It would be an awesome invention if each of us had a handy button we could click when we wanted to feel refreshed and anew.
Unfortunately this is an item that will have to stay tucked away on our wish list of things that will more than likely never occur. However, following the 18 tips below can be just as easy as the click of a button, and you will feel much more revived.
It will also have you enjoying those workouts at the gym a lot more!
If you are planning an upper-body workout, try switching the routine exercises that you use before your routine workout, to those that are in sync with the area of your body that you plan to work on.
For example, try jumping rope, using a cardio machine, or even lightly rowing.
1. Change the order that you generally do your exercises – Are you are an individual who generally begins your workout with major lifts, then you tackle the more isolated exercises? If so, why not try your routine in reverse.
Begin your workout with the isolated exercises, then you can move to the major lifts. Switching your routine in this manner will also require that you work a little harder during your workout because some of your strength has already been used by the time you begin the major lifts.
2. Try exercising with your eyes closed – Closing your eyes will help you in visualizing the specific muscles that you are working on. This can be a huge advantage when working on your hamstrings, back, and butt.
If you will close your eyes during exercises like a one-legged squat, which requires balance, it will help you to develop an even better balance. You might also try it with only one eye closed. You just might be surprised at how much harder it is.
3. Work On A Cardio Circuit – Breaking up the time you generally spend on each machine to just 10 minutes can help tremendously in making your workout feel a lot shorter than it actually is. This is beneficial in preventing over-training as well.
4. Try your routine backwards – Face a wall the next time you jump on the treadmill, instead of facing the television, paying special attention to use the safety trigger. Even small differences can make your routine fun.
5. Begin with your hamstrings – Starting with the exercises that you like least can be much better than saving these for last, and this is something that most people tend to do.
Saving them until the end will generally mean that by this time you are tired and you will not be putting as much effort into them as you should, and many times they are entirely left out. Doing your exercises in the opposite order will ensure to give those muscles that can be overlooked a workout as well. You will often feel recharged when your favorite exercises are saved for last.
6. Workout with a friend – Many of us enjoy doing things more if we have someone with us. This can be true when it comes to our workouts as well. Find a friend who can join in on your workout sessions and you will get the benefit of the workout, as well as some socializing time.
However, do not become dependent on your workout buddy. If for some reason they miss a workout, it is important to keep your schedule of working out.
7. Compete with a friend – Your workout can be made into something you look forward to if you turn it into a game or competition with a friend. Set up goals and see which one of you can reach it first, and the lower can pay for dinner.
8. Stretch in between your sets – Taking the extra time to stretch the particular muscles that you are working on will not only increase range of motion you have, but it will also help them to stay loose. By doing so, you will be able to achieve working out even more fibers in your muscles with each set.
9. Make a change in scenery – Visit another gym, or use a guest pass so that you can go along with a friend to their choice in gyms. Even if you have to pass for a single day pass at another gym, the change can feel refreshing.
10. Remember the old school days – A day in the park with only a jump rope and the jungle gym can be a fantastic way to liven things up a bit, and you will have a great time.
11. Envision a simple coffee cup – By envisioning that you have a cup of coffee sitting below your belly button, you can redirect your concentration on your lower abs. As you bring up your legs in reverse crunches or V-ups, imagine that you are tilting the cup in the direction of your legs.
12. Change the incline – Instead of your normal routine of doing three sets of dumbbell presses, then following those with three sets of incline presses, try mixing the two. After your first set, you could also try raising the bench from its normal flat position, to around 20 degrees, for the next set.
For each set, raise the bench a notch, stopping just below the vertical position. Trying these variations will give you the ability to exhaust more of the fibers of your chest muscles.
13. Stop, then go – When you raise the weight, instead of doing so in one swift motion, try pausing when you reach halfway up, then you can continue. As you let the weight back down, pause yet again when you are halfway down.
