Nutritionist-Approved Pre- and Post-Workout Snacks

Fuel up before and after your workout with these yummy snack suggestions that are loaded with the right amounts of carbohydrates and protein.

What you eat before and after exercise matters a lot if you expect to see (and feel) results. To properly fuel up beforehand, your main focus should be energizing carbohydrates. To recover, refuel and repair muscles after you hit the gym, your main focus should be on healthy, protein-rich foods that also include a solid dose of carbs to replenish your energy stores again.

To make your planning a little easier, we asked a few nutritionists—Joy Bauer, nutritionist and founder of Nourish Snacks; Kristin Kirkpatrick, R.D., YouBeauty Nutrition Advisor; Heather Bauer, nutritionist and founder of diet and nutrition counseling center Nu-Train; and Leah Kaufman, R.D.—to recommend some specific snacks that get the job done in both scenarios. Some are pretty simple, while others add a flavorful twist on healthy snacks. Use their recommendations as a guide, and choose your favorites from your go-to brands—or whip up their quick and delicious recipes for a new snack staple.

Before a workout:

• 1 single serving pack of dried fruit
• 1 fruit-flavored Greek yogurt (look for one that has 20 grams of sugar or less)
• Skim latte (12 ounces)
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 bag of apple chips
• 1 bag of popcorn
• Yogurt parfait: 1/4 cup of granola, low-fat vanilla yogurt, 1 cup of berries
• 2 rice cakes with 1 Tbsp almond butter and 1 tsp honey
• Oatmeal with apricots
• Fruit smoothie with fat-free Greek Yogurt and a mixture of your favorite berries or other in-season fruit
• Hummus and pita chips
• Apple slices with Maple-Cinnamon Peanut Butter Dip

Post Workout:

• 1 protein bar with 10 or more grams of protein
• 100 calories worth of pistachios (about 28 nuts) and a piece of fruit
• 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese with 1 tsp cinnamon and vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 6 oz low-fat Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1/2 cup of berries
• Protein smoothie: 1.5 cups almond or soy milk, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 1 banana
• Supercharged smoothie
• 1 glass of low-fat chocolate milk
• 1 hard-boiled egg and a handful of mixed nuts
• 2 rice cakes with 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese, tomato slices
• Turkey-Pepper Roll-ups: wrap sliced turkey around a few bell pepper sticks
• Chocolate protein pudding

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From http://www.youbeauty.com/

30 Dumbbell Exercises Missing From Your Routine

If a workout consists of popping a squat on the 50-pound dumbbell to chat it up with friends, it may be time try something new. Dumbbell exercises provide a great full-body workout in a compact amount of space. Yes, we said great workout — not just a few decent arm exercises. Read on to de-zombify that workout routine with 30 killer new dumbbell exercises.

Full Body

1. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift: This deadlift variety is sure to please the hamstrings (or punish them). Standing with feet hip-width apart, toes facing forward, and dumbbells at your side, shift the hips back and slightly bend the knees as you lower the dumbbells toward the floor (keep them angled on the outside of your legs). Maintain a neutral spine while lowering the weight just until you feel a good stretch in the hamstrings. Come back up to standing, making sure to contract those glutes and hamstrings on the way up. That’s one!

2. Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift: This one is tougher than it looks, but worth the effort. Starting with feet hip-width apart and dumbbells at your side, place your weight on one foot, and bend slightly at the knee. Lean forward, lifting the opposite foot straight up into the air behind you. As you come forward, move the dumbbells from your side directly over your planted foot. Return to standing position by lowering your back leg as you come up. The dumbbells should return to the sides of your thighs.

3. Dumbbell Hang Clean and Press: Don’t take this one to the laundromat! Get down in squat position and track a dumbbell on each side outside of your ankles with palms facing your feet. With vertical shins and a neutral spine, move upward to a standing position while pulling the dumbbells up. Next, forcefully drive the dumbbells up toward the shoulders using the hips and legs. As you come in for the catch, slightly squat to bring the weight to your shoulders with a neutral grip (palms facing the body). Explode the weight off your shoulders overhead. Lower the weight back down.

