Tips for upgrading your work out #1

There are a lot of people who wind up going to the gym with great intentions to lift heavy weights, get strong and get lean. Something crazy happens though once they enter the building - they look around and see all of the equipment, the free weights, the bands, the exercise balls... and wonder to themselves "Now where do I start??" - then wind up hitting the treadmill for the whole time and never get around to lifting a single weight! If that is you, here is tip #1 for your gym workout. Have down a plan and write it down! This way when you walk in, you know which exercises you are going to cover and you aren't trying to "make it up" as you go. Workout apps can be great for this too - often including video demonstrations to keep you on the right track.

A good workout includes a variety of important movements. Within your week of workouts, (given that you aren't injured or have some particular movement compromised issue) you want to be sure that you are doing a little bit of each of the following:

1) Pull (think rowing exercises, chin ups, pull ups etc)

2) Push (think push ups, bench press etc)

3) Quadriceps dominant move (think squats, lunges etc)

4) Hip hinge (think deadlift, glute bridge etc)

5) Core activating (think carries, planks, bird dogs, deadbugs etc)

6) Single Leg variations for balance development (think single leg deadlifts, single leg squats, bicep curls while standing on one leg etc)

If you are covering each of these types of movements at least once a week, you are on your way to making progress!