You’re eating balanced meals, but not going so overboard as to run out of motivation.

And still — you’ve got some questions.

And that’s why I’m here. I took a lot of the really typical questions that my clients throw me — specifically on the subject of weight loss — and put them together into this article. Let’s go!

Where Will I Lose Weight First?

First on, last off. While this rule isn’t really set-in-stone, and no one has yet been able to figure out exactly why our bodies send fat to different areas depending on the person (it’s a combination of genetics, what you eat, and your patterns of movement), this is a good general rule to follow.

So — if you were once pretty trim, and your first 10+ pounds went right to your stomach, you can (generally) bet those will be the most difficult to lose, while that recent weight in your thighs, or around your chin, or wherever might come off easier.

You can’t spot train any of this stuff away, so don’t worry about it. You can sculpt individual muscles, but you don’t want to concentrate on over-sculpting your abs just because you’ve got a beer gut going.

Balance and patience are key here.

Can I Take Weight Off My Stomach?

Again — spot training doesn’t exist. So yeah, you can take weight off your stomach, but you might also take some weight off your hips, your legs, or any other part of your body that’s storing excess fat.

Another problem with hoping to reduce our stomachs is that it’s a lot harder to get them completely flat, and we don’t often see the results we’ve made because there’s always still that little possibility of having fat down there.

The stomach is one of the least flattering areas to stare at in a mirror when you’re trying to figure out if you’ve lost any weight. Try and use different metrics, like measurements, or how well your clothes seem to be fitting, instead of just fixating on getting rid of your gut.

What’s More Important, Diet or Exercise?

No one knows!

No, seriously, there’s no either/or option here — they are both fundamentally important. Some trainers will tell you that it’s 80% diet, and there’s a very good case to be made for that.

But hang on — there’s a whole world of people who have been focusing exclusively on diet for decades without any results. So there’s that.

The more important thing is actually to get rid of this mentality that says the two aren’t intertwined. If you’re exercising, focus on your diet too. If you’re working on what you’re eating, make sure you’re exercising. If you’re going intense with one aspect of healthy living, go intense with the other.

Do I Have to Stay on A Diet Forever?

If you’re on a fad diet, no. You won’t be able to stay on it forever because none of those diets are designed to make you stay on them that long. They’re made just for short-term efforts, or until the next book comes out.

You do need to pay attention to what you eat for your entire life. But if you get away from thinking of that as a traditional “diet” and more just “eating well”, these kind of questions magically tend to fade away and don’t cause much worry in the end.

Shouldn’t I Do A Lot of Cardio and Running First to Lose Fat?

Another classic — “I can’t start strength training until I’ve sweat off all the pounds!”

Don’t treat this as either/or. Just like diet & exercise, strength & cardio are necessary partners. There’s no need to fixate on one or the other when a combination of both will serve you best.

And please don’t come to the gym and just use the cardio machines. It’s the most inefficient (and time & money-wasting) thing you could do!

Talk to a trainer and get a balanced plan going instead.

Ask Me About Fitness Advice

Hope I’ve answered some of your biggest questions! Ask away in the comments if you’ve got any more — I’ve got answers for you!

Don’t Make It Multi-Use.

If you can avoid it, don’t put your home gym in a room where you also do a bunch of other stuff — if you have a couch and watch TV down in the basement, and your equpiment is right next to the TV, that lack of separation between the two rooms might making working out a chore.

If you can pull it off at all, get your home gym equipment into a separate space as much as humanly possible. Having that physical separation lets you maintain a good mental separation, too.

Invest in Good Equpiment.

Treat your home gym equpiment like you would a car, or a set of really great kitchen knives, or quality furniture — don’t skimp on it and expect it to last forever.

This is a tough one, because you also don’t want to over-invest in equpiment if you aren’t 100% sure that you’re going to stick with your home gym plan, but if you’re reasonably sure about working out at home — don’t go too cheap, or you’ll just end up re-buying more expensive equipment down the road.

Invest in a Stereo that Fills the Room.