4. Single-Arm Dumbbell Snatch: In a wide-squat stance, hold the dumbbell in your right hand in front of the knees. Drive the weight up, keeping it close to the body, and thrust it up with your hips. When the weight reaches chest height, fully extend the legs. Then squat back down so your body is underneath the weight. Drive the weight up overhead into full lockout position. This should be one quick movement. Think explosively!

5. Russian Dumbbell Swing: The playground’s got nothing on these. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in both hands out in front of you. Hike the dumbbell back between your legs, then thrust your hips forward to move the dumbbell up and out to about shoulder height. Though it is called a swing, this exercises is all on the hips and glutes.

6. Dumbbell High Pull: Time to get up on those toes! Assume an athletic stance with feet shoulder-width art and knees slightly bent. Place the weight straight out in front of your knees with palms facing in, maintaining a neutral spine with the chest up. Keeping the arms straight, explode upward, fully extending the hips, knees, and ankles while shrugging the shoulders up. Next, pull the dumbbells up toward the top of your chest close to your body, keeping the elbows slightly higher than the wrists.

Legs and Glutes

7. Dumbbell Front Squat: Take some pressure off that back. Start this one with feet hip-width apart, holding dumbbells on your shoulders with a neutral grip and elbows up. Next, hinge back, keeping the back straight like you’re sitting on an imaginary bench (come on, work with us here!). Lower the body until hips are below your knees. Complete the move by driving through the hips as you come back up to standing position.

8. Dumbbell Pistol Squat: This exercise isn’t for the faint of heart (so beginners, try it sans dumbbells first). Stand with feet hip-width apart holding a dumbbell sideways in both hands. Extend the left leg out in front of you and squat down on the right leg, moving the dumbbell straight out. Go all the way down (and we mean all the way down!) until your butt touches your ankle. Return to start position and repeat for reps on both sides.

9. Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat: Squat so much you nearly split your pants. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Prop your left foot onto a bench and plant your right foot on the floor into a wide split stance. Lunge straight down, keeping your front leg linear and your spine rigid. Come down until your knee hovers above the floor, and then push back up to starting position and repeat for reps on both sides.

10. Dumbbell Side Lunge: Feeling a little sideways? Standing with feet shoulder-width apart and a pair of dumbbells at your side, take a big step to the side with your left foot, pushing your hips back and lowering your body into a deep lunge position. As you come down, move the dumbbells straight down to the floor so that your chest comes over your left knee. Return to starting position and repeat for reps on both sides.

11. Dumbbell Step-Up/Reverse Lunge Combo: Put a little pep in your step up. Stand 6 inches from a bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Place your entire left foot onto the bench as you step up. Drive through the heel on the elevated leg, bringing the right leg up to hip height. Lower back down to start position, and step back with your left foot into a deep lunge. (Be sure to track your right knee over your ankle at a 90-degree angle.) Repeat for reps on both sides.

12. Dumbbell 45-degree Hyperextension: The motto here: Relax the back, recruit the glutes. Find a GHD machine and from starting position, lean over with hips flexed as far as they will go. Grab a dumbbell and position it under your chin so it looks like a bowtie. Relax all of the back muscles and pull up with the glutes. Come up to slightly hyperextension and return to start position. 

Chest and Back

13. Dumbbell Floor Press: Who said presses need a bench? Lie on your back with feet flat on the floor and a dumbbell in each hand. Position the dumbbells at your shoulders with elbows rested on the floor. Push straight up bringing the dumbbells directly overhead. Return to starting position.

14. Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press: A challenging twist on the classic, lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the dumbbells on the outside of your shoulders and alternately press the right dumbbell up overhead and back down, then the left. This exercise also forces you to engage the core for stability — bonus!

