Ever see people that go to the gym and never break a sweat? They are always at the water fountain? Talking? Staring? Just taking up space? It’s because their workouts suck. They show up to the gym but never really get anything accomplished. If you are one of these people then you are in luck because I am going to school you on how to get a workout in without the suck! (Disclaimer: If your workout sucks I can help but if YOU actually suck I can’t)

1. Have a plan. When you go to the gym you should know what your exercises and goals are for that day before you ever get there. Never go to the gym and sit there thinking what I am going to work on today. What’s that saying? If you don’t have a plan then you planned to fail…..whatever… it’s something like that. If you have trouble planning your own workouts then hire a trainer or find a plan on the internet. You have to have a plan without one you will be lost in the gym. Now I know a lot of fitness people who train without ever writing anything down, including me. However on my way to the gym I am always planning my workouts in my head and know exactly what I am going to work on when I get to the gym. Most times I even have a backup in case somebody with no plan is taking up space where I want to work.

2. Increase your intensity. This is always the thing that amazes me. If you are at the gym for more than 30 minutes and haven’t broken a sweat then you are either not working hard enough or training on a glacier. You can easily increase the intensity of your workouts by doing a little more weight where you actually have to struggle. If you can get 12 reps of an exercise easily then you need to go heavier (that’s excluding abs training). If you are doing an exercise that requires a spotter and you fear crushing your face with a metal bar (which is understandable) then use drop sets. Don’t know what a drop set is? GOOGLE IT! You can also try supersets, training two different muscle groups back to back. Contrary to what some trainers may tell you supersets don’t have to be antagonist muscle groups. It can be any two muscle groups really. Another way to add intensity is to decrease rest time in between sets. Quit standing around talking or flexing in the mirrors and get on with your workout. I promise I use to know a guy who would do a set of bicep curls and then pull his shirt up and look at his abs for 2 minutes. That just doesn’t make any sense.

3. Take a supplement. I like caffeine… yep I said it. I know other fitness professionals will tell you that caffeine doesn’t really help you lose fat and should be avoided but for me it works. Now I am not saying I think it magically makes fat disappear but what it does is help me increase my intensity for that hour I am at the gym. I take my caffeine right before the gym whether in pill form or liquid and I am ready to workout hard. This is the real way it helps you lose fat, by helping to increase your intensity which means harder workouts.

There you have it, try these 3 simple things and I guarantee your workouts will not suck…as for you yourself I can’t guarantee that.