The vast array of drinks on the market that are geared towards athletes aren’t for everyone.  If you are looking to lose weight, you should avoid these unless you use them at specific times. 

Sports drinks are loaded in carbohydrates or, more simply, sugars.  These are the same sugars that will make you fat.  If you drink these during your day at the office, your body won’t be able to do anything with it but store it around your stomach or thighs. 

On the flip side, these drinks will help individuals that have engaged in strenuous activity.  They will replace electrolytes in marathon runners and rowers, or supply quick energy to weight lifters when taken during the workout.  You have to keep in mind that these drinks should be considered ‘premium fuel’ in a sense.  If you aren’t working out properly, you can use ‘regular fuel’ and using the premium stuff won’t benefit you.  However, if you are serious in the gym, the sugars in the drink will be used differently and it won’t be stored as fat and rather be used as an energy source.

To change things up, you can try chocolate milk at the gym, which has an ideal ratio of protein and carbohydrates.

F. Martinez

They’re not exactly cheap, but if you know how to pick a good one out, they’re worth every penny.  They’ll help you reach your fitness goals, and push you in the gym.  They’re personal trainers.

A personal trainer’s job is to provide you with guidance in the gym, often in conjunction with a diet and fitness program.  What you should look for in a trainer is at least some sort of certification.  However, this is where people go wrong.  A trainer’s education isn’t a good indicator of their effectiveness.  What you should look for is experience.  Experience in both their own achievements and the achievements of the clients.

The reason I say this is because as a competitive bodybuilder and certified personal training specialist, I have learned much more from my bodybuilding preparations than from my personal training education.  However, we cannot discount the importance of personal training certification.  This is vitally important and you are best advised to steer clear of individuals without this.  But, if you had to choose between two trainers with the same level of certification, one in general good shape and the other with 2, 5, or more years of experience in competitive bodybuilding, you are best to go with the bodybuilder.  Competitive bodybuilders have to cover all levels of dieting, from bulking to cutting to the last week of prepartions before a competition.  Competitive bodybuilders also have to build muscle in a way for it to look as aesthetic as possible without lacking areas and working on symmetry.

Now, if you don’t find a reputable bodybuilder trainer, or you just feel like you don’t want one and want something a little bit toned down then you should look for a trainer that is at least in shape.  You’d be surprised how many out of shape trainers I see in gyms all the time. You have to ask yourself, would I be happy if I had my trainer’s body?  If the answer is no, then you know you have to look elsewhere.  A trainer had no excuses, they spend all day in the gym and their job is to get you in shape, so they should set the example and be in shape themselves.

Typically trainers are paid in advance and refunds are usually not given.  You often have to cancel a session at least 24 hours in advance or else you lose your money for that session.  Trainers can range in cost from $30 an hour to $75 and up.  Training sessions rarely go over an hour and are more often than not 30 minutes to 45 minutes in lenght, so expect something around that time when you’re working out with your trainer.

Since you’re paying good money for your trainer, you should ask as many questions are possible, and make sure you follow directions as careful as possible, in particular if you are only seeing them a few times a week or less.

Training programs should be fun and challenging.  They should make you sore but you should never feel any sharp pain or feel overwhelmed by the workload in a program.  Working out properly isn’t a walk in the park, but your trainer should never push you to the point of injury.

Good trainers will go out of their way to make you feel welcomed and appreciated.  If you ever feel uncomfortable with your trainer bring it up with them and if the situation is unresolved look for another one.

Oh, and one last thing: Make sure they’re up-to-date with current fitness developments.

F. Martinez

One of the most important things that goes unnoticed in the gym is hygiene.  There are many bugs, viruses, and bacteria flying around the gym at any given time.  Add in humidity, lots of people, bad habits, and cold weather, and it all becomes even worse. 

All this doesn’t mean that you should steer clear of the gym, it just means that you have to use caution.  Here are some recommendations to follow to protect yourself in the gym.

1.  Wash your hands as soon as you leave the gym.

2.  Avoid showering at the gym, if you can, and wash at home.  The showers in the gym harbour lots of bacteria due to their busy nature and damp wet settings.

3.  Disinfect all the machines that you use before and after you use them.

4.  Wash your gym clothes often.  Don’t reuse sweaty clothing that’s dried up.

5.  Avoid touching your mouth, nose, face, and ears while your at the gym.  Infections tend to start when you touch those areas.

6.  Bring antibacterial gel with you and use it periodically.

While you can’t prevent yourself from getting sick 100% from the gym, you can follow these recommendations to make sure you’re at healthy as possible.

F. Martinez

Getting and staying in shape doesn’t mean you have to spend everyday of the week in the gym. Workouts can typically begin at two or three days a week. As you advance you can move to three or four days a week. However you should really never push more than five days a week since your body won’t have enough time to recover from the workouts, which is counter-productive to what you are trying to accomplish.

The following are recommended workout splits.

Beginner - 2 Days (Upper-body and Lower-body)

Intermediate - 3 Days (Lower-body, Upper-body push muscles, Upper-body pull muscles)

Advanced - 4 Days (Lowerbody, Chest, Arms, and Back)

For the upper part of the body, push muscles represents muscles that are responsible for pushing weight away from the body, or to simplify things chest and triceps. Pull muscles are back and biceps.

As you can see, the body is split into various groups during these splits. The idea is to perform your workout routine according to these splits and your level of fitness. It’s important to see the help of a personal trainer to assist in creating your workout routine, but typically they will follow the schedule above.

F. Martinez

Some people that the key to success in the gym is to spend all day there, or at least a few hours.  The fact of the matter is that 30 to 45 minutes is all that is necessary to get the gains that you’ve dreamed of.  There are three rules that need to be followed though if you want to be successful.

The first one is that you need to do 3 or 4 of these sessions a week.  So you’re actually in the gym 3 or 4 days.  Sorry, but there’s no miracle 15 minute workout twice a week as seen on tv.

The second one is that you need to workout with intensity.  A good training partner of mine once told a talkative friend of his at the gym that if he wanted to talk, he should go to the coffee shop down the street.  What does intensity mean?  It means taking shorter breaks between sets.  It means working out with purpose.  It means concentrating on your workout.

The leads me to the third topic.  You must have a good workout routine.  If you are new to the gym, it is best to ask a personal trainer for assistance.  They can help you get on your way.  It should be a custom program.  Trainers that just give you a photocopy are taking a shortcut.  Same holds true for workouts from magazines.  If your body is different from mine, why should our workouts be the same?

F. Martinez