15. Dumbbell Pull-Over: Expand your wings by working the serratus muscles. Get in a tabletop position with shoulders planted on a bench and feet on the floor. Next, hold a dumbbell by one end with both hands straight overhead, engaging the glutes and back muscles. Lower the weight in an arch behind your head until you feel a good stretch. Bring the dumbbell back to starting position. 

16. Bent-Over Dumbbell Raise: Guaranteed to unleash the beast, stand with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Bend forward at the hips so your body is positioned just above parallel, holding dumbbells in both hands, with palm facing in. Raise the dumbbells straight out up to shoulder height and lower back down to starting position. Repeat for reps on both sides.

17. Dumbbell Chest Supported Row: Ready to dive on in? Lie face down on an incline bench supporting your weight on your toes. Holding a pair of dumbbells straight down in front of you so they are parallel to the floor, pull the weight up toward your chest, getting a nice squeeze in your upper back muscles. Lower the weight back down and continue the stroke.

Shoulder and Arms

18. Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Flys: Don’t swat these away. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Bend forward at the hips so the torso is at parallel to the ground, holding a pair of dumbbells straight down with palms facing in. Next, with elbows slightly bent, raise the dumbbells out the side so that the elbows extend above the shoulders. Return to starting position.

19. Dumbbell Upright Row: These will lead you back to shore. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and place a pair of dumbbells straight down in front of you. With palms facing your body, pull the weight straight up the front of your body to the top of your chest, keeping the elbows slightly above the shoulders.

20. Prone Rear Delt Raise: Delta, delta, delta we can help ya help ya help ya! Lie face down on an incline bench supporting your weight on your toes. Stick a pair of dumbbells straight out in front of you with palms facing in. Raise the dumbbells out the side and back, bending your arms slightly as they come up.

21. Incline Lateral Raise: Sit side-saddle on an incline bench with your left side resting on the bench. With a dumbbell in your right hand down at your right side, raise it straight up overhead above shoulder height. Return to starting position and repeat for reps on both sides (cake).

22. Dumbbell Shoulder-to-Shoulder Press: Hold a dumbbell flat in your right hand, resting it on the top of your shoulder. Press straight up and then lower your arm. Alternate with the other arm. That's one rep!

23. Dumbbell Spider Curls: An exercise good enough for Peter Parker will certainly put a little bulge in those biceps. Lie face down on an incline bench supporting your weight on your toes. Hold a pair of dumbbells straight out in front of you with palms facing out. Curl the weight up to full contraction without rocking back and forth. (Isolation, baby!) Return the weight to starting position. Want to change it up a bit?  Alternate left and right for single-arm spider curls. 

24. Dumbbell Incline Biceps Curls: Get an extra squeeze in. Sitting on a 45-degree angled incline bench with a dumbbell at each side (palms facing your thighs), curl both dumbbells up at the same time to full contraction. Avoid swinging the weight up for momentum (definitely not as easy as it sounds!).

25. Dumbbell Skull Crushers: The exercise name says it all, so be sure to follow closely: Lie face up on a bench with feet planted on the floor and your back pressed down. With a dumbbell in each hand, raise the arms straight up (palms facing each other). Then, bending only at the elbows, lower the weight down to your ears, finishing in 90-degree angle. Return to starting position.

Core

26. Renegade rows: James Dean probably did these in his sleep. Assume the push-up position with feet about shoulder-width apart and dumbbells placed in each hand, positioned below the chest. Next, pull the right dumbbell toward the oblique muscles, keeping it close to the torso. Lower the dumbbell back down and repeat on your left side. Continue for reps on each side in an alternating fashion. 

27. Dumbbell Overhead Side Bend: Get a good stretch in. Hold a dumbbell overhead with both hands. Without twisting your upper body, bend toward your right side until you feel a good stretch on your left side. Return to start position and repeat for reps on both sides (and consider yourself spent!).

28. Dumbbell Russian Twist: Sit on a gym mat with a dumbbell in each hand. Holding the dumbbells out in front of you, bring them down to your right side, only moving your arms. (Twisting at the spine is a big no-no!) Bring them all the way to the left, keeping your spine rigid. Repeat for reps.

