The Intelligent Workout

There are plenty of weeks left until the official end of summer but Labor Day is slowly creeping closer. Even Thanksgiving Dinner will be here before you know it. It’s hard to find a great piece of advice that doesn’t contradict itself. Nevertheless, here are 42 fitness tips that will give you a headstart on your health goals this season.

#1 – 15% of your one rep max is the best weight to use when performing power movements such as squat jumps. Keep it light and explosive.

#2 – The German candy maker Haribo makes their Gummy Bears with dextrose creating an excellent recovery treat for replenishing your glycogen tank.

#3 – Have some salad the meal before you workout. The phytonutrients will boost your workout and promote blood flow.

#4 – Don’t do something that is considered essential if it throws off your workout mojo. If an exercise, supplement, or food timing doesn’t agree with you then forget it. Don’t skip things just because they are tough though.

#5 – Use peppermint to add an all natural boost to your workout. Ideally dab a little peppermint oil under your nostrils or chew some peppermint gum. A quick brushing with peppermint toothpaste would even do the trick.

#6 – Avoid Soy and Tea Tree Oil. Both these can have negative effects on testosterone levels. Soy Protein is supposed to be fine in amounts up to 25 grams per day but why mess with it?

#7 -If you’re going to eat fast food stick with Subway and make it either a 6-inch club or sweet onion chicken teriyaki on wheat. Roughly 350 calories, 25 grams of protein, with healthy amounts of fat and fiber.

In Greek Mythology, Sisyphus violated the rules of hospitality by killing several guests and travelers. Aside from breaking these rules of xenia he was very crafty and even tried to trick the god Zeus. Zeus damned him to roll a boulder up a hill which would roll back down to the base right before he reached the summit – for all eternity. Might have been a better fate than Atlas with the entire Earth on this back or Prometheus getting his regenerating liver pecked out by an eagle daily but it was not a smart way to exercise any way you look at it.

This isn’t just a 3000 year old myth. I see culprits of the Sisyphus Fitness Methodology in the gym everyday. Gerbils on steel wheels may have seen better results in their physique this year yet these folks continue to stick to the same routine pushing their figurative boulders up a mountain they shouldn’t be scaling in the first place. Here are a few major signs of the SFM to steer clear of indefinitely.