Doing this will allow you to exhaust your muscles much faster and using less weight in doing so. This method is great to try with lateral raises, bent-over lateral raises, and shoulder presses too.
14. Spread just a little farther – As you do each set of your barbell curls, alternate the amount of space between your hands. Starting at shoulder width and slowly spreading the space between sets will put more emphasis on the inside of your biceps, and the outer part can be worked harder by moving your hands inwards.
Another variation you can try is to switch to the angled positioned grip with an EZ-curl bar.
15. Twist your wrist – As you raise and then lower the weight during the single-arm dumbbell row, your palm will face inward. One way you could get more out of this exercise would be to turn your wrist about 180 degrees inward while lowering the dumbbell.
When your arm is straight, your thumb will end up pointing behind you. This simple change in rotation will help to adduct the scapula by working the back with a wider range of motion, helping not only strength, but size as well.
16. Use only one leg to lower the weight – It is clear that during the eccentric phase of any exercise, each of your muscles is generally stronger as you lower the weight. As you do leg curls, leg presses, and leg extensions think of using the “two up, one down” method.
As you are curling or pressing the weight up with the use of both your legs, try using only one of your legs when you lower the weight back down. This will not only work the muscles harder, but you will also not have to continuously change the weight.
17. Run through the rack – As you do any dumbbell move such as shoulder presses or biceps curls, begin with weight around 50% less of what you would normally use for 10 to 12 reps.
Perform the exercise as you normally would 6 times, then go up in weight one increment at a time, and perform 6 more. When you finally reach the weight that you are not able to lift, reverse and begin using lower increments of weight each time. Do this until you are left with the lightest dumbbells possible.
18. Break time – If you notice that you have not taken any sort of a break from your workouts over the past 6 months, it just might be the time to take one. Over-training can become a huge issue for many avid exercisers.
If you are feeling unmotivated and bored, it may very well be time to take that overdo break.
If you are genuinely serious about your training and workouts, there is a wide variety of options for you to take advantage of to see that you do not end up facing boredom in the gym!
Unfortunately this is an item that will have to stay tucked away on our wish list of things that will more than likely never occur. However, following the 18 tips below can be just as easy as the click of a button, and you will feel much more revived.
It will also have you enjoying those workouts at the gym a lot more!
If you are planning an upper-body workout, try switching the routine exercises that you use before your routine workout, to those that are in sync with the area of your body that you plan to work on.
For example, try jumping rope, using a cardio machine, or even lightly rowing.
1. Change the order that you generally do your exercises – Are you are an individual who generally begins your workout with major lifts, then you tackle the more isolated exercises? If so, why not try your routine in reverse.
Begin your workout with the isolated exercises, then you can move to the major lifts. Switching your routine in this manner will also require that you work a little harder during your workout because some of your strength has already been used by the time you begin the major lifts.
2. Try exercising with your eyes closed – Closing your eyes will help you in visualizing the specific muscles that you are working on. This can be a huge advantage when working on your hamstrings, back, and butt.
If you will close your eyes during exercises like a one-legged squat, which requires balance, it will help you to develop an even better balance. You might also try it with only one eye closed. You just might be surprised at how much harder it is.
3. Work On A Cardio Circuit – Breaking up the time you generally spend on each machine to just 10 minutes can help tremendously in making your workout feel a lot shorter than it actually is. This is beneficial in preventing over-training as well.
4. Try your routine backwards – Face a wall the next time you jump on the treadmill, instead of facing the television, paying special attention to use the safety trigger. Even small differences can make your routine fun.
5. Begin with your hamstrings – Starting with the exercises that you like least can be much better than saving these for last, and this is something that most people tend to do.
Saving them until the end will generally mean that by this time you are tired and you will not be putting as much effort into them as you should, and many times they are entirely left out. Doing your exercises in the opposite order will ensure to give those muscles that can be overlooked a workout as well. You will often feel recharged when your favorite exercises are saved for last.