29. Dumbbell Windmills: Ready to feel the air up there? Stand with feet slightly wider than your shoulders and press a dumbbell overhead on your right side. Rotate the feet to the left side a bit. Now, lean the torso forward while holding the weight straight overhead until your bottom hand touches the floor. Concentrate your gaze on the weight to stay balanced. Return to start position and repeat for reps.

30. Dumbbell Wood Chop: Paul Bunyan knew a thing or two about these. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell out in front of you. Squat down, rotating right to bring the dumbbell down to your right foot. Bring the dumbbell back up, keeping you arms out in front of you. Rotate into left lunge with your arms going overhead to the left side. Repeat for reps.

From http://greatist.com/

What Is Potato Good For?

Potato: The Golden Crop

Botanical name: Solanum tuberosum

Whether it’s mashed, baked, boiled, steamed, or sautéed, the potato is a dietary staple around the globe.. This root vegetable or tuber is a member of the Solanaceae or nightshade family, whose vegetable members include eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. If allowed to fully grow, the potato plant can produce an inedible fruit that resembles a tomato.

Potatoes originated from South America, specifically in the Andean mountain region. They were later on introduced to Europeans by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. On many of their voyages, the Spanish used potatoes as a source of vitamin C to combat scurvy.Today, this vegetable is cultivated worldwide and is the world’s fourth largest crop, with the state of Idaho as one of the largest producers.

There are about 100 types of potatoes, each varying in shape, size, color, flavor, and nutritional content. The most common types have white/yellow skin and flesh, red skin and flesh, or russet skin and flesh.

Potatoes are different from sweet potatoes, regardless of their many similarities. Sweet potatoes can appear in various colors, including cream, yellow, orange, pink, and purple. On the other hand, normal potatoes have a white or pale yellow flesh with brown, red, or yellow skins. They are either smooth or rough.

Their nutritional profiles also differ from each other. Regular potatoes are high in starches, while sweet potatoes have higher amounts of fiber. Many deem sweet potato the healthier choice, as it boasts of higher levels of nutrients like vitamins A and C.

Some varieties of potatoes, especially if they’re fried, are a bane to your health. However, moderate amounts and healthful cooking methods can maximize its benefits. Plus, ordinary potatoes are more versatile in the kitchen and are also more affordable.

Health Benefits of Potato

Nowadays, potatoes are commonly sold and consumed in the form of greasy French fries or baked potato chips. These processed products are a source of unhealthy fats like trans fat, other processed ingredients, and chemical additives. Excessive consumption of processed potatoes can lead to a myriad of health problems, including obesity, heart problems, and even cancer.

Minus the unhealthy oils and fats, potatoes are low in calories, and provide fiber and several nutrients. In balanced amounts, they can offer some protection against cancer and cardiovascular disease. Potato skins are a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber, and this may help prevent constipation and lower LDL cholesterol. Potato’s fiber content may also support digestion and absorption of simple sugars.

Potatoes are one of the most abundant sources of B-vitamins, especially vitamin B6 or pyridoxine, thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and folate. It is also a great source of minerals like manganese, phosphorus, copper, potassium, magnesium, and iron.

Phytonutrients with antioxidant effects, such as flavonoids, carotenoids, and caffeic acid, can also be found in potatoes. Red and russet potatoes have sufficient concentrations of vitamin A, as well as carotenes and zeaxanthin.

Potato Nutrition Facts Serving Size: A 299-gram serving of potato
Amt. Per Serving
Carbohydrates	64 g
Sodium	21 mg
Dietary Fiber	6 g
Protein	6 g
Sugar	4 g

Studies on Potato

One study conducted by scientists from the Institute for Food Research found that potatoes provided compounds called kukoamines, which aid in lowering blood pressure. These were previously believed to only be found only in an exotic Chinese herbal plant called Lycium chinense, which is used in Chinese infusion herbal medicine. Researchers also stated that both potatoes and the Lycium chinense belong to the same plant family, and that the beneficial compounds were also found in tomatoes.

