Dos/Don’ts

DON’T Work Yourself to Exhaustion

I cannot stress it enough to make sure you aren’t working yourself to the point that you feel like you can’t go anymore. Over the last 10 plus years of going to the gym, I have watched countless times of people pushing themselves too far. People go to the gym and think they need to spend hours upon hours and go 7 days a week to get into shape. This is completely wrong! Yes, they may see results, but how long can their body support that kind of beating? They are tearing their muscles down and not giving them time to heal. Oh, did I mention that tearing your muscles down like that and not giving your body adequate time to rest will also result in your immune system becoming weakened?

I was one of those people when I first started going to the gym. I wanted to see results fast and I thought going all out everyday was the answer. I saw results and began getting stronger, but I also started getting sick all of the time. Over time I realized I was hurting my body more than anything and started taking the weekends off. I also started breaking up my week by doing a form of cardio on Wednesdays to give the rest of my body a break. Another critical change that I did was limiting myself to an hour at the gym per night (this is a big one!).The results were incredible! I became stronger and leaner than ever and didn’t get sick at all. Who would’ve thought that killing yourself at the gym does more harm than good?

DO Your Homework Before Trying a New Supplement

This is a big one and it’s something I don’t think enough people do. I know of a lot of people that will go buy the latest and greatest supplement without researching what is in that particular supplement and/or researching the company that is manufacturing it. I would say most people that are new to the fitness world don’t know any better and just go by what reviews are telling them.

The thought that people are consuming supplements that they know nothing about is scary! Do you know that supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA? That’s right! Manufacturers of supplements have free rein to put whatever they want in their products. A few years ago, I read an article where researchers took some of the most popular pre-workout supplements and tested them for certain ingredients, i.e. steroids. To their surprise, a large amount of the pre-workout supplements they tested had at least a trace of steroids. Can you believe it?! People can actually buy supplements from their local GNC or wherever you buy your supplements and get products that contain steroids. I couldn’t believe it when I read the article.

Did you ever hear of the pre-workout supplement called Jack3d? If you were a male and into fitness about 10 years ago, you would have heard that name everywhere you went. It was top dog in the pre-workout supplement area and every male 18+ was scrambling to get their hands on it (me included). Jack3d gave users an incredible pump and allowed them to workout for hours at a time. At first it was all good and everyone was promoting it until healthy people began falling over dead with heart attacks. Researchers dove into the ingredients to find that an ingredient called 1,3 dimethylamylamine was a main ingredient in Jack3d. This ingredient unnaturally raises a person’s blood pressure and can lead to cardiovascular problems. Problems can range from shortness of breath and tightening in the chest to having a heart attack. So to sum it up, people trusted the manufacturer of Jack3d, the bodybuilders/fitness trainers promoting it, and the reviews from users, but didn’t think to do their own research on what they were consuming. And to top it off, the manufacturer was labeling 1,3 dimethylamylamine as a natural stimulant! This one story should be enough to make you want to do your own due diligence and make sure you know what you’re putting into your body.

Now, don’t let the Jack3d story or the fact that the FDA doesn’t monitor supplements scare you! There are very reputable brands out there that clearly label their products and are used by professional athletes. If an NFL player uses the supplement that you’re looking into, it’s pretty safe to say it doesn’t contain anything harmful because of the incredibly strict guidelines that such athletes have to fall within. Do your own research and you’ll find a plethora of these brands.