by Edward Casanova | Sep 16, 2019 | B.1

"So you’ve been working out for a while and started thinking about how to take your fitness to higher levels. Well...been there, know that."

We will be covering three fitness tips you can start implementing straight away to make your time at the gym as productive as possible.

1. Get your cardio going but don’t overdo it.
2. Understand the difference between strength and functional training
3. Focus!

1. Get your cardio going but don’t overdo it

It’s truly important to get your heart rate up in the shortest amount of time at the beginning of a session.

Cardio is a fantastic way of doing that without asking for too much at the very beginning.

"Either walking or moderately running on a treadmill can do the job but there are plenty of ways you can do this. The thing is limiting the amount of time you spent doing this."

Too much time doing cardio can make you feel exhausted before the heavy lifts.

A personal suggestion it's between 5'' -10''. No more than that! Especially if your goal is to get stronger.

2. Understand the difference between strength and functional training

Strength-training

• Think of strength-training when you execute any of the “5 big exercises”Which stand for Bench Press,Squat, Deadlift,Pull Up and Overhead Press in their pure form, this means variations not included.
• Often labeled as complex exercises because of their multi-joint nature and a strong requirement for a neat technique. However, once you get through that learning curve it’s all about controlling the weight and progressively increasing it.
• Perfect for increasing overall strength.

Functional training

• Tends to be more multi-planar with higher complexity of execution (example: squatting on a Bosu)
• Complex technique: think of a Clean & Jerk. Although you can carry up to 200lbs its technique requires years of practice before mastery
• Perfect for working imbalances on your overall fitness performance through working stabilizers.

"This is not about glorifying one against the other but understanding what the main objective of your overall training is and going towards that."

Review your routine, quantify the number of exercises you’re doing per session and then label them accordingly. If your goal is overall strength, a higher percentage of them should be of that nature and vice versa.

Notice that you can still play with the percentages in your training (such as 80% strength training and 20% functional) but don’t make it even trying to cover everything in a single session.

3. Focus!

"Often entrepreneurs and professionals have a cluttered mind, I’m not saying I’m perfect but I’ve found ways to remain diligent through my entire workout."

Here are some strategies that may work for you at the gym:

• Be polite when it comes to conversations; make it clear that you’re here for training.
• Bring your music; having a tone that gets you going it’s never a bad idea. Just make sure the whole playlist is in harmony, you don’t want to be switching from Mega Brutal Metal to Taylor Swift.
• Focus on your breathing and getting in the zone; the hardest one to master but the most rewarding. Think of yourself as a Shaolin monk with a mission, a legendary one.

Highlights

• Warm-up but do not make cardio your entire session.
• Differentiate between strength and functional training.
• Focus!!! Like Dwayne Johnson.

So, what are thoughts about these tips? Let me know them in the comments. Ask me anything related to fitness, entrepreneurship and lifestyle.

Take your fitness to the next level

If you are an ambitious professional or entrepreneur looking to get in shape without sacrificing your professional and personal goals, check my website for more information.

You can email me to [email protected]

Have an epic day!

Edward Casanova,

Fitness Coach at Zen Fit