Potato Healthy Recipes: Mushroom and Broccoli Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 2 cups broccoli or cauliflower, steamed and chopped
• 4 medium potatoes, steamed and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 6 medium mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup cheese (your choice), grated

Procedure:

1. Steam the potatoes and broccoli/cauliflower. Set aside.
2. Sauté the onions and mushrooms. Set aside.
3. Beat the eggs well and mix them together in a large bowl with the potatoes, broccoli, onions, and mushrooms. Add to a skillet with a metal handle.
4. Cook over medium to low heat for about 15 minutes until the frittata is cooked but still a little moist in the middle.
5. Place grated cheese on top and put under the broiler till cheese browns lightly. Let it cool a little and serve.

(Taken from Dr. Mercola’s Healthy Recipes for Your Nutritional Type)

Potato Fun Facts

Back in the late 1800s, potatoes were as valuable as gold because of their vitamin C content. However, during the 1500s, Spanish explorers failed to recognize this and focused on finding silver and gold upon reaching South America. Potatoes were used as basic rations for conquistadors, and as feed for livestock.  In 1899, during the Alaskan Klondike gold rush, miners began to see the nutritional value of potatoes and traded gold for them.

In October 1995, the white potato became the first crop to be grown in outer space. This was a joint project by NASA and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Researchers came up with this technology to feed astronauts on long space voyages, and in the hope that it can sustain future space colonies.

Summary

In the time of the Spanish conquistadors, potatoes were already a favorite for their nutritional profile, versatility in cooking, and affordable price. These tubers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, color, and flavors. Potatoes are rich in vitamins A and C, and B vitamins, as well as certain types of minerals. Some varieties even have phytonutrients that have antioxidant properties.

While they provide a number of beneficial properties, potatoes should only be consumed in moderation as they are high in starches. Processed potatoes, such as chips and French Fries, should be avoided as they contain unhealthful fats and synthetic ingredients that can harm your health.

From foodfacts.mercola.com/

Exercising but Gaining Weight

Exercise has innumerable health benefits, but losing weight may not be among them. A provocative new study shows that a substantial number of people who take up an exercise regimen wind up heavier afterward than they were at the start, with the weight gain due mostly to extra fat, not muscle.

But the study also finds, for the first time, that one simple strategy may improve people’s odds of actually dropping pounds with exercise.

As we all know, the fundamentals of weight loss should be simple. Burn more calories on any given day than you consume and, over time, you will lose weight. Theoretically, we can achieve that desirable condition by reducing the number of calories that we take in through dieting or by increasing the number of calories that we incinerate through exercise.

But in reality, most people do not achieve or sustain weight loss, no matter what method they try.

Exercise is particularly problematic in this regard. A recent review of studies related to exercise and weight control found that in most of the studies, people lost barely a third as many pounds as would have been expected, given how many calories they were burning during workouts. Many studies also report enormous variations in how people’s waistlines respond to the same exercise program, with some people dropping pounds and others gaining fat.

Scientists have had little understanding, however, of why exercise helps some people but not others to shed pounds or whether there might be early indications of how people will respond to an exercise routine.

So for the new study, which was published last month in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, scientists at Arizona State University in Phoenix recruited 81 healthy but sedentary adult women. All of the women were overweight, based on their body mass index, but some were significantly heavier than others. None had exercised regularly in the past year.

The women were told that they would be joining a fitness study and would exercise in order to improve their aerobic endurance. The scientists asked the women not to change their eating habits in any way.

Each of the volunteers visited the physiology lab at the start of the study and the scientists determined their weight, B.M.I., percentage of body fat, current endurance level, and others measures of health and fitness.

Then each woman began a supervised exercise program designed to be vigorous but manageable by most people, said Glenn Gaesser, a professor of nutrition and health promotion at Arizona State and senior author of the study. The women walked on treadmills at the laboratory three times per week for 30 minutes at a pace that represented about 80 percent of their maximum endurance.

