Strength Source

Top 42 exercise hacks

Our good friends at ZenHabits have come up with a list of the top 42 exercise hacks. These hacks will help you stay motivated, reach your fitness goals and help take your exercise routine to a whole new level. A level that you didn't know existed.

The list consists of a variety of hacks that you can implement daily, things that will help you stick to your routine and things that can make your workouts fun and exciting. Listed below are our most favourite hacks.

Start slow.
Crank it up.
Reward yourself.
Hydrate.
Get a workout buddy.
Change it up.
Rest. It’s important.
Listen to your body.
Set goals.
Take photos of yourself.
Go for the long haul.

As you can see, there are a lot of hacks that can help you with your exercising routine. Pick and choose the best ones that you think will work for you. If you're super ambitious, try them all !

For a complete list, please visit ZenHabits directly. The link to the article is listed below.

We do not take any credit for the creation of this list.

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Motivational time

It's that time again. Here are some motivational quotes to keep you going.

• Nobody is ever going to give you anything. If you want something, go out and take it.
• Fear is your best friend or your worst enemy. It's like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house. If you can't control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy you.
• Without discipline, no matter how good you are, you are nothing.
• Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience.
• Pain tells me I'm alive.
• The trick is to bite off more than you can chew, then chew like hell.
• This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.
• Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing.
• I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
• Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better.
• You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.
• Each workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, you're not laying a brick down. Somebody else is.

More motivational quotes

When you think of professional bodybuilding, what name pops into your head first? No, it's not you ! It's the man himself, Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger. This post is dedicated to Arnold. Listed below are some of his motivational quotes. Enjoy.

• If it bleeds, we can kill it.
• I just use my muscles as a conversation piece, like someone walking a cheetah down 42nd Street.
• Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.
• The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it-as long as you really believe 100 percent.
• I was always interested in proportion and perfection. When I was fifteen, I took off my clothes and looked in the mirror. When I stared at myself naked, I realized that to be perfectly proportioned I would need twenty-inch arms to match the rest of me.
• My body is like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't think about it, I just have it.
• As a kid I always idolized the winning athletes. It is one thing to idolize heroes. It is quite another to visualize yourself in their place. When I saw great people, I said to myself: "I can be there."
• My instinct was to win, eliminate anyone who is in competition, destroy my enemy, and move on without any kind of hesitation at all.
• Stay hungry, stay healthy, be a gentleman, believe strongly in yourself and go beyond limitations.
• Failure is not an option. Everyone has to succeed.
• I know a lot of athletes and models are written off as just bodies. I never felt used for my body.
• I saw a woman wearing a sweatshirt with "Guess" on it. I said, Thyroid problem?
• The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens.
• The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that.
• It's simple, if it jiggles, it's fat.
• Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer.
• The best activities for your health are pumping and humping.

Motivational quotes

Do you need some motivation to hit up the gym today? Read through these quotes, and you'll be pumped !

• Pain is weakness leaving the body
• Champions train, Losers complain
• Being defeated is often a temporary condition, giving up is what makes it permanent
• If your not trying your hardest, why even bother trying
• When it starts to hurt, that's when the set starts
• No pain, no gain
• Losing hurts more
• A champion is one who gets up when he cant
• I do it because I can, I can because I want to, I want to because you said I couldn't
• Pain is temporary. Pride is forever
• The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up
• We are born weak and we die weak, what you are in between is up to you
• The only place that you will find success before work is in the dictionary
• The toughest part of getting to the top of the ladder, is getting through the crowd at the bottom
• Be proud, but never satisfied
• That which does not kill me makes me stronger
• Fall down seven times, get up eight
• Strength is the product of struggle
• Tough times don't last. Tough people do
• You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take
• Quitters never win and winners never quit
• Things do not change. We change

There you have it, some quotes to help you stay motivated. Print these out, paste them on your wall, tattoo them on your arm (ok, that's maybe a little too harsh). Refer back to your quotes for quick boosts of motivation, and keep working towards your goals.

Keeping a workout log

Do you keep a workout log? Do you know what exercises you've done last week? What about the exercises you've done last month? You would have no problems answering these questions if you've kept a workout log. What is a workout log, and what does it contain? A workout log is basically a tool to help you track your progress and goals. If you're looking to lose a few pounds or gain muscle, a log can help you achieve your goals.

Benefits of a workout log:

• Keeps you motivated
• Allows you to see if you're progressing towards your goals
• Shows you how much you really workout
• Allows you to build your future workouts
• Increases workout efficiency

You can keep a log on your computer, using an excel spreadsheet or a word document. If you have one of those smarty phones, you might be able to find an application to do the deed. It may be even easier than using your computer, you just take notes as you go.

Keeping a log doesn't take much effort or time, and shouldn't cost you anything. The basics of your log should consist of the following:

• The date of your workout session
• The exercises you plan on preforming
• Number of sets / reps and the weight used

Of course, your log will differ from the next person. Your goals are different, so your logs will be different as well. If you plan on gaining muscle, your log may have more sets or reps and the weight used. If you plan on losing weight, your log may contain cardio times, intensity and the length of your workouts.

A log can help you show off your progress, it can help you reach your goals, and it can be used to motivate you. So get logging !

I fully encourage keeping a workout log. This is the one of the easiest ways you can see if putting in the time at the gym, actually pays off.