10 TIps To Get In Shape

10 tips. That's it?  Well okay, 10 tips will not turn you into Mr. Olympia or prepare you for the next Olympics, but it's a great start.  These 10 Steps will help you get started this January, and hopefully keep you focused throughout the year. 

1.  HAVE A PLAN

Why do most people fail? They fail because they lack a good plan.  Imagine trying to build a house without proper planning.  What would happen if you put up the walls before installing the electrical!  Without a proper blueprint and good planning, there would be no way you could successfully build a house.  The same goes with training and changing your body.  Get out a piece of paper and write out answers to these questions:
1.  What is my goal? (lose 20 pounds, put on 10 pounds of muscle, increase my cardio, etc.)
2.  What do I need to do to accomplish this goal? (go to the gym 3x's a week, get a workout program, etc.)
3.  How can I ensure my success?  (hire a trainer, get a workout partner, join a gym, etc.)
4.  What are my limitations? (knowledge, time, money, etc.)
5.  How can I overcome my limitations? (buy books, hire someone, schedule my workouts so they fit in my week, etc.)

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. .. Before you decide to pack your gym bag and head to the gym, only to aimlessly walk around trying every piece of equipment and settling in on the bike for 40 minutes....set out a plan of attack for yourself.  You should know what you are going to do at the gym before you even get there!

2. KEEP A JOURNAL

This is a must.  Go out and purchase a training journal or make one if you have to.  Keep track of what you eat everyday and make sure to accurately track your progress at the gym.  A training journal is one of the best ways for you to track your progress.  It's virtually impossible to remember exactly what exercise you did, what weight you used, and how many reps and sets you did last week or the week before.  By recording what you do, you will speed up your workout, and know exactly what weights you should be using and when to increase them.

3. BIG MOVEMENTS

Want faster results?  Focus on the "Big Movements": squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, chin ups, dips, rows, curls, situps and calf raises . Machines and Single joint movements are great at isolating a specific muscle group, but we prefer our clients to do the harder multi joint exercises because they are more productive at stimulating muscles and working your stabilizers! 

4.  IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT REPS!

John performs a bench press with 225 pounds.  He lowers the bar in 1 second, does not pause at the bottom, and quickly lifts the bar back up in about 1 second.  He performs 10 reps like this.  The total time under tension (TUT) for his set is 20 seconds. (1 second down, 1 second up, times 10 reps)
Tom also performs a bench press with 225 pounds.  He lowers his bar in 4 seconds, pauses at the bottom for one second, and then quickly lifts the bar back up in about 1 second.  Like John, Tom performs 10 reps.  The biggest difference however, is the amount of time Jimmy takes to perform his set.  It takes Tom 60 seconds to do his set, whereas it only takes John 20 seconds.  Although they are performing the same exercise and doing the same number of reps, their results will vary drastically. 

When referring to Time Under Tension, we are talking about the time it takes to complete one set.  We can look at the time it takes on the way down, the time on the way up, and the hold in the contracted position (this is referred to as tempo).  Every exercise and exercise program will have its own unique tempo and amount of sets you should perform.  Looking at the chart below, your tempo and TUT will give you quite drastic results. 

NOTE :  Your Time Under Tension dictates the results you get!

ex: 312= 3 seconds down, 1 second hold, 2 seconds up

So here's a test.  You want to "tone down" and not build too much muscle, so you decide to perform 12-15 reps per exercise.  It takes you 2 seconds to perform the negative and 1 second to perform the positive phase of the exercise (this is the most common thing at most gyms!).  Guess what?  Your TUT is actually 36-45 seconds per set....which means that you are training for strength and growth!

So remember....it's not just about the reps, it's about the tempo and time under tension that will give you the result you want to get!

5. REST BETWEEN SETS

The amount of time that you rest between sets is dependent upon the intensity at which you lift. If you are doing higher reps (12-15) then you rest periods will be shorter (45-75 seconds), but if you are doing only a few reps (1-5) then you will need longer periods (2-5minutes) between each set. I know this sounds a bit backwards, but the more reps you do the lighter the weight and the faster your body will recuperate for the next set. The heavier the weight, the longer it takes to recover the energy for another set of the same movement. This again should be in your "plan".

6.  TRAIN THE ENTIRE BODY

This seems pretty logical, but for some reason people don't put this in practice.  The common occurrence?  You go to the gym on Monday, and everybody is doing Chest and Arms, and by the end of the week, for one reason or another, they start to miss a workout here and there.  Come next Monday, they start back on their Chest and Arm routine.  If you want quick results...whether it is weight loss or weight gain...train your legs, not just your chest and arms!  Here's a good 4 day plan:

7.  STRETCHING

Biggest mistake people make is static stretching before a workout.  Without getting too technical, static stretching relaxes a muscle and slows down its response....translation, you recruit less fibers when you workout and you become weaker!  Research has indicated that power output can decrease by up to 15%!  Follow this tip:
1.   Dynamic Warm-up before training
2.   Static stretching after a workout (4 hours is optimal, but sometimes not realistic)

8. CUT THE KARDIO

When it comes to Kardio, people either love it or hate it. But the bottom line is this: the lower the intensity and longer the duration, the more cortisol your body will create and the harder time you will have losing body fat around the abdominal area.  For some reason, people still don't believe us.  Here's a test for you.  Check out the "aerobics instructors", especially the ones that teach 2-3 classes a day.  Better yet, look around any health club.  The majority of the members do more cardio then anything else...so you would think that they would be in excellent shape by now don't you?  But they aren't!  We have an excellent 4 page article on weight loss without Kardio.  If you are interested in having a copy, click here to send us an email and we'll send you a copy.

9. POST WORKOUT NUTRITION

Although this is supposed to be about training, we thought we would put in a little blurb about post-workout nutrition...the 2nd most important meal of the day! 

Everyone has been told, consume protein and high glycemic carbs (Gatorade, grape juice, etc) after you workout to replenish your system and stimulate growth and recovery.  This system works great, but only if you are VERY lean (under 10% if you are a male, and under 16% for a female).  For the rest of the population, this system will only hinder your fat loss attempts!  So unless you are VERY LEAN, stay away from the Booster Juices and put your money towards more useful supplements.

Here's a great post-workout shake protocol to use. 

Post Workout Prescription (for males above 10% body fat and females above 16% body fat)
1.  0.3 grams whey isolate protein per pound of bodyweight
2.  0.1-0.3 grams of glutamine per pound of bodyweight
3.  0.1 grams of glycine per pound of bodyweight.
4. 1-2 grams of vitamin C

Glutamine restores glycogen in the muscle without raising insulin.  Glycine also reduces cortisol, which elevates when you exercise.

10. REST

Rest is often one of the most overlooked component in a fitness regime.  We find this is very common for people in January who want to kick-start their program, and we applaud their effort, but unfortunately it will not get you any closer to where you want to be!  Not only do your muscles need to recover, but so does your nervous system.  By training too long (more than an hour per workout) or too frequently (more than 3 days in a row), your body will start to burn out.  The result?  You will start to lose your drive to go to the gym, you won't be able to lift as much weight, you might lose your appetite, and have problems sleeping.  This is what is referred to as "over training".  Don't get caught in the rush of trying to do everything all at once.  Take your time, have a solid plan of attack, and the results can be yours!

Conclusion:

There you have it.  10 steps to kick-start your January.  Although they might seem simple, we can bet that there are at least 2 or 3 steps that you don't follow!  Try implementing all of the above steps for the next 8 weeks and see how much better your progress is.  I hope these steps will help you along your way to achieving your fitness goals.

- Joe Arko CPT