They continued the program for 12 weeks, with the scientists repeating the original fitness and other tests every month during that time.

At the end of 12 weeks, the women were all significantly more aerobically fit than they had been at the start. But many were fatter. Almost 70 percent of the women had added at least some fat mass during the program, and several had gained as much as 10 pounds, most of which was from fat, not added muscle.

A few of the women, though, had lost that much fat or more, and quite a few had remained at the same weight as at the start of the regimen.

At this point, the researchers returned to the data from the first day of the study, to determine whether any obvious differences existed between the women who subsequently gained or lost weight. “Some past studies of dieting had indicated that women who weigh more at the beginning” of a weight-loss program “tend to lose more weight during the program,” Dr. Gaesser said.

But the researchers found no correlation in this case between a woman’s weight at the start and end of the study. In fact, the scientists found no connection between any of the original parameters of health and fitness and the women’s responses to the exercise program.

But looking deeper into their data, they discovered one interesting indicator: Those women who were losing weight after four weeks of exercise tended to continue to lose weight, while the others did not.

“What that means in practical terms is that someone who wants to lose weight with exercise” should step on the bathroom scale after a month, Dr. Gaesser said. If at that point your weight remains stubbornly unchanged or has increased, “look closely at your diet and other activities,” he said.

While this study didn’t track the women’s eating and movement habits away from the lab, it is likely that those who gained weight began eating more and moving less when they weren’t on the treadmills, “probably without meaning to,” Dr. Gaesser said.

Of course, the study was fairly short-term. It also did not involve men, although some past studies indicate that men, like women, frequently add fat mass after starting to exercise.

Still, the results, while sobering in some respects, also provide encouragement. By deploying a bathroom scale and discipline, along with exercise, you may well lose weight, Dr. Gaesser said.

Even more important, the women in the study were much fitter after four months of exercise, and Dr. Gaesser said “fitness matters far more for health than how much you weigh.”

From New York Times

So You Want to Stop… Drinking Your Calories

Every few weeks, I start a new group of clients on a program to change their health habits. One of the habits we work on together is consuming fewer liquid calories. Many of my clients say the same thing, “Easy, I don’t drink that much soda.” But then I ask them what they had this morning at Starbucks…

In 2004, researchers looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to see how many calories Americans drink. They specifically looked at “sugar-sweetened beverages” which includes,

• “low-calorie” drinks
• sweetened teas
• fruit drinks and juices
• sweet coffee-bar drinks (such as Frappuccinos and hot chocolate)
• rice and soy milks
• sports drinks

What did they find? 63% of Americans had one or more of these beverages on any given day, and total calories per day from sweetened drinks has gone up in the last 20 years by 29% to over 200 calories per day. (That doesn’t include alcohol, which in the survey accounted for another 99 calories per day!)

Most of these drinks have slipped into our daily routine because they have been marketed as “healthy.” Some of them are even “made with fruit”—kind of like when I put put a pickle on a roast beef sandwich and say it’s “made with vegetables.” But my beef with liquid calories has nothing to do with “health” and everything to do with mindlessness. By my definition, any calorie you consume without noticing is an empty calorie. And since calories add up, it’s time to learn how to drink fewer empty ones. Here are the best lessons I’ve learned from my own clients.

1. Keep track of your drinks When you start recording your morning orange juice and afternoon Frappuccino in MyFitnessPal, you’re going to notice those calories. Take a look at how many beverages you drank from the list above at the end of a week, and add up how many extra calories you drank. For a real visual shocker, see how many extra grams of sugar you drank and then measure that amount out in table sugar.

2. Drink more water Most of the calories we drink are consumed because we’re thirsty. I recommend drinking 50 to 100 ounces of pure water daily. Start your day with a glass in the morning, and end it with a glass before you go to bed.

