It’s not easy going to the gym day in and day out doing the same routine, listening to a personal trainer, or checking exercises off a list in order to be able to indulge in the cheesecake and your pre-Easter Harry Potter movie marathon.
Yet you have to do it, otherwise you would have to throw away the skanky Captain Hook outfit you bought for your neighbor’s Cinco De Mayo bbq and pirate themed pool party.

Everyone has to work out.

You’re most likely not an Olympic athlete, a lumberjack, or a carpenter, so the chances that you spend your days sedentary is high. According to a National Health Interview Survey, 59% of adults never participated in vigorous physical activity lasting more than 10 minutes per week.

Only 41% of adults in America work out for more than 10 minutes per week.

If you consider yourself in this 41%, first of all, congratulations, and secondly I will reward you with some tried and true tricks to make your workouts more productive.

1. Always Have a Plan

If you’re wandering into your local LA fitness armed with only your Rihanna station on Pandora and a pair of lycra spanx on, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

If you don’t know what your goal is, figure that out first.

Once you have clear measurable goals, find a routine that fits your lifestyle. Stick to that plan for a set amount of time. 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 4 months, whatever. The goal is to know what you’re doing every time you walk into the gym. This way you can strive to make improvements, instead of trying ot improvise different moves on the bench press every time.
Your workout plan should be more like Michelangelo, less like Pollock. More like Beethoven, less like Miles Davis. Ya Dig?

2.Optimize Peri-Workout Nutrition

This is a fancy way of saying “make sure you eat well before and after your workout”.
I’ll make it simple. Have a piece of fruit and some protein an hour before you workout, and have protein and carbs right afterwards. This can come in the form of a protein shake, oatmeal and eggs, or a steak and potato at Ruth’s Chris steak house.

This will help you have energy for the workout, it will ensure that the nutrients you are eating are going to your muscles instead of fat cells, and will help you be less sore.

Just…no ice cream.

3. Warm-Up/Foam Roll/Stretch

Ok, so I kind of lumped 3 into one here, but if you follow my advice, you’ll have a healthy, long training career and feel awesome all the time.
If you don’t, you’ll hurt yourself doing something stupid, and stop workout out for 3 weeks because you feel awful. Suck it up and spend 15 minutes per workout investing in your body.

Spend a few minutes before every workout getting your blood flowing and preparing to lift.

You can use dynamic (moving) stretches in addition to warming up for whatever lifts you have selected. Do your workout, and spend a few minutes at the end doing static stretches and foam rolling any tight muscles.

You most likely have tight: IT bands, hamstrings, inner thighs, lats, and hips.

Stretch and roll these areas. That’s a good start.

If you think of any other tips that you use all the time, post them to the comments. If you liked this article, like my facebook page, and you’ll have 7 years of good luck.
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