13 tips to get the most out of every workout

Do you also sometimes have the feeling that you give your best in the gym, you follow the diet quite strictly, you sleep long enough, but the results are still not what you want them to be? This is not unusual.

To help you resolve this unpleasant feeling, we bring you today's No.13 useful tips to help you get the most out of every workout.

1. Change your training routine

Since the human body has a perfect ability to adapt to stress, it is necessary to constantly vary your workout. If you were used to the classic training split and dividing exercises into sets , you can destroy your muscles with supersets and dropsets, for example. If you've been training with a higher repetition count, shock your muscles withwith sets of, say, four or five reps.

The time it takes the body to adapt to a given training system is different for each personbut you can design each new workout to be different from the last. You will enjoy the workout more and you will maximize the muscle mass gain.

2. Shorten your breaks

One of my favorite training trivia is that Dorian Yates was able to do a leg workout in 45 minutes. So if you're looking for a new stimulus for muscle growth, shorten your breaks. You'll be more pumped during the workout, plus you can't have the concentration problems that can occur with longer workouts.

3. Motivate yourself with the right music

Proper motivation is the cornerstone of a good workout. So, although it may sound a bit strange, don't let your workout be poisoned by boring music playing on the radio in gyms. Instead, buy a pair of quality headphones, download your favourite music and you'll see that this will take your workout performance to a whole new level.

But we recommend choosing headphones suitable for sports, such as those from our listbecause not all of them fit well in your ears and that can be a problem when you're working out.

4. Try a pre-workout for maximum concentration

In our articles, we very often point out that supplements are definitely not necessary. But when you want to get the most out of your training, they can definitely help. One of the most effective is a pre-workout, which can improve concentrationfocus on your workout, improve blood flow through your muscles and increase testosterone and growth hormone production.

If you choose a quality pre-workout, such as the Agrezz, which was the winner of our laddertop 10 pre-workouts, you'll definitely be satisfied and take your workout to a whole new level.

5. Set a clear and achievable goal

If you're going to the gym and you don't have a goal, you should remedy that quickly. You don't have to have any competitive ambitions, but it's always good to have a clear plan for the future that will give you motivation and a reason to work hard. But the important thing is that the goal is achievable.

You can't set a goal of becoming a professional bodybuilder when you're 70kg. That would demotivate you and discourage you from training. Choose a goal that you can achieve in, for example, 3-6 months and gradually increase your ambition.

6. Focus on the last repetition

Virtually every successful athlete talks about the importance of concentrating on performance. It is worth mentioning, for example, the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger, who always tried to count the repetitions from the moment the muscles started to burn. So to maximise your training results, we definitely recommend concentrating on each repetition and noticing how the muscle is working for that exercise.

7. Stretch before and after your workout

Stretching before and after your workout is so important that we even wrote two separate articles about it. Before training it's important to warm up to prevent injury and prepare your body for peak performance, after training stretching will help keep your hamstrings strong and improve your recovery.

Either way, stretching can help maximize your training efforts, so don't underestimate it.

8. Pay attention to getting enough sleep

Do you wake up tired in the morning? Don't feel like an evening workout but would rather go to bed? You are probably sleep-deprived, which can be a serious problem in the long run.

On the one hand, sleep releases anabolic hormones that ensure better muscle growth, and on the other hand, it also repairs damaged muscle fibres. And to get the most out of your workout, you need to be rested.

9. Follow a drinking regime and eat regularly

One of the most important prerequisites for maximizing your training efforts is a regular drinking regime, which is a prerequisite for proper recovery. After all, water influences all metabolic processes, promotes the absorption of nutrients and minerals, and is a key part of the It ensures the dissolution and subsequent excretion of excess metabolic products.

Similarly, good training is influenced by a good diet and its correct timing. If you go to the training hungry, you will not be able to give your best, if you are still full of food, you may feel nauseous during the training.

10. Find a good sparring partner

Can't get the most out of your workout, no matter how hard you try? Maybe a good sparring partner can help. Ideally, he or she should be about as strong as you are so that you can motivate each other and, most importantly, have similar goals to you.

If you're training with someone who's not serious and spends Fridays at the club rather than the gym, you're probably not going to move very fast with him.

11. Take a cold shower after your workout

While there is a constant debate about taking a cold shower after a workout, in the long run, taking a cold shower (not just) after a workout has a very positive effect on your overall recovery and immune system. A cold shower can increase anabolic hormone levels and improve blood flow through the muscles, which ensures the removal of excess lactic acid that causes muscle pain.

So if you're looking for something to maximize muscle gain, an ice shower is definitely a good choice.

TIP: How to get back to exercise after illness?

12. After your workout, treat yourself to a meal with protein and carbohydrates

Since intense exercise often depletes muscle glycogen stores, it's more than advisable to replenish them. And the best way to do just that is with a post-workout meal rich in carbohydrates. When you add a protein component to the carbohydrate component, your body will immediately have something to repair damaged muscles from, and you'll grow better as a result.

13. Don't neglect proper recovery

As important as strength training is, proper recovery is also important. So if you work hard in the gym, make sure you get enough sleep, take in the right amount of protein and stretching regularly. Supplements can also help you do this, for example high quality BCAAs. But keep in mind that supplements are only a very small part of recovery and without them the basic elements of recovery they won't work anyway.

That concludes our 13 tips for getting the most out of your training and if you have any questions about gaining muscle, feel free to ask in the comments. We're always happy to answer.