Two of the most important things you can get right in the gym are your Exercise Form and a high level of Focus on your workout. There is a reason that Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he could do more in the gym in 15 minutes than somebody else can do in an hour. He goes into the gym and executes lifts properly and with intensity.
Without the proper Form you will not get the most out of your workout. You could even possibly end up injuring yourself. It is important that you educate yourself on the correct way to perform the exercises that you are going to be doing. If you are new to lifting weights I recommend that you start with light weights and just work on getting your form right. You will be able to feel it if you are doing an exercise wrong. As you are working out you shouldn't feel any joint or tendon pain. You should however, feel whichever muscle you are working swell and burn during the lift. This is the pump that Arnold talked about. After you have your form down and are confident in your lifts bump up the weight and get at it. When you get to the last one or two reps of the rep range that you are using, you should be at the point of failure. Meaning you shouldn't be able to lift anymore reps for that set. These last two or three Forced Reps are where the muscle is built. As you become more comfortable with your form you can workout with more intensity.
Now we come to focus, when you go to the gym you should go with the deliberate intention of getting the best workout that you can get. This means no distractions, don't expose yourself to things that will break your focus. I can tell you from personal experience that even bringing your phone with you can be enough to distract you. My best workouts happen when I am either listening to music or nothing at all. I have tried listening to podcasts in the gym, they are distracting also. I recommend saving them for another time. If you do go to the gym with friends keep conversation to a minimum, it is easy to get to talking and lose focus or even where you are at in the workout. When you are working out you should be so focused that you get into a Flow State, there should be nothing else on your mind but the lift that you are performing and the muscle contraction that you are feeling. Focusing at a high level allows you to bring lots of intensity to your workouts.
Patrick
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