Be inspired - set yourself goals and train for a reason

When I first started using a gym it was so that I could become stronger in order to make me a better rugby player.

YES, I wasted probably the first two years of gym visits as I didn't know what I was doing and so I'd dabble with a few machines, copy a big guy at the gym and maybe try something I'd seen in Men's Health or similar.... not good!

BUT... at least I had a reason. This kept me focused, determined and meant I came to the gym each time with something in mind.

This is ESSENTIAL for anyone, though you may not think it, if you're making progress in the gym you probably have an inspiration.

Find yours. Try...

EMOTIONS
Think of your emotions. How does the gym make you feel afterwards? How do you feel when you haven't been to the gym for a while? Was there an event in your life which spurred you to join the gym? Are you training to improve yourself for something which means a lot to you? How does it feel when you've trained hard for a while and someone compliments you? Many of the people I meet train simply to lift their mood. If it's what keeps you coming through the door, go with it!

FUNCTION
What will going to the gym help you do physically? If you're a keen sportsperson then this is much easier to imagine. I want to be faster, stronger, fitter etc.. This will also help you focus your style of training much more easily. Even if you don't have a sport, function is still important. Consider your job, lifestyle and hobbies. How can you focus your gym work to improve them? ie: if you drive for hours and hours it's important to strengthen your core and back in order to avoid postural problems.

HEALTH
A number of people exercise for health reasons. To avoid disease, aid recovery, lengthen life, improve cardiovascular strength and generally feel more awake, agile and youthful. However, training to "feel healthier" can be a difficult goal to gauge success against. Make sure you have some more tangible goals that can be targeted. Look at your recovery time during cardio work or even make sure that you have regular medicals conducted with particular focus on body fat percentage, resting heart rate and blood pressure. I see too many people visiting the gym to improve their health but in fact hardly break a sweat. Walking through the gym door does NOT make you healthier!!!

AESTHETICS
Aesthetics shouldn't be viewed as a dirty word. Looking around my gym, I'd estimate that well over half of the members use the gym as they want to make their bodies look better and nothing else. If that's for you then that's fine, but don't go to the gym so that your body looks "better"; you need to be much more specific! Focus on areas such as, you want bigger legs, or smaller hips or more definition on your arms, whatever it is, be specific. If it helps, use a visual guide to keep you on track. This should take two parts:

1) If you find a picture of someone, anyone, who has a body that you crave, keep it. They can be a celebrity, model or random from a magazine; either way you need some kind of target
2)Keep a photo log of yourself. This will show your progression more clearly than any other method if "looking good" is your goal. It will also show you where you have fallen short and areas to focus on in the future

Remember: What the mind can imagine, the body can achieve.

IN SUMMARY...
There are MANY reasons why a person might join a gym. To get a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, build muscle mass, appear more toned or improve cardiovascular capabilities.

Whatever the reason, make sure you have a S.M.A.R.T goal

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timed

If you can follow these guidelines then you'll soon notice an improvement in your focus in the gym, commitment to each session and hand-in-hand with that, your results.

Make a note of your goals, making sure the stick to the S.M.A.R.T guidelines and highlight how and where they fit in. Create a timeline and stick it up somewhere that you'll see it. Without a clear timeline in mind, weeks will pass and session after session will go unnoticed. Work to a timeline and you'll feel like you're in control of where you're going and you will know what you can expect.

Don't forget to follow me on www.twitter.com/MichaelD_PT

Wait!.. Use body weight! Keep it minimal

A common complaint or a few variations of the same problem...

"I don't have time to make it to the gym"
"I work out of town" or "I travel a lot with work"
"I need childcare or I can't make the gym"

etc etc...

Well.. there's one simple solution for all of these folks - use your body weight! You don't always need endless amounts of fancy gym equipment!!!!
There are literally hundreds if not thousands of moves that you can do to burn calories, build lean muscle and work up a darn good sweat without the need for any fancy equipment. Add a few tiny pieces such as a swiss ball or barbell and the possibilities become endless!!!!..

Here are a few of the moves that I consider to be the top body weight moves!..

LOWER BODY...
Lunges - these can be done with a number of variations, forwards, backwards, sideways, elevated leg, with additional weights or resistance bands, on an unstable surface such as a Bosu or wobble board

Squats - Try playing around with the stance width and depth of squat. If it's 100% body weight then try one-leg squats - these will make any person work, no matter the size of their wheels

Jump squats - probably not one for anyone who lives above their neighbours, but simply perform squats finishing with a jump, making sure to cushion the landing by bending your knees, which movement automatically leads into the next squat. Basically continuously umping and squatting - good drill!

UPPER BODY...
Press ups - again variety is key. Try varying hand width, elevated feet to emphasise the upper chest and shoulders, one leg lifted to increase core engagement, doing them on your knuckles or perhaps with your hands on uneven surfaces such as one arm on the floor on on a small box

Renegade rows / renegade flys - these are usually performed with weights but with either a small weight or empty hand can still offer an effective workout as it engages a lot of core stability and stabilising muscle groups

Dips - You can perform these with your hands on the side of the bath, or a bed. Make them more difficult by varying the tempo, lifting alternate legs for each dip, placng your feet on something elevated or adding a weight to your lap

CORE / ABS...
Crunches - keep it basic. Crunches are one of the best ways to focus on the upper abs. Hold an object or weight to make it more difficult and hold it at the point where shoulders are highest off the ground for 3 seconds

Leg raises - great way to work your lower abs and add a little top up to the legs. Vary height of movement and speed

"Frogs" - a great way to hit your obliques - a personal favourite move of mine!

CONDITIONING...
Mountain climbers - vary from knees coming inside your elbows, to the outside. Also try it on one leg at a time in a hop-style

"Up-downs" (you may refer to them as something else) - basically climbing from a plank position to a press up and back down, over, and over, and over, and over, and over again...

Burpees - We all hate them and they've been around donkey's years; but for a reason - they're good! VERY good!

These are JUST 9 of the man moves you could try. But imagine on those days where you can't justify a gym visit for half an hour. Or only have time for 30 minutes and not the commute and gym chat when you're there, a quick circuit like that below could be gone over 3 - 5 times. Why not time it and get competitive with yourself!?.. HELLO SWEAT!!!

EXAMPLE CIRCUIT:

- Alternate lunges x 30
- 12 x 1 leg squats
- Press ups - 45 seconds non-stop
- Renegade row x 12 each side
- Renegade flys x 12 each side
- 45 seconds dips, one leg off the floor
- Elevated leg lunges x 10 each leg
- Jump squats x 15
- Press ups - 30 seconds non-stop
- 45 seconds crunches
- 12 x leg raises
- 24 x frogs
- 1 minute rock climbers
- 1 minute "up-downs"
- 15 x burpees

Try it.. I dare ya!!

Here's a few more bodyweight exercise ideas...

 
OR...
If you have access to a play park, why not try something like this?..

SUMMARY...
I'm ALWAYS telling people that their body weight is a great yard stick for functional strength. For example, how many "big guys" would struggle to perform a good set of wide-grip chin ups followed by a set of full-range dips?... Quite a few I'd imagine.

In my opinion, your best piece of equipment is your body! If you can't manoeuvre your own body weight then you really have nothing to be showing off about!

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