Doesn’t have to be a huge one with a 7.1 speaker setup — there are plenty of iPod-compatible speaker/docks that can fill up a room just fine. But working out to your mp3 player and those $10 computer speakers, plugged into an outlet in the corner of the room, on the floor? Treat yourself a little better and you’ll get more out of your workouts, faster.

Pay Attention to Your Lighting.

Dark and dank gyms don’t last long. There’s a reason people who run gyms spend a lot of time making them bright and accessible — being in a sweaty, sometimes smelly environment isn’t always how we want to spend most of our days, so having good, bright, positive-feeling-inducing lighting takes the strain off of all that working out.

Keep Your Equipment Clean & Clear — Always.

Whatever you do — please don’t use your home gym equipment as a laundry rack. The more you do this, the less mental space you’re giving to it as something you should be using multiple times per week, and the more you’re letting it risk being buried under a pile of junk and eventually shuffled aside.

Musicians don’t let their guitars sit under their beds, covered in dust and old clothes — don’t do the same for your home gym.

Pretend You’re Going to a Real Gym — Every Time.

Ask any writer who has a home office — it’s unlikely they get a lot of work done unless they get up, get dressed, and treat “going to the office” like they’re leaving the house and going to work.

Sure, there are rare exceptions, but making that tangible split between home/work (or home/workout) is fundamental to giving yourself the space, time, and dedication to getting in shape. Treat your home gym like you’re going to the real gym — phone off, shower afterward, do it when you have enough buffer time to give it the dedication it (and you) deserves.

Just Get Your Workouts Done.

Lists of tips are great and all, but every single good idea in the world would remain just that — a good idea — if it weren’t for someone actually going and just doing it.

If your home gym ‘violates’ every single one of these rules, and you’re in great shape, working out multiple times a week, and loving it? You’re golden. You’ve got nothing to worry about.

And if you’re ‘waiting’ to start working out at home because you want to get your exercise room just perfect, with all the equipment and everything else you need to have before you can begin even one round of strength training? You need to admit it — you’re procrastinating, and you’ve got to deal with that before you can do anything else.

Not Everyone Has the Luxury, and Not Everyone Needs It

There are people in absolutely phenomenal shape who have zero access to any of the stuff we’ve talked about in this article. They’ve got dedication and hard work instead, which always, always — always come first. Work on getting those, and then head out and get your stereo/TV/kick-ass equipment/whatever else you need.

Over to Your Thoughts

How have you setup your home gym? Are you a minimalist, or do you have a fully decked out gym experience in your home? Leave me a comment and tell me about it! There’s no right or wrong way, of course — only what works for you.

Running a marathon is tough, and there’s no need for me to beat up on people who choose to do it. You can lose lots of weight if you take up running, and people have really changed their lives once they laced on some shoes.

But I want to go into a few of the reasons why long distance cardio — especially running endlessly on a treadmill — won’t get you into toned, amazing shape.

I see too many people in the gym, thinking they have to be like a marathon runner, endlessly running cardio in order to shape up, when right next to the cardio machines you’ve got a squat cage and the free weights section, promising a full-body transformation in a far more efficient, fun, interesting, and satisfying fashion than running for hours upon end.

Here’s why.

Long Distance Cardio Doesn’t Build Muscles

There’s science to back this up, and but there are plenty of contrary studies, too — as with anything. Since my blog is all about getting you into the best shape you can possibly be in, I’m only going to take things this far — the general scientific consensus is that if you want to be in really lean, toned, fantastic shape, marathon running isn’t really for you.

You can’t build your upper body muscles while running, and it’s been proven that in order to actually strengthen and build your muscles, doing repetitive, long-distance, semi-low-intensity cardio isn’t really the way to do it.

The same applies to cardio machines, too — there’s just no way you’re going to get that toned, lean body you’re looking for (whether you’re a man or a woman) if you’re spending all day on the stationary bike. And if you’re a guy, shooting for the slightly vague goal of becoming strong? Cardio isn’t really the direction you should be heading.

Compare Marathon Runners and Sprinters

Just look at the average body of a marathoner vs. a sprinter. Which one would you rather have? If you’re looking for the lean, solid strength of a sprinter, you’re unlikely to find it among most marathon runners — all that muscle eventually slows you down, and makes it hard to run for such long distances — especially when we’re talking marathon distances of 42km and higher.

