times or more weight.
Tip #9: Take Rest Seriously
Of all the gym workout tips, this one is arguably the most important. Rest is the secret to hitting your goals in the long-run.
Recovery is super important to how your body functions, how you build muscle, and how you get stronger over time.
You need rest days and you need good sleep to grow and to avoid injuries. Listen to your body, tune in, and give it what it craves and desires so it can give you the results youâre after.
As you get more experience youâll be able to gauge when to push through and when to rest but as a simple rule of thumb, when in doubt, take the rest day.
A workout missed is wayyy better than a torn muscle or any kind of injury that will require you to take weeks or months off.
We hope you found these 9 gym workout tips helpful.
Youâve already done the hardest part, start your journey. By checking in to make sure you’re checking all of these nine boxes, you can skyrocket your success and hit your goals way faster.
Make sure to listen to your body and treat your fitness journey like an experiment and stay curious. Thereâs so much to learn and grow inside and outside of the gym!
Now get out there and be the gym badass we know you already are.
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