Your success at the gym comes when you understand fundamental basics. Just like studying, huh? There is a trend to think out something new, unusual, exotic in every kind of activity nowadays, but all the ways to do something basic already exist.
The article below offers you to get familiar with principles for beginners. These advice work in many sports activities. Don't waste your time to discuss “new cool food supplement” and don’t overwhelm your head with special plans for your food. Just keep up to these six recommendations and the result will surely come.
Think Only About a Long-Term Perspective
Most part of people start training their bodies while keeping in mind some short-term goals. This is not a correct way. Do you understand the difference between the short-term and long-term perspectives?
The goal is not to lose/gain 10 kg in three months. The goal is to restore your health and to try supporting it during the rest of your life.
The goal is not pushing out 150 kg in a bench press exercise. The goal is to become a guy who never passes his training hours.
The goal is not to sacrifice everything to get the best results till spring. The goal is to become sportier during the next year. And more sportive in a year again.
Don’t think about short-term results. See things wider, and the results will come.
Important thing: stop thinking that providing a healthy way of life is something outstanding. You can visit the gym regularly. This is normal. This is not a sacrifice. This is not an obligation. This is a norm.
While you think about a long-term perspective, you’ll notice positive changes on the go. Seeing these results you’ll understand everything goes fine.
You Need a Training Schedule
Numerous people go for training irregularly, because they try thinking about what they don’t have to think at all. “When should I come to a gym next time?”
Here are typical thoughts of today’s people who are high-fed with comfort:
Shall I have enough motivation once I come home after studies/work?
Shall I have enough free time for training today?
Shall I have enough will to get up early in the morning to finish everything I have to do in order to free some time for the gym?
Whoa, in our times it is required to be strongly motivated and heavily inspired for training. What about this stop thinking sports to be something special in your everyday life? Just make your training a part or your regular day, create a training schedule and keep up to it. This is what differs a newbie and a pro. This is what differs a serious human from the one coming to the gym a few times before a beach season.
People mostly visit gym three times a week. This is enough for most of us. Then, go and plan: “I’ll visit the gym on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. At 7 o’clock PM. On Saturdays I can do that earlier.”
That’s all. Here is your day plan. You don’t need to think about choosing the day for training. You don’t wait for motivation to come. You’ve got everything planned, and your gym visits are a part of your regular schedule. That’s easy, it doesn’t need any special skills.
Training schedule becomes even more important when it comes to hard times in your life. This always may happen, it’s a part of human being. Maybe, you’ll need to pass one day without training. Schedule will remind you about the training which is next to the passed one. Without having a plan, you can suddenly understand you haven’t visited the gym during a month.
Life troubles can pull you off your course. It happens even to pro-athletes of World class. The point is they come back to training whatever happens. Missed your Thursday training due to studying responsibilities, exam for instance? According to your schedule: the next training is on Saturday. See you at the gym!
While there is your schedule, it is you who controls your life, not the abstract level of motivation.
Concentrate on Basic Exercises
There are people at the gym who want to build their biceps’ short heads with isolated exercises, while not having any muscles built up at all. Well, thin might be something. But there is a simple truth (especially for newbies): one should concentrate on basic exercises which make work as many muscles of your body as possible. The “snatch”, and the “clean and jerk” exercises became the only classic powerlifting disciplines not “just because”. They are like that because there is the whole body working while the sportsman completes the technique. If you’ll perform at least these two exercises, you’ll be wondered with the results some time later.
There is a list of exercises which can be recommended as basic ones:
- Barbell bench press
- Deadlift
- Squat
- Snatch
- Clean and jerk
- Pull-up
- Push-up
- Handstand push-up
- Crunch
Some more specific exercises can optionally be added to the list, yet there is a point to understand: exotic, isolated exercises are performed at the moment, when there is a good muscle mass formed already, and it is needed to give it more aesthetical, “right” shape and view. Read the example about the biceps above again.
Go for training or keep training. More points will come in the next article.