This is why interval training is taking off. If you’re really in love with running — more power to you. But at the same time, if you’re looking to increase your lung capacity big-time, really strengthen your leg muscles, and go for a sprinter’s body rather than a marathoner’s — you need to switch from running long distances to high intensity interval training, where you all-out sprint for short distances, followed by recovery periods. These bursts of intensity virtually force your body to develop in a better, more muscular fashion.

Marathon Running Isn’t Really About Muscles Anyway

If you talk to most marathon runners, at a certain point the amount of training becomes irrelevant. There are people of all different body types able to finish marathons in great times, and what’s really crucial is mental capacity, not the exact type of training you’ve done in the past.

The word “marathon” is used frequently as a metaphor in other walks of life because it’s not really something natural or sustainable — if we were capable of constantly running marathons, more people would be doing it. But we know it’s something you have to work up to, something that’s unnaturally long and weirdly demanding on the body, and something that doesn’t really represent the ideal way to get in shape.

So why do people do endless cardio as though that’s the best way to lose weight?

If I had the perfect answer for that, I’d tell you. Partially it’s just the “lifting weights doesn’t burn fat” myth. Or the idea that you have to sweat (in a cardio fashion) to lose weight — as though doing 12 squats won’t make you sweat like crazy!

So remember — you don’t need to imitate the marathon runners if you want to lose fat and get in great shape. In fact, you’re probably better off leaving all that marathon stuff to the people that really appreciate it — it’s not easy or natural to discipline your brain to run for 4-5 hours straight, and it’s not the fastest or smartest way to lose weight, either.

Normally, 3-4 times a week is plenty. Depending on what you’re doing at the gym, 4 can even be too much — it gives you only 3 recovery days per week, and if you’re doing some serious weight training (where you should be talking to a certified trainer anyway), you might need additional recovery days.

I’ve split it up into two categories — if you’re going to the gym a lot, I’ve got some easy ways to figure out if you’re going too much. And if you’re slacking off a bit, and not going enough, I’ve got some reminders of how often you should be hustling it over to the gym, and why regular attendance can make such a huge difference.

How To Know If You’re Going Too Often

Although a lot of people have the opposite problem (which I talk about below), there are certainly plenty of others who get into a real routine of going to the gym — and then suddenly start overdoing it.

First, if you’re going to the gym when you are actively, significantly sore, you’re likely going too much. There’s nothing wrong with being a bit sore after a workout, but that’s what recovery days are for.

If you’re constantly going to the gym sore, and “working through” the pain, you’re overdoing it. I often see people at the gym who make two bad decisions at the same time: they come to the gym too often, and they work out irresponsibly — too much weight, bad technique, no attempt made to listen to their bodies or adopt a plan that’s right for them.

If you think you’re hitting the gym too often, but you aren’t sure: talk to a trainer. Be honest about how often you come. Ask them to look up your number of visits on the computer, don’t minimize your soreness or previous injuries, and ask them to suggest you a new timetable.

Even the very act of speaking to a trainer who is often at the gym means that they’ll be watching out for you in the future — and if they notice you in there 5, 6 times one week, there’s a good chance they’ll come over and ask how you’re doing. Just because you feel comfortable in the gym doesn’t mean you can spend all your time there!

When You’re Not Going Enough

This one is a lot easier than going too much — basically, you should be getting a good workout in 3 times per week. If you’re coming less than that, and your reasons for not coming aren’t due to a sporting event, marathon, or other excuse to be active, you’re not coming enough.

Eventually, what started out as 3 visits/week can get reduced to 2, which finally reaches down and gets to 1. One strength training routine per week is better than zero, but it’s also a strange schedule to be on — you might feel like you have to (over)work everything because you haven’t been in 6-7 days, and that essential familiarity with the machines that comes with regular gym-going will be lost to you.

Your Comments

How often do you visit the gym or work out at home? Leave a comment with your personal routine — I always love to hear about how you’re getting it done for yourself!

