The tip I am going to give to you today I got from my younger brother (of 2 years).

One day out of the blue he asked me why I increased the weight on my exercises every time I worked out.

I replied, well I got my targeted number of reps, so I felt I should increase the weight, to drop the reps back down.

True, my brother replied, but I watched you do your last couple of sets of dead lifts ( a wonderful exercise that when done correctly works a ton of muscles in the body) and you looked like you were about to pass out. Dont you think you would be wise to keep the weight the same for at least a couple of workouts, better yet keep the weight the same until you are not scared of it anymore, when you know without a shadow of a doubt you can get all of your reps, and you do, without having to kill yourself. Then, he went on to say, you will know that your body and almost more importantly your mind has adjusted to the weight, so then and only then should you increase the weight.

With that he walked away.

Now you have to understand my brother, he doesnt harp or say I told you so at least not to me (maybe because Im his older brother!) but 99 times out of 100 he is right. He may not have the best genetics for building muscle, but he has an intuitive sense of what is right as far as exercising goes.

To be honest it took me a long time and many aches and pains to realize he was right.

Ever since then I am having more fun in the gym and making better gains than ever before, but I wont lie and say that I have got it licked as I still gravitate to my old ways every now and then, but soon my body is rebelling in the form of burnout.

If I may give a second tip,

This ties in with the above tip, my brother is my best friend not only in life but in the gym. I couldnt tell you how many times when I am having trouble with an exercise I will ask him and he will say why dont you try it this way, and BOOM! It works out great.

So my advice to everybody out there is to find someone you can really trust for advice and dont be afraid to ask. It will save you plenty of time and wasted effort.

Wishing you all the best in life and training,