By: Anthony Campo
If you are spending your time going to the gym a few times a week, here are some very simple guidelines to follow in order to maximize your time and success. All too often you will see gym goers put plenty of time into the gym without putting in the effort to learn the basics of how to do things right. This seems to be most prevalent with younger lifters. I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self these very things so I could have enjoyed a high level of success much quicker in regards to training.
1. Strength and mechanics are the King and Queen of training. Learn the proper mechanics of your main movement patters as they relate to the main compound lifts – squatting, deadlifting/pulling, and pressing. Once you learn the basic mechanics, get stronger by increasing loads while maintaining basic form. Always work to improve your form and get stronger. If you are not doing this, simply stated, you are wasting your time.
2. Train all parts of the body relatively equally. By ignoring one of the big movements or muscle groups you are just digging yourself a hole. The longer you go, the deeper the hole you will have to climb out of when you decide to start doing things right.
• Side Note – “Running” is not adequate lower body training by itself in any circumstance. Learn to squat and deadlift.
3. Unless you are a competitive bodybuilder, if you are under 160 lbs or under the age of 20 there is zero reason that any isolation exercises should be prioritized in your training unless you are rehabbing a specific injury or LITERALLY have done every major compound movement already in the training week.