Gyms are good. They’re full of trainers, machines, and music that will get you fit and keep you on a path towards life-long healthy living. I’m a huge fan of them, and as I grow this site with you, the readers, I’m going to be talking about how to get the absolute most out of your gym membership.

But the other day I was thinking a little bit about the psychology of going to the gym — and some of the benefits that come with having a dedicated place to workout, a place that isn’t just the open streets (if you’re a runner) or your basement (if you’re a home gym fan).

So I came up with these two hidden benefits that start working as soon as you start your gym membership.

First: When You Pay, You Go.

Ponying up the money for a proper membership at your gym can have a strange effect on how you frequent the place. If you break down your monthly fee by how many times you hit the gym each month, you can get a sense of how much you’re spending each time you do a workout.

It’s been scientifically proved that workers who figure out exactly what they’re being paid per hour — even if they’re on a $60,000/year salary — see their time at work as more valuable and happier. If you know you’re netting $60 for the time you put in on a particular project, it’s possible to feel all the better for it.

While this same policy doesn’t exactly translate over to the gym — as it’s something you’re paying for, not being paid for — employing the same system can be helpful. When you know exactly how much you’re spending on a gym visit, it can help you form a regular habit to make sure you get your money’s worth. After all — if you skip an entire month and only go to the gym once? That’s one expensive visit.

Second: Compartmentalization is Good.

I’m all for home gyms and setting up a great way to work out at home. As I say frequently on the site — whatever works best for you is the fitness route you should be following, not a pre-ordained plan that you absolutely must stick to, 100% of the time.

But having a gym to go to — and the fact that there’s a separate environment, other people working out, a place to get changed and shower, and machines dedicated to getting you into better shape — all of these things can really help get you over the psychological humps that make people put off a workout for another day.

It’s like people who work from home — most of the time, they find that it’s impossible to work in your pyjamas, next to the bed — your brain just can’t get into that work-mode if you stay in morning-sleep mode. Same goes for working out — it needs space, and a dedicated gym is the ultimate expression of that space.

Your Thoughts!

Do any of you have any stories about your gym and its place (mentally, physically, etc) in your lives? For some people, the gym is what a social club or sporting club was to generations past. I’m really interesting in hearing how various people around the world approach gyms — just get in and out, do your workout quickly and go? Or spend some time, and dedicate a good portion of your day to physical fitness? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

I post a lot of different workout videos here on the site. I don’t do this just to keep you coming back, over and over again, to see something brand new. No, I do this for a much more crucial reason.

The key is — all my workout videos are fundamentally about working the same muscles. There are only so many parts of our body we can workout, either at a gym, or at home.

But there is an infinite number of ways we can work those parts out. And I want to give you the most variety possible in how you build strength and lose weight.

Our bodies need that variety, and our brains need it too. So finding one or two videos that you like, and just sticking with those, isn’t the best idea. That’s why using a single DVD or workout book is limiting, and ultimately pretty damn boring.

Our Bodies Need Variety

Our bodies are pretty smart — they know when they’re being strained, when they’re being tested, and when we’re pushing them into uncomfortable territory. Basically, this happens any time we try and work out, really.

So what do our bodies do after a while? They get sly, they get crafty — and they stop showing us those initial results that we might have seen earlier in the game.

This is the famous plateau effect, where suddenly you feel like your workouts aren’t having the same great effect as they once were. It happens for lots of reasons, but I like the tricky-body metaphor the best, as it’s the easiest to visualize and combat.

Changing It Up, Constantly

In order to get past this plateau, we need to challenge our bodies by changing up our workouts. It might be because we’ve developed a specific part of our muscles really nicely, but have been neglecting others nearby, or we’ve simply stopped giving our all to a particular workout because it’s become too routine.

The solution? It’s easy — just keep changing things up. Don’t change your entire workout every single day and never get even a basic level of comfort with what you’re doing, but at the same time, don’t let yourself get too comfortable, either.

Our Brains Need Variety Even More

Never mind just our bodies — our psychology depends on constantly changing stimulation to keep interested, especially when it comes to something repetitive and grinding like exercise.

