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7 Tips on How to Make Your Workouts More Efficient

    In this list, I would like to show you some useful tips that will help to make your workouts far more efficient to see results faster. While it was mainly written for beginners, advanced trainers may also find useful advice here.

    Have a specific goal

    goals

    Everyone has a reason why he starts pumping iron. Someone wants to grow bigger and stronger. Others want to be leaner. While some people just want to look better a little bit to get girls.

    Having a clear goal is critical for success. If you do not exactly know what you want to achieve, you will give the whole thing up sooner or later. When I started working out, I had no goals. I started pumping iron because everyone around me did. And after a few months, I gave the whole thing up.

    So, know exactly what you want.

    Your goal should be realistic, specific, measurable and has a time limit.

    For example, let’s say I want to improve the number of pull-ups that I can do. These days, I can make about 15, and I want to reach the 25 in 2 months. To achieve that level, obviously, I will have to perform more pull ups every week plus other additional exercises that will support the development. So, I will have pull-up training not just once but three times a week.

    This goal is specific since I know what I want and have to do. It is measurable since I can check out my development easily. It is also realistic since I have two months to get that extra ten reps.

    Of course, you can tweak your goal while you go on. You may advance faster or slower than you thought.

    Sometimes you can develop only from that you hate

    leg day

    I’m sure you have a favorite exercise that makes you happy and proud while you do it. You want to do it all the time since the progress is constant. And you love it so much that sometimes you do it on those days when other muscle groups should be worked.

    However, do not forget you should train all your muscles in various ways to keep all parts of your body in excellent condition. Hence, you should not neglect cardio training, performing exercises that will enhance your endurance and those leg days.

    My trick is the following. I start with those exercises that I do not really like, and I do my favorite activities at the end of the workout. This way, I have 15-20 minutes at the end of the workout that is mine.

    On the other hand, it happened to me that once I did those unfavorable exercises, and I got better and better in them, the hate I felt forward them disappeared. That is how squat became my favorite exercise that I hated so bad at the beginning.

    Alter the number of repetitions

    Do not stick to the traditional 3×8 or 3×10 reps. If you want to get continuous progress, you sometimes need to increase or decrease the number of reps.

    By lowering the number of reps to 6 or even to 3, you will be able to handle far heavier weights which will boost your strength and the size of your muscles. For example, instead of doing 3×8, have 8×3.

    On the other hand, there is no need to be always in the maximum zone. Use lighter weights with high reps. It will help your muscle recovery. Also, it is an excellent possibility to perform exercises with a correct form without momentum and cheating.

    Make your grip strong

    strong grip

    Has it ever happened to you while doing deadlift that you could do one more rep but the bar slipped out from your palms? That is because your grip and forearms are not firm enough.

    The strength of the grip is a somewhat underestimated factor among people lifting weight. When was the last time you strengthen your grip with specific exercises?

    People think that the strength of the grip develops with the other exercises and with the power of the body. So, they do not pay attention to it. Then, they do not understand why they cannot perform the various strength training exercises correctly and why the bar slips from their hands.

    So, train your grip and forearm with extra exercises and use a hand gripper. You can learn a lot of practices from the following posts.

    • How to Improve Grip Strength
    • Get Huge Forearms With These Weight Free Exercises

    Log your development

    One tip for saving money is to log what you have spent on. This way you will know where you have wasted money.

    By logging your workouts, you can see your development and where you have stuck. You can understand what your strengths and weaknesses are so you can pay attention to them more. So, get a workout log to monitor your progress. Here you can get a printable one.

    Never neglect the basic moves from your workout routine

    The essential motion patterns are the pressing, pulling, bending, and squatting. These movements are basic because our daily moves are built up from these motions. An effective workout routine includes all these actions.

    That means you should have at least the squat, bench press, deadlift and shoulder press in your program.

    You should deserve the isolation

    It is a typical scene in the gym when a total beginner gets in and start working his triceps with the cable machine. The cable triceps extension is an isolation exercise. But what he wants to shape?

    First, you have to build muscle mass to have something to isolate and for that machines are not the most suitable options, but the free weights are. So, lift free weights first and perform the compound exercises that build strength and muscles.

     

    Do you have other tips that can help others to better workouts? Share with us below.

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    James Wright

    James (36) has been working out since he was 15 years old. He has a home gym where he pumps iron, does bodyweight workouts and boxing. He likes sharing his experiences with others who want to build a better physique.

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