Fitness Tips


  • Get enough sleep
    We all know sleep is important for all body systems, especially the brain (we've all lost motor function, memory, and even our tempers when we haven't had a good night's rest!) But sleep is also important for recovery and muscle growth. HGH (Human Growth Hormone) is released during sleep, which repairs and builds muscle. When you lift weights, you're essentially tearing down existing muscle. Over the next 24 hours, mother nature repairs the muscle, building upon its own FOG and FG fibres, producing bigger muscles to adapt to the heavy loads you're imposing on it. Recent studies (Harvard Magazine) have shown that a lack of sleep actually increases your cravings for carbohydrates, which can lead to bingeing, and blowing your diet, so get your 7-9 hours!
  • Don't overdo it
    Sure, doing an hour and a half of cardio sounds like some good punishment, and the best way to achieve that model body, but you're actually doing more harm than good. You're catabolizing that muscle you're working so hard to build! If you're lifting weights until you need to be carried out of the gym, you're probably so exhausted, you're not even using proper technique, and thus wasting your time. As we discussed in the Nutritional Tips page, your metabolism slows down, and what used to take 30 minutes to burn 200 calories now takes 55 minutes! Keep your workouts brief, but intense, for faster results.
  • Change it up, keep it fresh
    As I just mentioned, your metabolism will slow down if you do the same thing day after day, but also, you have to make exercise fun & challenging, otherwise you won't stick with it! If you're not the gym-type, then how about assembling a basketball game? Go skating, rollerblading, hell, put on your favourite music and dance like a superfreak!! Anything that gets your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week!
  • Use proper form
    If you're trying to impress the cutie on the stairmaster by curling a 60-lb dumbbell, chances are you're not going to see much progress in your physique. For one thing, you're probably using your whole body to hoist that weight up towards your chest, instead of isolating your biceps brachaii muscle to lift the dumbbell. Secondly, you're going to hurt yourself! And not only will that hottie across the gym laugh at you, but you'll be out of the gym until your back stops spasmming!

    Ultimately, it looks cool to be curling a huge weight, but lifting a smaller weight with larger, more defined muscles is cooler. Put some thought into it: imagine the muscle you're targeting, and squeeze it as you raise the weight- give an extra hard squeeze at the top, then slowly lower the weight, don't let gravity cheat you out of some big guns!
  • Do weights and cardio
    Weight training builds muscle, and cardiovascular activity burns fat, plain and simple. If you only lift weights, you're going to have muscles, but you will be too bulky to see them. Conversely, if you only do cardio, you're going to be a smaller version of yourself, but you're going to have a saggy, undefined body. Combine both forms of training, with a proper diet for good health, and a strong, lean body.
  • Write it down
    You wouldn't get in the car, without having a destination in mind. Chances are, you've got a goal weight, a goal dress-size, or a picture in your mind of what you want to look like. Write it down! Map out what you're going to do to achieve it, and what you're doing now that needs to change. Be realistic, but don't be afraid to challenge yourself! Post your goals somewhere where you can read them often- go ahead and take "before" photos, or cut out a picture of your favourite celebrity- whatever it takes to get you motivated!

    When I'm setting goals for myself, I like to divide a piece of paper into four columns:

    - What I want (my goal)
    - How I'm going to get it
    - Forseeable obstacles
    - A date in which I will achieve it by
  • Diet is 80% of your results
    You can exercise until you can lift 1000lbs, but if you snack on candy all day, you'll never achieve the body you want, and what's the point of all that hard work?
    See the Nutrition page for some great eating tips, and get the total package!

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