Look, I’ll be the first to say that lifting weights and doing strength training isn’t inherently exciting — fundamentally, it comes down to repeating a series of hard, laborious tasks over and over again. And our subconscious is the first to tell us that, by putting up mental blocks against working out.

The solution, once again, is ultra-simple: change things up. With new workouts, new approaches, new videos — you’ve got new options. If you had to watch the same workout video I posted months ago, over and over and over again, forever — you’d be sick of me in no time. But because I bring the fresh approach, the new angle, the different set of reps and concentrations, you’re gonna stay on your toes a little while longer.

Habit is Good, but Routine Can Be A Killer

Remember that slogan — get into the habit of working out, and if you’re really able to use my videos, all the more power to you — but make sure your workouts don’t become routine. Once the interest, the spark, the joy goes out of it (man, this sounds like a relationship advice column!) — you need to find a way to re-capture that, and changing up your workouts and your approaches is the best way.

My videos are all about giving you the quickest, easiest path to doing this — as soon as you find yourself inching towards that dreaded routine word, head back over to my site. Read an article or two, and know that I’ll already have a whole set of fresh videos ready for you to tackle.

So don’t wait — change up your routine right now!

(Photo by sugarbureau on Flickr)

I’ve been mentioning machines in the gym a lot recently, and the main reason is because it’s been proven, time and time again, that free weights and compound exercises (like squats, deadlifts, pushups, and so on) are far better, faster, and more efficient tools to get you in shape.

But there are still lots of people using machines, and I want you guys to continue reading my site and taking what you need from it — we’re trying to be inclusive here, not to put up walls around fitness pursuits.

That being said, there are still some machines that are better left alone, not only for injury reasons but just because there are far better alternatives out there. Here are 3 of the most common ones.

No More Ab Crunch Machine

Most gyms have a machine that cost several thousand dollars that lets you do exactly one single ab crunch. It’s generally not a great machine. There are dozens of better abdominal exercises you could be doing that have nothing to do with that machine — leg lifts, cable pulls, various compound exercises on the ground, bicycles, whatever — and all of them are generally considered more efficient, safer, and in the end, easier than that machine.

So why do most gyms have this machine? Hard to say, really — sometimes when you’re outfitting your gym, you’ll get a great deal on a giant range of machines and you can’t always specify exactly which ones you don’t want, or, like a lot of machines, it’s just necessary to have an ab crunch machine to provide an entry point for people who are dead-set on doing absolutely zero unassisted exercises. The sooner you can graduate from this to any of the other hundreds of options, the better.

Save Your Shoulders For Free Weights

Ask any personal trainer about your shoulders — you often need to choose lighter weights than you’d think when starting out, as certain exercises work parts of our shoulders that just don’t get worked on a day-to-day basis like, say, our quads or glutes might (with that thing we all do called walking).

Shoulder press machines have, like every machine, a pretty limited range of motion, and for some reason, tend to be ones that many gym-goers accidentally over-do it with, injuring their underdeveloped shoulders due to a machine not set to the right height, weights being too high, or the closed track of the machine not allowing them to adjust their lift until it’s too late.

Stick with barbells, dumbbells, or body weight for shoulder presses, and leave the machines alone.

Forget the Adductor and Abductor Machines

It’s almost universally acknowledged among trainers that these machines are useless — they work a very specific part of your groin that is always far better served with a compound lift or squat of some kind.

As soon as you get used to more effective, efficient workouts, these machines can be safely ignored for good.

There’s also a bit of gym bias, generally from men, towards the fact that the adductor/abductor machines are “for women only.” While that might be the way a lot of people in the gym think (ignore that kind of thinking in general — fitness shouldn’t be gendered in such a way), the real fact is that everyone should be working their adductors and abductors — all men included — with smarter exercises.

(Photo by Playtime Fitness on Flickr )

I talk a lot about compound lifts and smart exercises on my site. I’m really going out of my way here to make no secret that these are the best kind of exercises I think you can be doing, not only because they can work a transformation on your body faster than any other I know of, but also because they’re so efficient when compared to so-called “spot” training or endless cardio.