6. Workout with a friend – Many of us enjoy doing things more if we have someone with us. This can be true when it comes to our workouts as well. Find a friend who can join in on your workout sessions and you will get the benefit of the workout, as well as some socializing time.
However, do not become dependent on your workout buddy. If for some reason they miss a workout, it is important to keep your schedule of working out.
7. Compete with a friend – Your workout can be made into something you look forward to if you turn it into a game or competition with a friend. Set up goals and see which one of you can reach it first, and the lower can pay for dinner.
8. Stretch in between your sets – Taking the extra time to stretch the particular muscles that you are working on will not only increase range of motion you have, but it will also help them to stay loose. By doing so, you will be able to achieve working out even more fibers in your muscles with each set.
9. Make a change in scenery – Visit another gym, or use a guest pass so that you can go along with a friend to their choice in gyms. Even if you have to pass for a single day pass at another gym, the change can feel refreshing.
10. Remember the old school days – A day in the park with only a jump rope and the jungle gym can be a fantastic way to liven things up a bit, and you will have a great time.
11. Envision a simple coffee cup – By envisioning that you have a cup of coffee sitting below your belly button, you can redirect your concentration on your lower abs. As you bring up your legs in reverse crunches or V-ups, imagine that you are tilting the cup in the direction of your legs.
12. Change the incline – Instead of your normal routine of doing three sets of dumbbell presses, then following those with three sets of incline presses, try mixing the two. After your first set, you could also try raising the bench from its normal flat position, to around 20 degrees, for the next set.
For each set, raise the bench a notch, stopping just below the vertical position. Trying these variations will give you the ability to exhaust more of the fibers of your chest muscles.
13. Stop, then go – When you raise the weight, instead of doing so in one swift motion, try pausing when you reach halfway up, then you can continue. As you let the weight back down, pause yet again when you are halfway down.
Doing this will allow you to exhaust your muscles much faster and using less weight in doing so. This method is great to try with lateral raises, bent-over lateral raises, and shoulder presses too.
14. Spread just a little farther – As you do each set of your barbell curls, alternate the amount of space between your hands. Starting at shoulder width and slowly spreading the space between sets will put more emphasis on the inside of your biceps, and the outer part can be worked harder by moving your hands inwards.
Another variation you can try is to switch to the angled positioned grip with an EZ-curl bar.
15. Twist your wrist – As you raise and then lower the weight during the single-arm dumbbell row, your palm will face inward. One way you could get more out of this exercise would be to turn your wrist about 180 degrees inward while lowering the dumbbell.
When your arm is straight, your thumb will end up pointing behind you. This simple change in rotation will help to adduct the scapula by working the back with a wider range of motion, helping not only strength, but size as well.
16. Use only one leg to lower the weight – It is clear that during the eccentric phase of any exercise, each of your muscles is generally stronger as you lower the weight. As you do leg curls, leg presses, and leg extensions think of using the “two up, one down” method.
As you are curling or pressing the weight up with the use of both your legs, try using only one of your legs when you lower the weight back down. This will not only work the muscles harder, but you will also not have to continuously change the weight.
17. Run through the rack – As you do any dumbbell move such as shoulder presses or biceps curls, begin with weight around 50% less of what you would normally use for 10 to 12 reps.
Perform the exercise as you normally would 6 times, then go up in weight one increment at a time, and perform 6 more. When you finally reach the weight that you are not able to lift, reverse and begin using lower increments of weight each time. Do this until you are left with the lightest dumbbells possible.
18. Break time – If you notice that you have not taken any sort of a break from your workouts over the past 6 months, it just might be the time to take one. Over-training can become a huge issue for many avid exercisers.
If you are feeling unmotivated and bored, it may very well be time to take that overdo break.
If you are genuinely serious about your training and workouts, there is a wide variety of options for you to take advantage of to see that you do not end up facing boredom in the gym!
