Last week’s reminders and pointers on how to boost your performance once you return to the gym were: 1. Making sure you are well fed, well hydrated, and well-rested; 2. Warming-up; 3. Setting training goals; 4. Recording your workouts; and 5. Training with music. As promised, here are five more tips to help you maximize your time and your gains.
1. Work out with a training partner
While there is nothing especially wrong with training on your own, you’ll get better results if you work out with a buddy. A training partner will help keep you accountable. Knowing that they’re at the gym waiting for you means you are less likely to skip out on your workout – even on leg day.
A good training partner will also push you to lift more weight or do more reps and spot you to keep you safe when you are pushing yourself to the max. Working with a training partner is invaluable, but it’s a two-way street; what they do for you, you do for them.
2. Mix things up
There is a saying: ‘If you always do what you have always done, you’ll always get what you have always got.’ While it’s okay to have favourite exercises and workouts, if you do them too often, your body will soon get used to them, and your progress will come to a standstill.
Keep your workouts fresh and productive by injecting them with plenty of variety. Good options include:
● Switching from machines to free weights
● Switching from barbells to dumb bells
● Switching from free weights to bodyweight exercises
● Doing more reps per set
● Resting less between sets
● Lifting more weight
● Doing more sets per exercise
● Adopting a new split
3. Speed up recovery with foam rolling
The sooner you can recover from your last workout, the sooner you can get back in the gym and do it all over again. Foam rolling is one of the best ways to speed up recovery, eliminate aches and pains, and make sure you are ready for your next workout.
Foam rolling is a form of soft tissue massage, and while it can be uncomfortable, it’s an excellent recovery tool. A few minutes of rolling for the muscles you have just trained will have a big impact on how you feel.
4. Cool down and stretch after your workout
As beneficial as working out is, training can leave your muscles feeling short and tight. Left in this state, blood flow is impeded, and accumulated waste products are left in the muscles. This will delay recovery.
Fix these problems by spending a few minutes stretching the muscles you have just trained. Hold each stretch for 30 to 60 seconds, but don’t stretch too aggressively – that could result in injury. Instead, ease into each stretch and hold it at the point where you feel tension but no pain.
5. Use the right supplements
Supplements can speed up recovery, boost your energy, burn fat, and build muscle faster. Think of supplements as effort multipliers – the harder you work, the more effective they will be. Proven supplement options include pre-workout powders, BCAAs, whey isolate protein and creatine.
Use these tips to make every one of your workouts as productive as possible. Each one is easy to implement but will still have a noticeable impact on your performance. If you are training hard but aren’t seeing the results you want, these tips could be just what you need to take the brakes off progress and deliver the results you deserve.