But there’s one thing that — for a very good reason — I sometimes forget to mention when extolling the virtues of all these multiple-muscle-working lifts.

What is it?

It’s that compound exercises are demanding as hell.

That First-Time Shock

People who do their first sets of squats are often taken aback. These are tough exercises. The reason compound lifts are so great is because they work multiple things at once, sure — but you’re going to feel the demands that multiple muscle exercises put on your body.

Especially for people coming from a machine background, or even more drastically — an all-cardio one — the switch from strength training that was largely done while sitting down to something that employs a huge number of muscles, plus balance and control like you’ve never experienced is a big damn switch.

Mentally Preparing Yourself

Another reason I’m no big fan of machines is because the spot-training methodolgy they naturally encourage tends to let people off the hook, as you can sit leisurely down, run through a couple sets on a bicep curl machine, curl ‘till you can’t curl no more, but never engage anything else besides your biceps.

Even just doing those curls with a barbell, standing up would make a difference – your neck, shoulders and back are forced to get into the game a bit, and your concentration on posture and balance will make a difference over the long run, too. These are the kinds of exercises you want while working out your biceps — not something that just works the one, single muscle and lets all the other ones relax.

How Compound Exercises are Similar to Interval Training

When people talk about how great High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is, they often leave the “oh yeah, it will completely destroy you the first few times” part conveniently out of the sales pitch, or stick it in there at the end.

But it’s true — just like how a series of interval sprints will push your muscles and lungs to the max, leaving you wondering how you could have ever felt that a plain old jog was a strenuous workout, doing compound lifts will drain you.

This means the same precautions apply — if you have a pre-existing medical condition, you don’t want to start right in on the interval training, just like you don’t want to start right in on the squats, deadlifts, and all the other compound exercises either.

Where Can Beginners Start?

These are not exercises for complete beginners. More than anything, I want fitness beginners to get to the level (and it’s not really very difficult) where they can do these workouts and make them a principal part of working out, but there’s no point beating around the bush — these workouts will place big demands on your body, probably bigger ones than you’re used to (you knew there was a reason they worked so well, right?), and some instruction at the beginning is obligatory.

It’s a rare — and often misguided/stupid — person who jumps straight into doing back squats and deadlifts after watching a few videos online and talking to absolutely no one. I don’t want you to be that person.

Talk to your trainer, to a gym staff member, to someone you know who works out regularly. Make sure you take small steps towards a compound-exercise future. Prepare yourself mentally. Realize that you probably won’t be fully prepared physically. Acknowledge that it’ll take a few times to get these things right — that’s why machines are simple, and these are a little less simple.

But once you’ve done all that, and really got your first taste of the kind of full-body transformation a great free-weight, compound workout can give you? I guarantee you there’s no going back.

If you watch any of my videos, you’ll notice I don’t stick with the machines –

A lot of newcomers to gyms assume that just because there are so many machines in a gym, that’s the best and most logical way to get in shape. But if you look through any of the articles on my site so far, you’ll see that’s far from the case.

Machines are limited in motion and rarely engage compound groups of muscles, are often done sitting down, and are just generally not anywhere near as effective as great exercises like squats, deadlifts, or any range of free-weight workouts.

So — why are there so many machines in every gym?

Not Everyone Can Get A Personal Trainer

For your first few times off the machines, it’s tough to do it alone. And unfortunately, not everyone can afford a personal trainer (although one is almost always worth the price of the better gym experience that results).

Since most people in a gym naturally understand that you’re going to be flying solo when you hit the free weights, the bench press, or the squat cage, anyone who doesn’t have that much confidence — and there are plenty of these people for whom just coming to the gym was a huge battle — might stick with the machines.

Not Everyone Wants A Personal Trainer

There are plenty of individualists in the gym who pop the earbuds in, never really talk to anyone, and like it that way. Nothing wrong with that, of course, except that when you don’t have that much experience and are dead-set on not asking for any help, you’re probably naturally going to gravitate towards the machines, where at least there are some little diagrams that show you what to do, and it seems harder to injure yourself.

