10 tips for the perfect workout

Even though the internet is overflowing with well-intentioned tips and advice, especially in the field of fitness, it is not always easy for exercisers to extract the right tips for their own training from the mass of information. To give you an overview, we have put together ten tips in the following article to help you perfect your workout.

1 - Fill your tank before training

You do by far the most important repetitions not in the gym, but a good two hours before you set off to your training facility by bringing your fork to your mouth and providing yourself with a sufficient amount of energy for training. If you don't want to eat solid food, you can alternatively consume a shake consisting of 20 grams of whey protein, 5 grams of glutamine and 20 grams of maltodextrin. You can also consider using a no-training booster, as its active ingredients help to improve the supply of nutrients to your muscles, which will improve both your performance during training and your ability to recover.

2 - Never neglect the warm-up

Even if you don't have much time, you should be careful not to neglect the obligatory warm-up before training, as the process not only helps to prevent injuries, but also allows your muscles to reach their full potential. An optimal warm-up begins with a global warm-up of the entire body on a cardio machine of your choice, during which your muscles as well as your ligaments, tendons and joints are prepared for the upcoming load. We then recommend mobilizing your shoulder joints and spine by rotating your arms and hips slightly. Once this step has also been completed, you can start warming up the local target muscles with the help of warm-up sets.

3 - Choose the right number of repetitions

Before you start your first repetitions, you should be clear about what goal you are pursuing with your strength training, as a correspondingly adapted number of repetitions per work set is necessary. If your main aim is to gain strength, repetitions of 1-6 are ideal, whereas the 6-12 range is best for hypertrophy. Higher numbers of repetitions per set are primarily used to build strength endurance.

4 - Push yourself to your limits

If you want to get the most out of your body, you should not shy away from pushing your muscles to their limits in order to optimize your strength, hypertrophy or endurance. Only if your body is regularly pushed to its limits will it be forced to initiate an adaptive response that will help you progress. In practice, for example, it is advisable to choose a weight that you can actually only move cleanly 10 times as part of a set of 10 repetitions per set, so that you push your target muscle to a new peak performance with each additional set.

5 - Use intensity techniques

Another way to increase the effectiveness of your training is to use intensity techniques that can help you squeeze the last bit of performance out of your muscles. As these are very intensive approaches that put a lot of strain on both your muscles and your nervous system, you should make sure that you only use such techniques in two to three sets at the end of your workout. To give you a rough overview of the options available to you, we have listed some common intensity techniques.
Drop sets: Perform a set until the muscles fail. Then reduce the weight and continue without a break until the muscle fails again and you can repeat the procedure.
Supersets: Perform two exercises for the same muscle or for two opposing muscles in immediate succession without taking a break.
Triple sets: Perform three exercises for the same muscle in immediate succession without taking a break.
Giant sets: Perform four or more exercises for the same muscle or for opposing muscles directly one after the other without pausing.
Partial repetitions: As soon as you are no longer able to complete full repetitions, switch to only doing half repetitions to maximize the demand on your muscles.
Negative repetitions: During the exercise, consciously concentrate on the eccentric movement phase and perform it slowly.

6 - Always have a plan B in your pocket

No matter what time you go to the gym, you will always be faced with the problem that the equipment you actually need for your workout is occupied. But instead of simply skipping the exercise in question, you should always have an alternative up your sleeve, because a gym offers you numerous opportunities to adequately train the target muscles in question despite the equipment being occupied. In order to stay in shape and not have to rethink too much if necessary, you should have several exercises for each body part up your sleeve anyway and integrate them into your training plan in regular cycles.

7 - Pay attention to your fluid intake

Your body needs fluids to transport nutrients, regulate body temperature and, last but not least, to carry out physiological processes such as digestion in the first place. As sports science studies have shown, a fluid loss of just 2-3 percent during training leads to a significant loss of performance, which can prevent you from achieving your goals. It is therefore advisable to ensure you are properly hydrated before and during your workout. Ideally, you should drink around 600 milliliters of water in small sips in the hour before you start training so that your body can process it optimally and it is not largely excreted in the urine beforehand. You should also make sure that you drink enough during training to compensate for water loss through sweating. Ideally, you should drink around 150 milliliters per quarter of an hour.

8 - Always think positively

Most exercisers have a very critical inner voice that causes them to attach outsized importance to even the smallest setback. At this point, it is definitely advisable to change your perspective and imagine what your training partner would say to you in such a situation. Would they also blow the "incident" out of proportion and put you down, as you might do to yourself, or would they do everything they could to motivate you to work hard to achieve your goals after all? Right, he would motivate you! Be your own training partner and always think positively, then you are sure to succeed.

9 - Do not take too long breaks between sets

A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditional Research by Kennesaw State University suggests that, from a hormonal perspective, it makes no difference to the concentration of recovery indicators whether you pause for 60 or 150 seconds between your sets. If you are taking breaks of well over 60 seconds between sets, you should reduce them to save time and intensify your training. Breaks that are too long allow the body to recover too deeply, meaning that only sub-optimal results can be achieved depending on the training method used.

10 - Give your body what it needs

After you have pushed your body to the limit, it is time to initiate its regeneration as quickly as possible by supplying it with high-quality nutrients. In this context, a special post-workout shake is used, which consists of 15 grams of whey protein, 15 grams of casein and half a gram of maltodextrin or dextrose per kilogram of body weight. The carbohydrates and protein help your body to initiate the necessary repairs in the muscle tissue as quickly as possible and replenish the glycogen stores in the muscles.