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Work out at home if you have to
Drink a lot of water
Compound lifts are very useful (especially if you’re a beginner)
For arm workouts, isolate biceps and triceps (don’t rely too much on compound lifts for arms)
Perform squats and deadlifts at least once per week
Don’t skip leg day
Include at least one rest day per week
Consider supplements (whey protein and pre-workouts are good)
Make sure your diet is in order to be more motivated and healthy
Include low-fat proteins (chicken, steak, etc.)
Always have a healthy breakfast
Spend the 1st hour of the day wisely
Remember basic dietary advice (i.e. eat fruits and vegetables)
Avoid smoking and alcohol at all costs
Before you go to the gym, have a shower and ensure you feel ready to take on the day
Remember, gyms are open late; don’t use the ‘I get back from work late, I can’t go’ excuse
If you don’t like supplements, eat fruits before the gym (bananas are the best)
If you have a high fat level that you want to reduce, use HIIT
It’s always useful to know workouts before you go to the gym
If you don’t know any workouts, search YouTube for them
Use pairs of muscle groups during workouts (for example, back and biceps, or shoulders and tricep)
Listen to music or an audiobook in the gym to stay focused
Always learn new ways to improve
Free-weights are better than machines
Machines do give good guidance on how the movement should be carried out which you can then use for free weights
Consider using cables for different exercises
Try to change-up your exercises/ workouts to avoid getting bored
If you do get bored of the gym, try going at a different time than usual (for example if you go before work, go after work instead)
Having good form is more important than weight
Once you have the perfect form, you can increase the weight
If the weight is too high to perform the rep effectively, reduce the weight
Using a low weight isn't embarrassing; experienced gym-goers will find it cringy if you are using a high weight, but performing the rep terribly
To perform a good rep, squeeze the muscle at the top and stretch it at the bottom
For the best outcome, start your workout with high weight and low rep, then for the second half use less weight and more reps (this is best for hypertrophy)
Know your exact goal and don’t change it until you achieve it. (i.e. if your goal is to be more shredded for summer, don’t then start eating loads and say ‘I can’t be bothered, I just won’t be shredded’)
Whatever your goal is (i.e. to get stronger), learn the best way to do it
Follow some fitness accounts on Instagram so you can learn more whilst you’re aimlessly scrolling
Learn some high-quality meals to cook
Fall in love with the process instead of the outcome
Be as consistent as possible
Small changes lead to a big change
Never make poor excuses
Plan your week/ month
Keep a gym diary to keep a track of your exercise plan
If you want, take it into the gym to remember all the workouts and read any important notes (i.e. “keep back straight when performing deadlift”)
Keep a track of your weight so you can see the results
Take a picture at the start of your gym life to see what has changed after a while
Take exercises to failure, or one rep off failure
If you need any supplements or home-gym equipment