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5 Workout Tips To Increase Intensity

My Workout Tips
Every action produces a result. Take actions that'll work in your favour... here's how.

workout-tips-increase-intensity

"You went to the gym today, but what did you do in the gym today?" - Motivational video

Going to the gym isn't just about ticking the box and saying we made it there 5 times this week. If you're in the gym, barely breaking a sweat or lifting weight that challenges you and forces your body to adapt (progressive overload) then quite frankly you're wasting your time.

Are some people just able to push themselves harder than others? is there a secret pre-training ritual or a certain supplement that unleashes the intensity require to apply progressive overload, feel accomplished and get gains? Yes and no.

I use the following 5 workout tips daily to ensure I'm getting the best bang for my buck in the gym each and every time I train.

5 Workout Tips To Up The Ante

Struggling to increase the intensity and get in a decent workout? Motivating falling to a low? Give my 5 workout tips a try to get yourself breaking a sweat, breaking personal records and feeling that sense of accomplishment that can only come from going balls to the wall in the gym.

Supplement With A Pre-Workout Drink 15 Minutes Before Training

Caffeine has been proven to increase mental focus, reaction time and physical performance.
These are just a few of the reasons why pre-workout supplements are favored among bodybuilders and athletes alike.

See also
The 4 Most Common Chest Training Mistakes

You don't need to splash out and spend a ton of money on an over the counter supplement.

Here are my 3 recommendations for pre-workout supplementation:

Make your own pre-workout supplement at home

Concoct a hardcore prison pre-workout 'hyphy mud' with 2 ingredients

Pick up a tub of 'Pulse' by Legion Supplements, the one over the counter pre-workout supplement I stand behind.

Listen To Music To Reduce Your Perceived Effort

Studies have proven that music does infact help our workouts instead of harm them!

When you're listening to music (whatever genre you find pumps you up) the amount of effort we're exerting feels less than it actually is.
In other words, you're able to push yourself that much harder than normal because you don't feel like you're actually working harder than if you didn't have music on hand.

I can attest to this, all of my personal bests on my Olympic lifts have come while my headphones have been blasting my favourite playlist as I take a deep breath and obliterate the weight.

The key here, to ensure your music is increasing the intensity of your workout and not doing quite the opposite is to ensure you've got the playlist you want, or you listen to one song on repeat (A popular old school technique). Once you press 'play' you shouldn't have to spend time between sets or exercises messing around with your phone or iPod. Set and forget my friend.

See also
Suicide Grip - The Pros And Cons Of Thumbless Grip When Lifting

I recommend using a pair of these cheap wireless headphones I reviewed, as they've got quite a good range you'll be able to leave your iPod or phone in your gym bag, locker or car while streaming through your headphones. No wires, no messing around, no BS.

More intense workouts with less perceived effort.

Have Your Workout Planned Out In Advance

When you get in your car you know where you're going, when you go to the grocery store you know what essentials you need to buy.
The gym should be no different.

Your workout should be planned before you even get in the car to go to the gym. If you don't know what exercises you should be doing, let alone what weight you should be lifting you'll find yourself drifting from one machine to the next, from one dumbbell to the next not really doing anything worthwhile.

An intense workout is planned, it's calculated. It's formulated and designed for results.
The plan must be there and the execution must be swift and intense, get in, smash it and get out. There's no benefit to being one of those gym-rats that spends hours walking around the gym, talking to others and occasionally doing a set or two here and there.

See also
The 3 Exercises You MUST Do

Know what body part you're training, know the exercises, the number of sets and the rep range for each set along with what weight you need to be lifting in order to apply progressive overload.
Don't know where to get started? Read up on progressive overload here and the workout routine I used to transform my physique.

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Take A Cold Shower To Test Your Grit, Mental Toughness & Boost Your Energy

Cold showers are the ultimate mental toughness building habit.
Spending 3 - 5 minutes in the shower with the facet tilted as far to the cold side as possible can literally change your life.
It's mental conditioning, no one is making you stand under that freezing cold water except yourself - this builds mental toughness.

As you step under the freezing cold water your breathing becomes short and sharp, you jump and feel as if you can't handle the temperature of the water... but it's all in the mind.
Cold showers are fantastic for your health, from decreased symptoms of depression to boosting testosterone, improving the conditoning of your skin and hair as well as providing you with a surge of energy.

Start each day with a cold shower and any other task or event you encounter that day will be easy by comparison, including your workout.

See also
Homemade Weight Gainer Shakes - Bulking Made Cheap 'N' Easy

Time Your Rest Periods Between Sets To Ensure Consistency

The key to the optimal rest period, whether your goal be to gain strength, achieve muscular hypertrophy or increase your endurance is consistency.

Progression, be it in strength, endurance or hypertrophy comes down to overloading the muscle with increased tension for the desired rep count. If you’re halfing, doubling and guessing the rest period you’re taking between your sets session after session there’s no way in hell you’re going to be able to tell IF your rest periods are optimal for your goals or if you’re applying progressive overload.

The longer you rest the stronger you’ll be for your next set, but if endurance is your goal you’re going to want to be keeping a close eye on that clock to ensure you’re rest periods are as spartan as they need to be.

Use a timer on your phone, wear a watch or look at the clock in the gym between sets, however you choose to do it ensure it’s consistent between sets, exercises and workouts.

Rest Periods For Strength Training

3 minutes between sets

Rest Periods For Hypertrophy

1 minute between sets

Rest Periods For Endurance

45 seconds between sets

What're Your #1 Workout Tip? Let Me Know In The Comments Below!

Scott J.
Scott J.https://ignorelimits.com
I’m SJ. I’m a fitness enthusiast and published author. I transformed my body from a skinny fat 135lbs with 18% body fat to a solid 192lbs at 8% body fat. I became qualified in a field I was passionate about. I founded several online businesses that allow me to pursue ideas and projects in my life that I am passionate about without having to constantly worry about money. I published several eBooks explaining the training and dieting techniques I used to achieve the body I have today. I learnt a plethora of new information on dieting and fitness by reading and applying what I read, to find out what does work and what doesn’t work, because as I’m sure you’ve noticed the health and fitness industry is full of non-sense claims and BS. I found out what was true and what worked for me and applied that knowledge. And you bet I had fun during the whole process.

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