In the U.S., we depend on computer technology for various tasks. In particular, the majority of Americans have a call of duty to be in front of a computer screen for their careers. As a U.S. citizen and young college student, I find my use of computers mostly for Google Scholar, viewing my favorite informational sites (like online publication sources and blogs), using the Salisbury University network’s educational resources and of course updating my website.

   Due to my various computer uses, I sometimes have a tendency to open too many browsers at once, or have my computer perform too many tasks. The result is something we all hate—computer slowness. I’ve realized that it’s important to stop this tendency if I want the computers I use to perform efficiently.

   As with developing better habits with using computers, I believe that knowing what to do is just as important as learning what not to do in order to reach fitness goals. So I’d like to share a few unspoken fitness rules, and explain what can be done to become more efficient at staying in good shape.

Stop seeking advice from people who don’t practice what they preach.

    Certifications and degrees don’t do much good if the associated health professional doesn’t practice what they preach. And it’s pretty obvious when their physical appearance is inconsistent with the advice they give others, too. In this capacity, I believe one of the ultimate qualifications for someone to give fitness or health advice is their physical body composition.

   Before looking to certifications and degrees, I encourage you to first determine what kind of body you’d like to achieve. Then think about anyone you know – could be a friend, an enemy, or a celebrity – who resembles your goal appearance. Find out what nutritional habits and training methodologies these people apply on a daily basis, and finally, tweak the variables to suit your own physiological profile.

Stop throwing away your workouts.

    Seriously—if you’re going to just go out and trash your body on the weekends, you mind as well not go to the gym at all.  Similarly, if you follow poor workout nutrition habits, you’re only throwing away all your hard work. What you put in your body is what you’ll produce anyway. Working out in a catabolic state – that is, an environment that suits loss of muscle tissue – is the ultimate negative outcome from any poor energy consumption practices.

   In order to minimize poor performance, simply set limits for your body if you decide to go on the dark side. Or just don’t give into temptation at all. The latter may be harder for the majority, however. This will enable you to train in an anabolic state more often – that is, an environment that facilitates lean muscle accrual – and to stop throwing away your workouts once and for all.

Stop following routines or programs that your body responds poorly to.

    Sometimes a routine from a printed or online media source will look pretty cool. That same workout may also work for others very well. But, if the methodology behind those set and rep schemes doesn’t fit your physiological profile, you definitely won’t benefit from applying them. So, the best way to address this issue is to start logging everything—from nutrition to your daily workouts performed. Logs are often overlooked keys to reaching goals more efficiently, and they will help you determine what your body does respond best to, indefinitely.

** |<| Do you know of any other good fitness rules? If so, I’d really like to hear about them.  Please feel free to post away, and share your thoughts in the comments below. |>|**

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