Most people dread the gym because it’s ‘too hard’ or they ‘don’t have time,’ when in actuality it can be a breeze. Here are a few things to make your gym experience easier and enjoyable:

Don’t eat big before you go

Nothing’s worse than eating a full-course meal and then being weighed down for a workout. Depending on the type of workout you’re doing, it may come out the same way it went in and you won’t be craving those foods anytime soon.

It’s also not the best feeling doing intense exercise with food rolling around in your stomach. I do recommend eating a pre-workout snack to fuel your body throughout the session, so you don’t pass out.

Rice cakes, peanut butter, seeds, or anything light is the perfect snack.

Hydrate throughout the day

Throughout a workout, your body expends a lot of water and you’ll notice a huge shift in energy if you’re not hydrated. You’ll feel sluggish and tired within the first 10-20 minutes if not hydrated. Having ‘cotton mouth’ isn’t fun either.

I know it’s a cliché, but drinking water is one of the most important things you can do for your body and especially for the gym.

Stretch

I skipped the stretching portion of the workout every day for over a year in the gym and that was my biggest mistake. For the first 6-8 months, it was fine because I was using baby weight, but when you start making it to the 40-45 pound dumbbells it’s important.

Stretching is important to warm-up your joints and tendons but also to get your overall body warm. Working out cold leads to being tired, which won’t make gains.

Go in with a plan

Going into the gym without a plan is a huge mistake, and that’s how you fail.

If you walk into the gym, mindlessly walk around, and do some reps here and there, progress won’t be made. It’s important to walk in and know what muscle groups you’re going to target, or if you’re going to cardio or not.

Is it an isolation or supersetting day? Is it a working rest day? These are all questions to ask yourself.

Create a bangin’ playlist

If you really want to hit some PRs in the gym and a new max, then make a song playlist that gets you amped.

There are days I am not feeling like lifting at all, and then I listen to that one song that gets me motivated and the session turns around. Music changes the whole dynamic of the gym workout.

By incorporating these tips, you can change the way you look at the gym and obtain satisfying results. Don’t make rookie mistakes and have your performance suffer as a result.