The 20 BEST Workout Cheat Codes You’ll Ever See

Michiel

I’ve been a personal trainer for the past 7 years and these tips are GOLD!

If you’ve been following me, you know I’m a fan of lists, side hustles, wealth building and passive income, right?

Wealth translates not only to money, but also to HEALTH.

What do I mean by this?

GO TO THE GYM!

It’s pointless to hustle and work hard, day in and day out, if your health is suffering for it.

That being said, here are my 20 tips for working out & health:

Count backwards from your desired rep target. This tricks your mind into finishing the reps. If you to do 10 reps, start counting at 9. For example with chest presses: PUSH — 9. When I arrive at 1, I need to do 1 more. It’s a bit tricky at first, but try.
Creatine is the most researched supplement with literally zero side effects. Take 5 grams daily to help build muscle & improve brain health.
Eat at least 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight to build & maintain muscle. So, e.g. a person who weighs 165 pounds, or 75 kilograms, should consume 60 grams of protein per day.
Do some plyometrics before a lower body workout & med ball throws before an upper body workout. This “tricks” your nervous system to use more POWER when lifting.
Do your weakest muscles in the beginning of the workout. Start with your weakest side first when doing single joint movements.
If you want to build muscle, you must aim to get a bit better every time. E.g. Increase weights or increase sets. This is called progressive overload. Track your progress by writing it down.
THINK about the muscles you’re training — use your mind to contract them. Focus on them. This is called the mind-to-muscle connection. For example, when I’m doing a chest press, I think about my chest muscles and how they are connected (yes, I Google it). I visualize the muscle and imagine how it’s contracting by the movement I need to do.
If you want to build muscle, increase energy & recover faster, you NEED to focus on your sleep. The better your sleeping habits are, the better you become. Sleep only boosts memory, concentration & focus.
Take it slow. To build muscle, focus on lowering a weight under control in 4 seconds and lifting it back up in 2 second. Time under tension grows muscle faster than doing quick reps.
If you’re limited on time, use supersets. A superset is 2 exercises done right after each other, without rest. You can get a great workout in half an hour or less.
Do short, dynamic stretches before a workout to increase range of motion & prepare the body for the exercises ahead. Don’t to static stretches, especially not after the workout. You already broke down your muscles during your workout, stretching them now will only do more damage.
If you have a desk job, do more rear delt, rhomboids & external rotator exercises, such as face pulls. These reverse the effects of sitting too much and prevent getting hunched shoulders. Personally, I do some variations of these exercises every day at home.
Leave your ego at the door. Don’t look at how others are lifting. Focus on your own journey and enjoy the process. There’s nothing more motivating than seeing your own progress.
Machines are not for pussies. They allow you to do an exercise in a safe way, while focusing on the muscles you’re targeting. They are a great option for beginners to get used to the movement of the muscles.
Getting a spotter will add about 10% more strength to your workouts. Get someone to spot you. But don’t to this if you’ve just started your fitness journey. Make sure you are able to take some weight on your own before going too heavy.
Don’t forget your core. Many people always focus on 5 muscle groups: arms, legs, chest, shoulders and back. But your most important one is your CORE. Do planks, and just Google other CORE exercises.

17. Workout in the morning, before breakfast. If you have the time, do this. It will boost your fat burning, raise your energy levels and set the tone for the day.

18. Eat well. Your body and muscles need energy. If you work out and don’t give your body the food that it needs, you’ll do more bad than good.

19. Find a gym buddy. People who work out together are way more likely to keep going. Also, you can motivate & help each other.

20. Do your exercises correctly and don’t lift too heavy. If you’re not sure how to do an exercise, ask for help. Look it up. It’s more important to perform an exercise 100% correct, than adding extra weight and possibly hurting your joins, muscle and back in the process, causing you to not being able to work out anymore.

Thanks for reading!

If you’ve got questions or thoughts, drop them in the comments and I’ll get back to you! Follow or ???? if you’d like to see more content like this. Or buy me a coffee, this stuff is magical 😉