If you’re like most people, you hit the gym by yourself, and don’t have a personal trainer. And while it would be nice to have a seasoned professional critically eyeing your form and telling you how fast to go, how much weight to use, and whether you should do that last set, most of us don’t have the cash to hire a full time professional to watch us squat. Instead, we’re left to our own devices, trying to come up with our own training plans, figure out how far to run today, whether we should push ourselves harder, or go easier, add more weight or call it day. Inevitably you end up burning out, or getting hurt. Which leaves us to ask—how can you best go about coaching yourself? What should you keep in mind, in order to get the best results alone?
First, you have to realize your limitations. Ignorance will get you into the most trouble. If you don’t know the technical requirements for how to do a squat, you’re liable to get hurt, or at best severely limit how much you can lift. When it comes to the technique, you simply need somebody with experience to show you how to do the lifts and exercises you want to do, because there’s no way to figure them out by yourself. In this, a coach is necessary. Don’t be one of those fools messing around with a lot of weight and just asking to be injured. Find a friend, get a coach, just make sure somebody shows you how to lift correctly so as to maximize your gains and prevent injury through dumb technique.
Second, motivation. Here you can exercise more control over your performance. In the end , no matter what or who is telling you to work out, it’s up to you to hit the gym. There are several methods to help you keep on track, the key one being accountability. Get a workout buddy who picks you up to go the gym, or meets you there and works out with you. Tell everybody you’re going to start a serious program, and let that pressure help you keep on track. Write down your results, and chart your progress. Finally, ask yourself why you are working out. What’s your long term goal? If it’s to simply lift more weight, dig deeper. Why do you want to lift more weight? How will this affect your life? Once you’ve come up with a true reason to workout, think about that whenever you feel yourself wavering. If your goal is to become healthy enough to pick up your kids, then think about them when you’re feeling lazy.
Finally, how to avoid injury. Pride and ego are the two main causes of injury in the gym. People push themselves too hard, think that they should finish out their set, or wonder if they should add more weight. Everybody wants results now now now, and nobody is willing to be patient and earn it through careful and methodical practice. There are two rules of thumb to follow in this situation: whenever you are contemplating changing your weight lifting/workout regimen on the fly within the gym, ask yourself: would you advise a buddy to do the same? Probably not. And if you’re still not sure, simply don’t do it. People always hurt themselves on that last set, on that final weight increase. If you’re asking yourself if you should do more, don’t. Stick to the plan. There’s always room for careful growth, and you want to avoid 9 months on your back due to a busted knee or slipped spinal disc.
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