10 Tips If You're New To Weightlifting - Part 2

Hello, and welcome back to our blog! Last time we discussed five tips for beginner weightlifters to help you get started. We talked about five things: always have a goal, having a great attitude, avoiding injury, setting a routine, and being efficient. If you’d like to read more about these, you can read our previous blog here. If you’d like to learn about five more tips for beginner weightlifters, keep reading below!

Weightlifting can be a lot more difficult that it appears to an outsider. It requires a lot of dedication and willpower to stay focused on your goals and start seeing results. However, it’s not impossible, and if you follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to getting in shape and benefiting from other positive side-effects as a result like an improved diet, energy, and sleep. Below are tips five through ten for people who are new to weightlifting:

5.) Go for a morning run

How is taking a run in the morning going to help with weight lifting you might ask? Regardless of whether you’re trying to increase muscle mass, shed fat, or both, added cardio is always great to help you keep on track. If you work in an office, chances are you feel grungy and tired when you first come into work.

A morning run is a great way to get the blood flowing, while at the same time, making you feel more awake and help you avoid that yucky feeling so that when it comes time for your afternoon workout, you’ll be excited rather than wishing you were home, sleeping!

6.) Drink a lot of water!

You may not feel like you’re sweating a lot when you lift weights like you do when you run. However, your body is constantly sweating and it’s extremely important that you consume enough water to support your body and keep it running as efficiently as possible. Carry a water bottle with you to work and try to avoid drinking too much coffee. After several months, you’ll notice a significant improvement to your weightlifting abilities, as well as an improved diet.

7.) Avoid energy drinks

This is such a serious issue that I need to mention it separately from other dietary issues. Energy drinks have become a fad in America in the past ten years and for no good reason. They’re advertised everywhere: on TV, the internet, and at sporting events. It’s ironic that something so performance diminishing for athletes would be advertised at a sporting event, but that’s the reality! Bottom line: if your body to perform at its best ability and if you want to be and feel healthy, you’ll avoid energy drinks.

8.) Always stretch

Stretching isn’t just for runners. Stretching will improve your body’s flexibility and general performance in addition to helping you avoid injury and feel less sore the day after a hard workout. Make sure to research proper stretching techniques for whatever workout you’re doing each day.

9.) Take a friend

Sometimes the easiest way to stick to a workout routine is to take a friend who’s motivated by the same desire to get fit. If anyone starts to slide on their workout commitment, it’s always easier to motivate each other to get back into it rather than trying to motivate yourself.

10.) Start a home gym

Sometimes people get unmotivated from working out because they spend too much time comparing themselves to others and lose focus on their own goals. This is a problem with a lot of things in life, but with weightlifting, it can be accomplished a avoided a lot more easily. Try starting a home gym so that you can focus on your own work and not have to worry about working with other people. This will also help you with efficiency so you aren’t spending so much time traveling to the fitness center.

If you’re looking for fitness equipment in Amarillo, look no further than Fitness Specialists! We have everything from treadmills and bike stationeries to free weights and ellipticals, so give us a call and we’ll get you set up with the best fitness equipment!