If you want to turn your body into a well-oiled machine, you need to get all your gears in synchrony. Lifting weights is the best way to increase your upper body strength and build biceps and triceps.
Here are some tips that will help you to get the most out of your lifting session at the gym:
Get Pre-workout Food and Water
Before you step foot inside the gym, you need to make sure that you eat a pre-workout meal that consists of protein, carbohydrates, and a little fat. You should avoid eating fat-rich meals because the fat in them will lower the production of growth hormone, which beats the purpose of going to the gym. Eat at least 45-90 minutes before your session to give your stomach ample time to digest the food and prevent gastric discomfort.
Proper hydration is essential because it cleanses the toxins in your body, regulates your body temperature, promotes the health of your cardiovascular system, and improves the integrity of your joints and muscles.
Pack a Gym Bag and Create a Schedule
You need to pack a bag of essentials before you leave your house for the gym. This means that you should pack some belts, chalk, and water. When you are completely prepared for your lifting session at the gym, chances are that you will not think about skipping.
Moreover, if you have engagements or appointments scheduled after hitting the gym, you should pack some extra clothes instead of going to the meeting sweaty. Making sure that your lifestyle is balanced is essential because it allows you to maintain your relationships and training regimen.
Get in the Right Frame of Mind
The next time that you want to go to the gym, you should imagine yourself as the strongest man in the world as you do your sets and repetitions. The biggest part of weight training is your mental state – if you tell yourself that you cannot lift, you will not get anywhere. However, this is not to say that you should convince yourself to do a 400-pound deadlift with no prior training.
If you like music, you can listen while you workout to keep your energy up during the session.
Uplifting podcasts and music can help you to be in the right frame of mind as you exercise. With some positive reinforcement and the right mindset, you will be amazed by what your body can do.
Dress Properly
Choosing the best gear for your workout will go a long way towards increasing your confidence and making you eager to exercise. The better you feel in your workout clothes, the harder you will train. For instance, if you are working out the upper body, you should wear clothes that show off your pectorals and abs – this will encourage you to keep going.
You also need to wear the right shoes to reduce your risk of getting hurt and ensure optimal performance. Running shoes have soles that are filled with air to reduce the landing impact but they can be dangerous when worn to the gym. Make sure that you get the right shoe for the right exercise.
Find Motivation
Some people have made up playlists that are designed to energize and help them to persevere through the hard parts of exercise. Whatever motivates you, you should include it in your pre-workout routine to keep yourself in the right mindset. If you need to look at pictures of the best bodybuilders to get a mental boost, you should do it.
Log Your Workouts
If you want to get the most out of your lifts, you should be organized and keep track of your base stats. What is the maximum number of deadlifts and squats that you can do without wearing yourself out? You need to record your sets, reps, workout dates, and weight for all the exercises that you do.
After every checkpoint, you need to set better and more realistic goals, whether you want to increase the number of sets or repetitions that you do. Doing so will overload your muscles and force them to grow larger.
Find a Partner
If you want to grow in the gym, you should find a new workout partner to keep you accountable. With a partner, you will have newfound confidence to attempt exercises that you would not have dared to do. You can push and challenge each other to beat your limits, which will result in bigger muscles.
Make sure that you enlist the help of a friend who shares your fitness goals and vision. If your partner is lazy, he will not encourage you to meet your goals and you would be better off alone.
Warm up Dramatically
You have to resist the urge to start your workout session without doing warm-ups first. If you have any weak spot, you need to do some mobility drills, foam roll, and stretches to release any tension that is inside your muscles. You will feel the difference between hitting the weights after a warm-up and working out cold.
After a good warm-up session, you will feel less resistance from your joints when benching and sink deeper into squats. Moreover, you will move more fluidly when doing deadlifts.
Find Your Feet
The feet create the foundation of your body. As you might already know, pushing your feet into the floor allows you to move more weight when doing a squat or deadlift. Unbelievably, lifting is also a full body movement, which means that you should plant your feet properly. If your training coach tells you to push your feet through the floor, you should listen to him because this will improve your workout.
Lifting is one of those exercises that men like to do frequently because muscled arms are manly. The above tips will help you to improve your lifting sessions and make the muscles grow larger. Whatever you do, you should not push yourself too hard because the last thing you want is to strain your muscles.