3. Keep a water bottle at your desk Why mention work? Because we spend so much time at the office, and because the average person consumes 20% of their liquid calories there! By having an alternative handy, you can simply replace mindlessly drinking calories with mindlessly drinking water.

4. Immediately follow wine with water If you are going out for drinks with friends, try drinking one glass of water for every cocktail or glass of wine you sip. If you’re anything like my clients (or me), you’ll end up drinking half the calories you normally would and you’ll wake up feeling a lot better the next morning, too!

5. Brew some tea Green, black, white or red tea (did you know there were so many different colors?) is very flavorful, healthy, and easy to make. You can drink it cold, hot, or anything in-between and it’s tasty morning, noon, and night. If you’re just sick of plain water, find a tea you like and keep a mug of nearby.

From my fitness pal

6 Truths About Exercising That No One Wants To Hear

Success in the gym, as with most things in life, comes down to mastering the basics.

With that in mind, here are six exercise tips, weightlifting basics, and training essentials nobody wants to believe but everyone should follow.

Take these ideas to heart and you’ll reap major benefits. While most people waste time debating the endless stream of supplements, “new” workout programs, and diet plans, all you really have to do is focus on these simple concepts and you’ll see results.

1. You must commit for the long term.

Most people work out with a short-term goal in mind. I like looking at health in a different way …

• The goal is not to lose 40 pounds in the next 12 weeks. The goal is to regain your health for the rest of your life.
• The goal is not to bench press 300 pounds. The goal is to be the guy who never misses a workout.
• The goal is not to sacrifice everything to get your fastest time in next month’s race. The goal is to be faster next year than you are today. And faster two years from now than you will be next year.

Ignore the short-term results. If you commit to the long-term process, the results will come anyway.

Further, stop acting like living a healthy life is a big deal. You can go to the gym every week. That can be “normal” for you. Not a sacrifice. Not an obligation. Normal.

What’s funny is that when you commit to being consistent over the long-term, you end up seeing remarkable results in the short-term. That’s the power of average speed.

2. You need a schedule.

Most people never train consistently because they are always wondering when they are going to train next.

They are always wondering …

• “Will I be motivated to workout when I get home from work?”
• “Will I have enough free time to exercise today?”
• “Will I have enough willpower to wake up early and run?”

In other words, most people train when they feel motivated or inspired.

Here’s a better idea: Stop treating exercise as something to do when it’s convenient and start setting a schedule for yourself to follow. This is what makes the difference between professionals and amateurs.

For example, I train every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 p.m. I don’t have to think about when I’m going to train. I don’t sit around and wonder which days I’ll feel motivated to lift. I don’t hope that I’ll have some extra time to work out today. Instead, I put it on the schedule and then organize my life and responsibilities around it (just like you would organize your day around your class or your meeting or your kid’s baseball game).

Setting a schedule for your training becomes even more important when life gets crazy. There will always be occasional emergencies that prevent you from working out. It’s part of life. The problem is that most people miss one workout and, before they know it, they haven’t been to the gym in four weeks.

But when you have a schedule for your training, you have a way of pulling yourself back on track as quickly as possible.

Top performers make mistakes just like everyone else. The difference is that they get back on track quicker than most. Miss your workout on Friday because you were traveling for work? Guess what? Your next training session is already scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. I’ll see you there.

Let your schedule govern your actions, not your level of motivation.

3. Not all exercises are equal.

Great results come from great focus, not great variety.

Too many people waste time in the gym because they bounce around without any real goal, doing a little bit of this machine and a little bit of that machine. Thankfully, there is a simple rule that will always guide you toward the best exercises: The more an exercise makes you move, the bigger the benefits it will deliver.

This is why the clean and jerk and the snatch are the kingpins of weightlifting. They are the exercises that force your body to move the most (and the quickest). As a result, the people who do these exercises see incredible results.

Here’s a short list of the best exercises. In my opinion, at least one of the first five exercises should be included in every workout.

