Everyone likes a tip. A tip that is actionable and helps you reach your goal or  outcome you desire.

Diet tip

The best fitness tips usually revolve around consistency, efficiency and lifting tricks. Because let’s face it, if you have no consistency or no back up plan when life gets hairy, the best program in the world isn’t going to save you.

This New Year is a time to wipe the slate clean and look onward and upward in relation to your fitness goals. The following tips can be easy applied to any fitness goal you strive for and will help you have your best fitness year yet.

1. Schedule your exercise(in Google Calendar or whatever app you use), like you would with any important appointment. You’re less likely to skip your training, and this will help you develop consistency.

2. Use a different tool for the same job The shoulder press exercise can be performed with either a barbell, dumbbell, resistance band, kettlebell or cable machine.

Each offers its own benefits which helps keeps things interesting and can help prevent overuse injuries.

You can apply this to many exercises such as rows, squats or chest presses.

3. Hire a coach Shorten your path and increase your exercise knowledge by hiring a coach. Stop thinking and googling and let some one like me help your reach your goals.

4. Show intent The more tension you create when you LIFT, the stronger you are. Stronger is always better. Hold that dumbbell tighter, squeeze the muscles of your behind harder or brace your abdominals like your about to get punched.

Chuck 3

5. Improve your mobility Get up and down from the ground by minimizing the use of your hands and knees. Do this a different way each time for 1 min. This doubles as warm up and cardio too. Did I mention it’s a challenge?

6. Drink some coffee Having coffee 1 hour before training and some after your training helps you do more during your training and helps your recovery after your training. Don’t leave home without it.

7. Start and finish with abdominal work Use planks at the start of your training to activate your mid-section before hitting the weights and planks at the end of your training to improve core stability when you’re fatigued.

8. Pause for strength A great way to increase  intensity without increasing the weight is to add a pause. This will keep the working muscle under tension longer, helping you get stronger and build muscle.

9. Reduce your base of support Changing your body’s position in space is an underrated way of improving your balance and core stability. Try the half kneeling and tall kneeling positions while lifting. Your core will be pleased.

Tall Kneeling

Half Kneeling

10. Cut yourself some slack Not every day is going to be your greatest day in the gym or in life. There will be days when you’re tired, sore or lack motivation to exercise and that’s perfectly normal. Put it in your rear-view mirror,  don’t dwell on it and move forward.

11. Close your eyes When you exercise. Feel the movement and the muscles it’s working. This helps improve your balance and awareness of your body in space also.

12. Your body is a machine there is nothing wrong with getting your heart rate up on a cardio machine but using your own piece of machinery is a great change of pace and a lot of fun also.

Use some examples below to get your sweat on.

Concentric bodyweight training

Tabata squats (20 seconds work 10 seconds rest for 8 rounds)

Jump squat/jump lunge combo (start at 6 of each and increase in by one per round until you can’t go anymore)

Med ball slam and Kettlebell swing combo (start at 20 of each and go down by 2 each round until you get to two

13. Get a grip strengthen your fingers by holding two 5 or 10-pound weight plates together by your sides for a long as you can.

Wrapping up

If you doing the same old thing, you’ll keep getting the same old results and you don’t want that, right? Change it up this new year for  better results and a better body.

The scale and the mirror might just become your friends.

Any questions?

Email- shanemcleantraining@gmail.com

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