Training Tips from Simeon Panda - Keep a Training Journal
If you’ve just started at the gym, you need to track your progress. Tracking your progress is important to know how well you’re doing. You should record the number of reps you’re able to perform at specific weights (usually close to your maximum), record one rep maxes on the big 3 – Squat, Deadlift and Bench press and record your stats and measurements including body fat percentage.
Keep a Photo Record
No I’m not trying to turn you into a narcissist, but pictures of your progress are important for a number of reasons. They are good for ‘you’ to check your development, and if you share your transformation in future, they are great for motivating others too.
Although stats and measurements are a good tool for seeing how well you are doing, they are just numbers on a page, what’s really important is what you see in the mirror. Comparing photos can help you identify areas that you are progressing well in and other areas that may be lacking, this will help you to structure your training accordingly.
Understand Spot Fat Reduction
Following on from the last two tips advising you to compare and contrast stats, measurements and pictures, there is one thing you need to understand that will influence how you structure your training; you cannot reduce fat from a specific area. You can target and build specific muscles, but the same does not go for the fat that may be covering them.
Do not mistake the muscle burning sensation in an area, for an equal, physical burning of fat in that area, fat reduction does not work that way. You didn’t consciously choose where you wanted to put on fat, and unfortunately you have no choice, and cannot manipulate where you lose it from first.
Follow a Plan
Skip the months of wandering around the gym aimlessly moving from machine to machine, a set here a few there; get yourself a structured plan to utilise every minute of your time in the gym.
Even if you are a seasoned gym user, you can become unmotivated by forgetting that you still need a plan every time you attend the gym, even if it is not a written program per say, you should have the following clear in your mind:
- Why you are there
- What you plan to work on
- What you hope to achieve from the workout
Now knowing 'what you plan to work on' goes a little deeper than say chest or back, you need to know what specific muscles you are working when you perform an exercise; the development of my physique is not an accident, I have to know exactly why I am performing an exercise and its benefits.
Learn Basic Anatomy
It really won’t take you much time, but will completely revolutionise your training and increase progress.
Simply knowing the basics about your muscle anatomy; what movements each muscle performs, the secondary muscles involved, what exercises target specific muscles etc, will change the way you not only choose which exercises to perform, but how you execute them.
Simeon will appear in open workout sessions, sharing tips and advice, at the Perth Fitness & Health Expo – Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre, August 20 & 21 – and also at the Brisbane Fitness & Health Expo – Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, October 22 & 23. Find out more at www.fitnessexpo.com.au.
"Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!"
Author
Dayne Hudson