How to get better at Fitness (in no particular order):1. Gear up. Get Oly shoes, some inov-8s or nano’s, a speed rope, wrist wraps, and quality workout clothes.
2. Lift heavy weights regularly. Don’t just stay in comfortable 70% zones. Push your limit… which leads perfectly to #3…
3. Use a spotter and FAIL. If you aren’t missing reps, you aren’t training hard enough. Period.
4. Work mobility A LOT. Before, During, After.
5. Take your training seriously. Always strive to become better.
6. Don’t take your training too seriously. Give yourself a break.
7. Train with others. It’s just better.
8. Show up no matter what. If you aren’t in the mood, here’s what you do. First: Walk to your car and drive to the Box. Second: Figure the rest out later.
9. Fast before you train. ‘The idea that we “need” to consume calories before, during, or after training, is bullshit hype pushed on us from the bodybuilding and supplement industries.
When you switch your metabolism over to training without food, you will PR more often and feel better in general. And you’ll want to send me a thank you card… you’re welcome.
10. Don’t throw your barbell or other equipment. It’s just douchey.
11. Warm-up A LOT. Make sure you focus your warm-ups and utilize dynamic movements before you train. This will improve your results and prevent injury.
12. Motivate other athletes. To receive, you must give.
13. Practice handstands often. You have to get upside down if you want to improve them.
14. For Females (and guys who don’t have strict pull-ups yet): Have someone spot your ankles as you perform strict pull-ups (push off the spotters hands to assist reps and go for failure). This is the best way to develop the dead hang pull-up that I have found. Get better at Crossfit .
15. Don’t cherry pick your WOD’s or days. Show up the days that make you want to hide. These are the days you should never skip (weaknesses… HeLLo).
16. Train your weaknesses. Really try to destroy them. This is the only way to become a better athlete in my professional opinion.
17. Utilize your coaches before and after class. They love to talk training, food, and lifestyle. Ask them questions and then shut up and listen. You will learn a LOT.
18. Ask other athletes for tips and tricks. We are all on different paths in this journey and have learned different things along the way. You never know who you can learn from.
19. Buy a jump rope and size it to you. Then never leave it at the gym.
20. Practice double-unders every day
21. Do a few strict pull-ups every day
22. Do a few one-arm push-ups every day
23. Meditate 5 minutes every day. This can improve your entire life (and your fitness).
24. Practice your Olympic weightlifting every day with a dowel and empty barbell. The gains you will make doing this are insane.
25. If there is an exercise you are not good at, do the following: perform 3 sets of 10 as part of your warm-up every day.
26. Work on heavy, light, and moderately weighted squats every week. Doing lots of squats will produce big gains for men and women. Squats are king.
27. Practice jumping in all modalities. Over, under, on top of, sideways, backwards, long, short, high. Get jumping.
28. Make sure you have a very good rack position. The barbell should be completely supported by your shoulders and not your hands.
29. Train planks often. And I really mean train them. The results from these come 30 seconds after your arms start shaking. You need some mental toughness for these.
30. Learn to bounce out of the bottom of a squat. This can be difficult for those of you that have tight hips and this is why you should practice squats often with a dowel and empty barbell.
31. Do pistols at least once a week (the more the better).
32. Make sure to hit all the major lifts at least once a week. Squat, Deadlift, Press, Bench, Snatch, Clean, Jerk.
33. Have a recovery plan: hot/cold water, massage, foam rolling, nutrition, ice, Epsom salt, etc.
34. Get your family involved. Who cares if you come off annoying at first? They are your family and you don’t want to bury them, do you? If you really love your family, you should give a shit if they are killing themselves with shitty food and bad lifestyle habits. Start working on them NOW.
35. Do shoulder dislocates with a dowel every workout. Don’t force them. Move smoothly.
36. Turn the wrists out at the bottom of the muscle-up. This will ensure you reach full extension of the elbows, lats, and shoulders. become-a-better-athlete
37. Do lots of strict dips and negative holds on the rings.
38. Incorporate strongman work into your program. Sled work and the prowler can do amazing things. Walk with a sled attached to the hips as recommended by Louie Simmons.
39. Practice heavy farmer carries.
40. Throw things. We’ve been throwing spears and javelins for thousands of years.
41. Wake up to 20 push-ups every morning.
42. Do 30 air squats and 20 push-ups after every meal. No really..this is an awesome recommendation from Tim Ferris in The 4-Hour Body and I use it all the time. It’s even more effective after big meals. (The 4-Hour Body)
43. Walk after every meal. This improves digestion, prevents fat gain, and makes you feel less bloated and lethargic.
44. Do travel or home WOD’s if you can’t make it to the gym.
45. Practice L-sits often. Same with frog stands. These basic gymnastic skills are easy and low-stress movements that can help you become fitter.
46. Listen to your coaches! They see what you don’t see and they know training. listen-to-your-coach
47. Work on your lifestyle and nutrition.
48. Take REST days. I know it’s an insane concept, but you CAN’T train every single day. HIIT training is very stressful on the body and requires adequate rest. If you want to live a long life, and give your body time to get stronger, you must let it repair itself through proper rest and recovery.
49. Take a REST week every couple months. This has done wonders for a lot of my athletes.
50. The best thing you can do when training is to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. You must learn when you can push past your redline and when it’s time to back off. Listen to your body when it tells you to rest. Figure out what your body responds to and what it doesn’t. Self-experimentation allows you to develop a plan that works for your goals and body type.
Source
Colin Stuckert /Gym Life
