12 Free Exercise Tips from a Fitness Pro

I’m sure you realize that some kind of regular exercise is one of the most important habits to have, if you want to be an energetic person.

Today I bring you an article by Scott Tousignant, a certified personal fitness trainer, a great motivational coach, and Author of The Fit Chic and The Fit Bastard.

The Do’s & Don’ts of Exercise

Seek advice from a fitness professional

Expert advice can make the difference between optimal results and mediocre progress. This is an investment worth making if you are serious about becoming leaner, stronger, and healthier.

Personal Trainers are not just motivators. They are lifestyle consultants that help you change your approach to everyday living and provide you with all the tools necessary to achieve a healthy body, and mind.

Have your body composition tested and set specific goals

When you know exactly what your fitness level is, it makes it easier to decide what goals you should be aiming for. The rule of thumb is that you should set goals that are challenging, yet attainable. Most importantly these goals should be specific to you. Be the best that you can be.

Don’t try to look like your best friend or a cover girl…

…Unless it is physically possible for you to achieve.

You will increase your chances of success if you write down a long-term goal along with several short-term goals. Make your goals specific and include dates for each one. Post your goals in places that you frequently pass by, whether it is your workstation or your fridge. You should read your goals at least once a day.

The most important thing when setting goals is to be positive. Believe in yourself and visualize what you will look like when you reach what you are aiming for. Think of how you will feel when you get there. Nothing feels better than having a healthy body.

Don’t enter into an exercise program blindly

Without direction you clearly are setting yourself up for failure.

It is very easy to find excuses not to workout if you have nothing to aim for. If you are unsure how to perform exercises properly, eat nutrition packed meals, or design a workout program that suits you best; you are starting off with several disadvantages.

Determine your level of commitment to your exercise program

This includes the number of days that you will set aside for working out. With this established an appropriate program could be designed to meet your needs and goals on a weekly basis.

Don’t be sporadic with your training days

If you do not have planned workout dates, you will fall into the trap of leaving it to the next day, and then the next until a week has gone by without making it to the gym.

Use proper form for each and every exercise

It is very important that you control each movement.You will get more out of your workout if you control both the positive and the negative motion of the exercise. This increases the focus, and makes you more aware of the specific muscle that you are training. Most important is the reduced risk of injury.

Don’t rush through each exercise

If you are letting gravity do most of the work during the negative motion, you have lost more than 50% of the benefits of the exercise. Chances are that you are using other muscles to assist in the movement. This takes away from reaching a great muscle pump.

Don’t assume that the individual next to you is performing the exercise correctly

I notice when a person is new to a gym, they have tendencies to watch what other people are doing around them, and then proceed to do the same thing. Chances are that person may not be doing it correctly, which may lead to you becoming injured or not working the muscle the way it should.

Add as much variety to your workout as possible

Simple changes such as push and pull tempo, number of reps and sets, increasing the weight, as well as changing the exercises performed, will improve your progress.

There are several training methods that you can experiment with. You can do circuit training, drop sets, super sets, interval training, pyramid training, strength training, plyometric training, core training, and so much more.

You should change your training methods every 4-6 weeks.

Don’t do the same workouts over and over again. The human body adapts very easily to workout routines. Women often fall into the trap of doing the same circuit every single workout. The gyms are partly responsible because they often have a women only area that has a circuit set up for you.

Men on the other had are frequently found at the bench press station, trying to push as much weight as they can. This is great if you are doing this type of workout for a few weeks.

Simple changes would increase your results rapidly.

Don’t buy into gimmicks that you see on TV

North Americans waste so much money investing in machines that promise to turn you into fitness models.

Whether it is to flatten your abdominal muscles or tone your butt, sticking with conventional exercises that you see in the gym is a smarter way to go.

You would be setting yourself up for disappointment and your new gadget will just collect dust with the rest of the equipment in your attic. Please use these tips to add reliability and consistency during your journey to fitness success.

And always remember…

Health and fitness is a life long commitment…

You will experience ups and downs along the way. You must always come back to these basics, to remind yourself what needs to be done to help get you where you want to be and to maintain that level of fitness.