Tips For Heavy Weight Lifting

If you've been working out for a while then you're probably already lifting heavy and seeing results. Or, maybe you're not and you're looking for some guidance. If you're just starting out, take it slowly at first and work your way up to the heavy stuff. Take the following tips to heart and you'll be on your way to making maximum muscle mass gains.

Tip #1: Lift Heavy!

Well, obviously, right? You want maximal gains. However, you want them in the shortest period of time, right, so you can show off your hard work this summer to the people at the beach, not to the people in the gym, right? Well, that leads me to tip #2.

Tip #2: Get in and Get out

Doesn't it annoy you when you're in the gym and someone's hogging the Smith machine (or any other machine for that matter)? You see some scrawny guy doing some exercise you've never seen done before because he's botching up a perfectly good routine that he's trying to duplicate from the latest issue of whatever steroid pumped muscle mag he picked up. On top of that he's doing 10 mediocre sets and taking 5 minute breaks in between, pretending to be working hard...But I digress. Well actually, this is the point I'm trying to make. We've all got busy schedules and we're not trust fund babies who can hang out at the gym and sip banana strawberry protein foo foo smoothies all day long. We're in there to get in and get out as quickly as possible. The point is to head into the gym with a timing goal in mind. For example, if its my legs day I say I'm going to spend only 45 minutes in this gym and not a second more. That means if I want to make my leg workout count I've got to hit the heavy weights (after sufficient warm ups of course), or else I leave feeling unfulfilled, like I didn't try as hard as I could have. I can't waste time doing half-hearted, mediocre sets. No, I've got to do heavy weights with less sets. By setting a timetable you immediately put yourself into the top echelon of weight lifters. Not only will a timetable force your to be efficient but it'll make you lift heavier. You don't have two hours to kill in the gym to do endless warm up sets. You have a finite amount of time to get the work done. Try this: Set aside 45 minutes as your limit. It's not too short and not too long, right in the middle. You'll only be able to take it easy for maybe one or two sets then will have to start lifting progressively heavier because you'll want to make sure you leave the gym knowing you worked hard and have the pump to show for it. By not setting a timetable you allow yourself to drift off and get distracted or take too many breaks. Remember, your body will respond only if it's challenged. So that means limiting the number of sets you do to more quality, heavy ones, and less quantity, and less rest time in between sets. Limit yourself to 40 seconds of rest between sets. That way when you go onto the next set it's heavy, but its also harder to complete because you're body is not rested enough, yet it's not too worn out from the previous set that you can't finish off another good set.

Tip#3: Keep a journal

I know this one sounds simple and maybe you're already keeping one. If so, that's great. If not, go buy a journal, now! This has to be one of the most overlooked and underutilized pieces of advice there is about progressive weight training. I think I'm one of maybe two people in my whole gym who keep a journal. I mean, how can anyone expect to progress to the next level, beyond a plateau, beyond their previous limits, etc., without having a track record of where they've gone before? Is my memory that bad and everyone else's that good? I've been bringing a journal with me to the gym for years and it's helped to keep me on track. The name of the game is progressive resistance training. If you're not keeping a journal you'll have no clue what you did the last workout. Don't rely on memory to get you through. It doesn't work. You'll be doing only what feels right to you, not going above and beyond what you did previously. Don't get too scientific here. Just buy one of those dollar store composition books. You're going to be sweating all over it so don't get anything that you don't want ruined. The journal is your daily workout bible. It's your memory, friend, and training partner. It'll remind you of what you did in your last workout and will motivate you to greater intensity in the next. All you do is write down the exercise performed, the number of sets, and the number of reps you did, and that's it. Sometimes I throw in commentary if I feel I went a bit too heavy, felt some joint/muscle pain during a set, or want to note what felt good/bad about a certain exercise. Whatever you want to write is your business. Don't worry, no one is going to think you're geeky writing down your routine. Just think, with this knowledge in hand every time you head to the gym you'll be sure to rise above the others who are fine with settling for mediocrity. Don't worry about what to write, just write...

Tip #4: Stop talking!

That's right...Talking while working out is a waste of time and distracts your mind from what you need to accomplish. You can't lift with high intensity if you're thinking of what to say to him or her after/before you pump out this or that set. I never talk to anyone when I'm in the gym. If someone starts talking to me I politely walk away or pretend I don't hear them. You're not there to socialize, you're there to work. Remember tip #2? You want to stay focused, stimulate enough muscle fibers for growth and leave ASAP. Think of the gym as a conduit through which you must pass in order to achieve your weight training/bodybuilding goals....

....Ponder upon these tips if you will...there are more to come in a follow up installment.

If you'd like to know more about how you can maximize your weight training/bodybuilding gains please visit my blog http://www.liftingpurest.blogspot.com

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