1. Squat
2. Deadlift
3. Bench Press
4. Clean and Jerk
5. Snatch
6. Sprints
7. Overhead Press
8. Good Mornings
9. Pullups
10. Pushups

4. You need to start slow.

Ask most people if they had a good workout and they’ll say things like, “Oh yeah, it was so intense.” Or, “I’m going to be so sore tomorrow.” Or, “I finished my workout by doing a set to failure.”

It’s great to push yourself, but the biggest mistake that most people make is not building a foundation of strength. Everyone wants to jump in and max out with a weight that is “hard.” That’s exactly the wrong way to do it. Your workouts should be easy in the beginning. 

Training to failure is a good way to wear yourself down, not build yourself up. You should have reps left in you at the end of your workout (and at the end of each set). Take point #5 (below) to heart and your workouts will get hard enough, fast enough. Trust me.

The phrase that I like to keep in mind is “train for volume before intensity.” In other words, I want to build the capacity to do the work before I start testing my limits.

Just to be clear: volume doesn’t have to mean “do sets of 20 reps.” (I rarely do more than 10 reps in a single set.) Instead, I like to think of volume over a period of weeks and months.

For example, right now I’m doing a 5×5 squat program (5 sets of 5 squats). I started light. The first week, I lifted with a weight that was very easy for me. Then, I slowly added 5 pounds each week. For weeks, it was still easy. Eventually, when I built up to a weight that was heavy, I had the capacity to handle it because I had already done dozens (if not hundreds) of sets over the previous weeks and months. Focusing on volume now allows you to handle the intensity later on.

5. You should make slow progress.

Most people walk into the gym every week, do the same exercises with the same amount of weight, and wonder why they aren’t getting stronger. You’ll see people step onto the same treadmill, run two miles like they always do, and wonder why they aren’t losing weight.

Here’s a little story that explains the problem and the solution…

Imagine that you are in a quiet room and someone turns on a loud and noisy fan. At first, it’s obvious and irritating. But if you are forced to stay in the room long enough, the fan starts to become part of the background noise. In other words, your body registers the sound at first, but eventually it realizes “Oh, this is the new normal for this environment.”

Your body adapts and the noise fades away. Something similar happens when you exercise.

When you start to train, it’s like turning on the fan. Something new is happening in the environment, and your body registers the change by getting stronger and leaner. But after a few workouts, your body realizes “this is the new normal.” Your body finds a way to adapt to this new environment, just like it did with the noisy fan. As a result, you stop getting stronger and stop losing weight.

What got you here won’t get you there. If you want to see different results, you have to do something different. If you want to see progress each week, then you have to progress each week.

This is actually very simple to do. Add 5 pounds each week. Add an extra set this week. Do the same exercise, but rest for 15 seconds less between sets. These are all ways of changing the stimulus and forcing your body to slowly and methodically get better.

6. You should keep a record.

What gets measured, gets managed. If you can’t even tell me how many sets and reps you did with a particular weight two weeks ago, how can you guarantee that you’re actually getting stronger?

Tracking your progress is simple: get a small notebook and write down your workouts. (I use a little black moleskin notebook that I bought a bookstore.)

At the top of the page, write the date of your workout. Then, simply write down the exercise you are doing. When you finish a set, record it in your notebook while you’re waiting to do the next one.

Recording your training is especially important because it brings all of these points together.

You can look back and see how you’re making long-term progress (point #1). You can see on which dates you trained and how often you were on schedule (point #2). You can verify that you did the best exercises each workout (point #3). You can see how you are slowly building up volume and developing a foundation of strength (point #4). And you can prove that you’re making slow, methodical progress each week (point #5).

What You Should Do Now

Your could spend your entire life mastering these six points, but these are the basics that will make a real difference in your training.

Here are your action steps:

• Set a schedule. When and where, exactly, are you going to train?
• Get a notebook and pen to record your training.
• Focus on the best exercises that make you move a lot.
• Start with a weight that is very light and train for volume before intensity.
• Slowly increase the weight each week.

Happy lifting.

From Business Insider