You need help knowing how to do free weight exercises right, and if you’re the type to never ask for help in a gym as long as you live, well — that’s what the machines are there for.

Turnover Rates Never Really Go Down

Most gyms experience a big number of new signups that eventually quit coming. It’s just natural — not everyone puts in enough visits to make it a habit, or they have a bad experience, or it’s just not for them — whatever reason. But gyms are still crucial in the popular imagination, and anyone who suddenly decides to get in shape will probably consider joining a gym as one of their first options.

As a result, there’s a continuous flow of new, inexperienced people coming into any gym at any time. Not all of these people are going to have the confidence to hit the free weights right away — machines are practically obligatory to ease people into the idea of working out.

January 1st.

I have to mention New Year’s Resolutions, when gyms see their biggest spike in memberships as thousands of people decide “this is the year I get in shape.” For the same set of reasons as my previous point, machines are basically necessary — if every new gym member came in and was forced to start with free weights and all the other great things you can do once you get off machines, personal trainers and gym staff would never stop working.

This is the ideal state of affairs, of course, but it’s unlikely to happen any time soon — it would drive gym membership costs way up and intimidate too many newcomers, unfortunately.

Look at Machines Like Training Wheels

The sooner you can be free of them, the better – for you, for your future workouts, and for your fitness. Getting on your feet and switching your workout routine over to compound lifts and other great, ultra-effective exercises is one of the biggest steps you can make in a gym, and it’s one you should consider the next time you swipe your membership card.

Remember – don’t rush into it, as habits are important, and make sure you study up, read up, and ask lots of questions. But the sooner you stop ignoring that one corner of the gym and instead make it your home, the happier you’ll be.

(Photo by Karinlouwersephotography on Flickr)

If you’ve watched any of my workout videos you know that there are a few more instructions for various barbell lifts or other free weight exercises than you might find with a common machine.

This is a good thing, because one of the great benefits of lifting free weights is that you’re forced to bring many more muscles into play, that you’re not lifting on a track like you would be doing with a machine, and thus there are lots more factors to track. But it can be tough to remember it all — so here are a few tips on how to keep things straight.

Ask For Help

You might have got away with this using machines, but now that you’ve graduated from those fixed-position “training wheels” and moved over to the free weight section, along with the endless choice of exercises now available to you comes a lot more responsibility in doing the exercises in the right way.

You might think you can figure out how to do things right on your own, but I guarantee you that for the first few times, your muscles will just be getting used to the exercise itself, you’ll probably be gauging what weight to use, and the last thing your brain will be able to do is keep track of the four specific things you were asked to monitor while doing the exercise.

The solution? Get a person to help you. If you’re going to be bold enough to leave the machines behind, be bold enough to talk to other people in the gym at the same time, too. That’s what the gym staff/personal trainers are there for — to impart their expertise to you, and make sure you’re doing things right every time you lift.

Use Visuals

Pre-load one of my workout videos onto your phone (depending on the kind of phone you have). It might seem strange at first, but don’t worry — no one is analyzing every move you make in the gym, as they’re too busy with their own workouts.

Being able to see how I do a specific lift (and to listen to my spoken instructions) can make a huge difference in how you do your exercise — your brain will have a visual guide that it can refer back to.

Make sure you’re working out by a mirror, so you can get the appropriate visual feedback to know where you’re making mistakes. And trust me — we almost never do a lift properly the first few times. It’s just a fact of the gym.

Print Things Out

All my newest videos have full transcriptions, and there are tons of other sites online that explain, in as much detail as you can handle, how to do specific exercises. If it helps, take that text along with you to the gym, and keep reading it over and studying it until you’ve committed large parts of it to memory.

Just Do Your Workouts

Practice makes perfect. Becoming used to how your body responds to various workouts is really the only way to get better at them — all the previous tips are just ways to make it easier, but in the end, it’s only by doing these exercises on a regular basis that you’ll get any better.

Another great benefit is that tons of my workouts have alternative variations — the number of squats out there is legendary, and once you’ve mastered the basics, the variations become a lot more accessible.

So remember — keep a cool head, don’t be afraid to ask for help, use visual or written aids, and work out on a regular basis!