If you are in the fitness and bodybuilding world for some time, you’ve probably seen there is a ton of information on training, nutrition and supplements on the internet, magazines, television… Some of it is very useful, but unfortunately, some of it is very misleading.
Often, when people find themselves overflown with information, they can pick bad advice, or even fail to act, mainly because they get confused and don’t know what is good and what is bad for them.
So if you are just starting – here are a few fitness tips to take you the right way. For the experienced ones – this info will serve as a reminder and to help you stay on track.
#1. Compound Exercises Are the Real Deal
Isolation exercises have their own benefits, but compound movements are the foundation of every weightlifting program and absolutely vital for your success. Every compound exercise requires the work of multiple muscle groups to be performed and will stimulate the production of anabolic hormones – testosterone and growth hormone – in the process.
Compound movements include deadlifts, bench presses, wide-grip pull-ups, chin-ups, squats, clean and presses, and rows. These movements recruit the most muscle mass, trigger the greatest hormonal response, and build functional strength that carries over to everything else. Don’t neglect compound movements if you want a body that stands out from the crowd.
#2. Change Your Workout Occasionally
A workout can work perfectly, but won’t work forever. Sooner or later your body will get used to the stress it goes through. Your muscles adapt remarkably quickly – what was challenging three months ago becomes routine, and routine means no growth signal.
This is the moment you need to change something in your current routine – increase the weight you lift, increase the repetitions, change exercises, or if you are advanced, try some of the advanced techniques to trigger muscle growth. The goal is to keep applying a stimulus the body hasn’t fully adapted to. That’s what drives continued progress.
#3. Work on Your Legs if You Want to Grow Your Upper Body
This may look confusing, but think about it – why should you train your legs? Your legs make up roughly 50% of your entire muscle mass. Training them will help you grow all over. The human body is a finely tuned machine that tends to balance its symmetry – when growth is stimulated in a large muscle group, it creates anabolic conditions that support growth throughout the whole body.
Doing squats and deadlifts will trigger the release of testosterone and growth hormone at a level no upper body exercise can match – and those hormones help you develop every other muscle group, not just your legs. Charles Poliquin stated that you need about 15 lbs of total muscle mass to increase your arm size by a single inch. Heavy leg training is your fastest route there.
#4. Diet Plays a Bigger Role Than Training Itself
You can find the best routine out there, but if your diet is not in check you are not going to magically transform your body into an athletic one. Training tells your body to change – diet determines whether it actually can.
Want to be lean, strong, and healthy? Give your diet the attention it deserves. Get the right amount of calories from protein, fats, and carbs. Get in your fiber and micronutrients too. A caloric surplus builds muscle. A caloric deficit burns fat. No program overcomes a consistently bad diet – not even close. The single biggest mistake most beginners make is putting 100% of their effort into training and 10% into nutrition. It should be the other way around. Related: The 9 Rules of Getting Super Lean
#5. Protein + Simple Carbs Right After Your Workout Will Make a Difference
After an intense workout your muscles are hungry for protein and your glycogen is depleted. The 30–60 minute window after training is when your muscles are most receptive to nutrients – blood flow to the worked muscles is elevated and cells are primed to absorb protein and carbohydrates.
You can increase the benefits of your workout by feeding your muscles what they need. Aim for 30–40g of fast-absorbing protein – whey protein is ideal here – combined with simple carbohydrates to spike insulin and drive nutrients into muscle cells. A banana and a whey shake is one of the most effective post-workout combinations available, and one of the cheapest. Don’t complicate it.
#6. Add Some Cardio to Your Program
Cardio can be very beneficial for you. It primarily improves your health and helps you reach your fitness goals faster – speeding up fat loss, increasing insulin sensitivity, improving recovery, and creating a more optimal environment for muscle growth by flushing lactic acid from worked muscles.
Just remember not to overdo it. Countless hours on the treadmill or static bike will not do any good for you – and done before lifting, long cardio sessions deplete the glycogen you need for a productive weights session. Short, high-intensity cardio sessions – 15–20 minutes after your weights workout – will get the job done quicker and without costing you muscle. Related: Does Cardio Burn Muscle? The Complete Guide
#7. Spot Fat Reduction Is NOT Possible
Regardless of what they say on TV, you can’t lose fat just on your belly, arms or thighs. It doesn’t work that way, and no amount of crunches, leg raises, or inner thigh machines will change that.
Fat loss is the result of a consistent and effective training program combined with a caloric deficit – which causes a total reduction of fat across your entire body. Where you lose it first is determined largely by genetics. So stop doing thousands of crunches in an attempt to get a six pack. Build the muscle underneath through heavy compound work, maintain the caloric deficit through diet and cardio, and the fat will come off in its own order. Related: How to Burn Fat Without Losing Muscle
#8. Men and Women Should Not Do Different Types of Workouts
Lifting weights will not turn women into bulky, ripped bodybuilders. What weight lifting will do is help them get lean, toned and shapely – which is exactly what most women training in a gym are after. The fear of “getting too big” is one of the most persistent and damaging myths in fitness.
Women have significantly lower testosterone levels than men – the primary hormone responsible for the degree of muscular size and density you see in male bodybuilders. It is the combination of very high protein diets, specific training protocols, and performance-enhancing drugs that produce the extreme physiques sometimes associated with female bodybuilding. Not squats. Not deadlifts. Not barbells. Women who train with weights consistently end up stronger, leaner, and with better body composition than those who stick exclusively to cardio. Related: Weight Training for Women: The Complete Guide
#9. You Don’t Need a Gym to Get Results
Weight lifting is great exercise, but going to a gym is not always necessary. You can get excellent results at home too – and for beginners especially, bodyweight training done consistently will produce significant gains in strength and conditioning before you ever need a barbell.
Exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, dips, lunges, squats, and planks can be performed anywhere and progressively overloaded by changing leverage, adding pauses, or increasing volume. Once you’ve built a base with bodyweight movements, adding a pair of dumbbells or a barbell extends the possibilities dramatically. The best program is the one you can follow consistently – don’t let the absence of a gym membership stop you from training. Related: Best Bodyweight Exercises for a Jacked Physique
- How Much Protein Do You Need to Build Muscle?
- How to Build Muscle Naturally: The Complete Guide
- 4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Skip Leg Day
