Are you excited about weightlifting and you think you are ready? Do you look forward to how far you can get in the next 5 years? It’s pretty cool, except that your initial excitements will unlikely get you as far as you possibly want. The majority of the people who start a workout program eventually give it up within the first year.
If you really want to get anywhere as a weight lifter, you have to put in the kind of work that is required for many years.
This isn’t some of those exciting or sexy workout tips you may be expecting but they are extremely important to achieving your fitness goals. To get where you want with weight training, you need the right information. This will help you avoid the mistakes that most people make with their fitness programs. Now let’s get started…
Table of Contents
What Is Your Current Body Composition?
If you are currently overweight or obese, focus on losing body fat first. Poor insulin sensitivity goes with high body fat. High body fat in men results in lower testosterone and higher estrogen levels, thanks to the aromatase enzyme in fat tissues.
This enzyme converts testosterone to estrogen. You will be able to respond better to training when you are leaner, which is also good for your recovery.
Where Are You Coming From?
Evaluate your body and set your goals. Be sure you already have a record of your body statistics such as your lean body mass, body measurements, body fat levels, and total body weight on a chart. This information will give you an idea of your desired direction.
As you progress with your fitness routine, monitoring and recording your numbers will be a good way to keep track of your measurements regularly; weekly basis preferably.
How Good Are Your Nutritional Habits?
Poor nutritional habit leads to training failure. Muscles aren’t manufactured in the gym. Good eating habits complement your workout routine. Don’t just focus on protein alone; it is just 1/3 of the muscle-building equation.
Your body needs a good combination of the right amount of fat, carbs, protein, and calories. See protein as a bodybuilding material, carbohydrates as a fuel source and fats as the material that absorbs minerals and vitamins.
Adopt the habit of eating 5-6 small, healthy meals daily, and avoid junk foods. Have a drink as soon as you get up in the morning, right after your workout, and before going to bed. For a game-changer drink pre or post-workout, try smoothies. They are loaded with the essential healthy carbs and proteins that you need for better brain functions and performance. They take less time and energy to prepare and they are perfect for muscle recovery.
Do You Also Enjoy The Chit Chat At The Gym?
It’s time to cut that. Some people think it is always a social hour at the gym. The main purpose you are at the gym is just one; to improve. Chit chat about your last vacation can come after you are done with your workout.
Do your workout first. If after that you still feel inclined to discuss with other people, then you can. Be sure you don’t chit chat for 10 minutes after each set. It is counterproductive to do.
Are You Willing To Invest Into The Process?
Money and time; we all value these. If you are spending them on something, then it must be valuable to you. If all you ever invest is 2 hours a week and $30 gym fee per month, then you wouldn’t have lost much if you decide to quit. Not investing much makes it easier for you to let go.
However, if you spend an extra hour reading about weightlifting and more cash on coaching and books, then it will start mattering to you. Nobody spends so much money/energy/time on something that’s not personally important to them.
What’s Your Motivation?
Get support and accountability. A training partner that doesn’t feel bothered about you skipping a bunch of workouts is no good. For anyone to stick to something, it means there is something in it that keeps them coming back.
The motivation (either from within or from outside factors) in your training should outweigh the obstacles. Most new lifters start with extrinsic motivation (outside factors), which includes wanting to lose weight, look better, feel athletic, and go to beach parties.
These motivating factors are important but not reliable. They aren’t even strong enough to take you to the gym in the first place. Inner motivating factors make you genuinely look forward to your next workout session. They keep you going enough to develop a habit with weightlifting.
What About Water?
This makes more sense since 70% of your body is made up of water. Water is important to losing weight and even more important to building muscle. Dehydration can kill your workouts. Your muscle needs water to contract properly. This happens via the electrical impulses sent through electrolytes and water.
Dehydration may make you feel tired and dry during your workouts. Having just a 2% water deficit of your weight can make you lose 15% of your strength, which will make a big difference in your fitness program. For better workouts, drink a lot of water.
What’s Your Take On Habit Formation?
If you have given that much thought or not, here is something you should try. Gradually add proficiency to your movements. Engage in constant and specific practices that are done with purpose. When you spend more time doing something and doing it in the right way, your nervous system will master it and the pattern will be stored.
Do deep and purposeful practice. This starts from your visualization; the feeling of taking on the bar when you look at it, which is even before the set. Become more aware of your body by engaging yourself in challenging bodyweight movements. Forming habits towards weight training is the best way to ensure consistency.
Did You Know Some Lifestyle Factors Are Really Important?
Incorporate better sleep and stress management into your lifestyle. Increased stress level and lack of sleep may sabotage your effort to burn fat, build muscle and properly recover from training. Your ability to train harder and get a better recovery hugely depends on where you currently are. As early said, if you are fat, try and lose weight but if you are already lean don’t bother. Train hard, recover hard; rest is very important in this.
How Well Do You Believe In Yourself?
Have some confidence. Doubting your own abilities will hinder you from putting in 100% effort into your workout and they won’t be effective as well. Your attitude is everything and a positive change in it will bring changes to everything. Knowing you can does it means you can and will.
You may hear people tell you that you don’t need to go to the gym or ask you the reason you are trying to build muscles. Some may also try to let you know every muscular guy out there is on steroids.
Negativity is similar to a disease, so it is best that you stay away from those people before you contract it. If you want to continue to be sleek, muscular, and in shape, stay positive all the time and surround yourself with like-minded people too.
Take Away
Don’t forget to give yourself a free day some weeks to eat anything you want. This way, you will get to enjoy some of your favorite foods, even though they are not the healthiest. You can hang out with your training buddies to get a “BIG DAY”.
Weight lifting should be a rewarding and fun experience. Be sure you enjoy what you do and have fun. What is weight training or building muscle if you can’t have fun? It may not last.
Weight training may seem harder than you expected at the beginning, you need the right mindset to stay motivated and focused. Listen to music while you train, it helps. It is important to never quit, but keep going and learn to listen to your body to know when you need some time off.
Conclusion
As a new lifter, don’t also make the common mistake of sticking to a beginner program for too long a time. They are mainly optimized for learning but not for gaining muscle mass, which is important if you want to get stronger. Try and add weight to the bar at least weekly, which can skyrocket your squat into the 300s.
The two most important things to keep in mind is that you need to invest in the process and create a habit of training in order to become proficient when it comes to movements.
Building muscular and kinesthetic awareness helps you with the second objective, and training and recovering hard help you set the stage for a productive future training session.