6 Crucial Training Tips

Looking for inspiration? Looking for that sign? A defining moment? A defining moment can be when you make the right choice that ultimately changes your life. Read on for 6 crucial training tips for success in the gym and improving your health as suggested by the Elements4Life (E4L) coaching team. Let’s not focus on diets, fads, supplements or the next big thing. There is one main component that you must embrace first.

1. You must commit for the LONG TERM to your health and you must commit for the LONG TERM to your goals.

You must commit for the long term to the things that matter. To the things that bring you happiness and to the things that provide the balance you need for a better life. It all starts with your health and that is by far our longest term relationship we can have. A life long relationship. If we neglect it, it could also be our shortest relationship as death, sickness and unhappiness are a by product of poor health. The cumulative affect of our choices. Many people have short term goals, which are fine but these lead to inconsistency with training and habits. This leads to motivation issues, training plateaus, bad food choices and generally an up and down focus on what you really want to achieve. True health is a long term commitment. True fitness is a choice. For example: The goal should not be to lose 5kg in the next 12 weeks. The goal should be to regain and take control of your health, strength and mindset and develop sustainable routines. If you do this the 5kg will more than likely naturally occur due to the behavioural adjustment. Who do you want to be? The person who never misses a workout? The person that looks to improve and learn? Each year you should have improved or at least been consistent in what you do. Ignore the short term results and focus on the long term because the short term results will come as a result of this focus regardless. How bad do you want it? Do you want to be a better person? Commit to the long term and take steps. All your goals will follow this LONG TERM focus and commitment.

2. You need a schedule

Routines are king and those who develop sustainable and repeatable schedules are destined for success in whatever they do. Book in your team training sessions and of course we recommend E4L Team Training due to the science backed training program, measurable results and overall industry experience and reputation. Book in some sessions with your coach as by doing so will provide you greater accountability, a learning environment and more often or not a stronger relationship with your training. Making appointments for better HEALTH! Making commitments to a better YOU! A lot of people don’t train consistently because they are always wondering when they are going to train next and waiting to see how they feel at the time. This is a huge mistake as most often or not people will drive past the gym or say no to movement opportunities. Book your training session in advance and look at movement as something you do daily and do often. Vary the intensities to make it sustainable. Don’t use motivation as an indicator of when to train. Train out of a commitment to yourself. 3-5 sessions per week is highly achievable and with dedicated rest days it is very sustainable. Book your weekly sessions with your E4L coach and work the rest of your life commitments around these times. This works the best as prioritising your movement will allow consistency. If you miss a day that is ok as you have your schedule and you will be back on track immediately. Let your schedule dictate and lead your actions. No motivation is required when following a schedule and your focus is on your self development as a whole.

3. Not all exercises provide maximum output. Not all exercises are created equal.

Great results come from a great focus on the task, not just great variety. People get caught up in the entertainment of training and forget to focus on a level of mastery. Do not tiddly-wink around the gym as this is the sure way to sabotage your progression and motivation. The more an exercise makes you move, the bigger the benefits it will deliver. Compound exercises are the skills that recruit more muscles and require more energy to execute. As a result, the people who do these exercises see incredible results. This is why we have a lifting and sprinting ideology at Elements4Life with a focus on quality. 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 with variations. These exercises must be performed with knowledge, diligence, self awareness and practice. Your body must be mobile enough to execute some of these and a progressive program is essential. Not sure? Get a coach to progressively improve your body’s mobility and strength.

The Top Movements

1. Loaded Squats & Lunges including variations
2. Deadlifts and Hexbar Deadlifts including variations
3. Bench Press & Dumbbell Press including variations
4. Clean and Jerk
5. Various Torso Rotation, Isolation and Sling Skills (Multi-planar Movements)
6. Bodyweight Functional Movements based on the 7 Primal Movement Patterns (squat, lunge, twist, bend, push, pull and gait)

Must Do Regularly (2 times a week is an optimal minimum)

1. Sprints
2. Overhead Press (Strict)
3. Good Mornings & Loaded Hinges
4. Pull-ups (Strict)
5. Pushups (With Variations)
6. KB Swings with a focus on glute contractions and posterior engagement.
7. Loaded Rows & Latissimi Dorsi Focused Skills

Top Toys

1. Kettlebells
2. Barbells
3. Dumbells
4. Torsion Bars
5. Unconventional Tools & Toys
6. Sleds
7. Suspension (Straps & Bars)
8. Body Weight

**NOTE** – Skills like the snatch, level 2 lifts and other dynamic overhead moments are only to executed once you have optimal mobility in your shoulders and thoracic.  Otherwise do not attempt this skill in any format. These include all the regressions and progressions based on your level.

4. Remember you need to start slow and look for small progressions over the big. Be realistic. Time will show the results. Be patient and diligent.

It’s great to push yourself, however your workouts should be easy in the beginning. Conditioning is paramount. You must also train mentally to ensure your capacity of workload improves. No need to bust yourself every session. It is not a healthy way to train in the long term. Think sustainability! Listen to your body! Recover as much as you train! Training to failure is a good way to wear yourself down however not to build yourself up. You should have reps left in you at the end of your workout and at the end of each set in my opinion. Quality of movement always shines. Always finish your session on a mental high knowing you executed your skills well and towards progression. Being injured is not worth it. Seek to build on your training age and experience and develop your art. Remember, training is just like a martial art. The phrase that I like to keep in mind is “train for volume before intensity.” However intensity has its place a few times a week however these are done with intelligence and mindfulness. Also look to build the capacity to do the work before starting to test your limits. Build it up. Respect the weight and the journey. Volume is how many reps and load applied in a session or skill. This can be broken down into sets. Eg 5 sets of 5 reps! This is all relative to the load % and your goal! (Strength v’s muscle gain or both). This also applies to the time involved doing cardio specific training! Apply slow progression to this volume by adding weight and or reps. It only has to be small increments. 1kg to 2.5kg is a sufficient progression in a short period of time. If you can’t increase the weight, then seek to increase the reps or sets as you will still get the stimulus required for great results.

5. You should accept to make slow progress.

Unfortunately, most people walk into the gym every week, do the same exercises with the same amount of weight. We wonder why we aren’t getting stronger. You’ll see people step onto the same treadmill, run 5kms like they always do and wonder why they aren’t losing weight. The reason is that the body adapts very quickly. You must make progressive changes to the environment and load factors. Don’t condition yourself to a plateau. Mix it up with progression (reps, volume and weight) and do the key skills listed above consistently. CNS – central nervous system is smarter than you so we must step up to the plate and learn how to compete to its standard of evolution. Game on. Progress each week is a simple base plan and ensure variety of skills with major compound movements included.

6. You should keep a record as guessing is only going to be disastrous.

Measurable results = measurable progress. Tracking your progress is simple. Record your workouts, your cycles and loads/reps/sets. Recording your training is especially important because it brings all of these points together. That is the key.

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