This is how you achieve results faster in the gym

I regularly get asked how it is possible that the scale doesn't show even a gram less and that the mirror doesn't reflect what we want to see. We are aiming for that killer body and we want it as soon as possible. It could very well be that you are training hard but not triggering your body enough to adapt, and as a result, you see less progress than you would actually like to see. Of course, changing your body is a long-term process. Whether you want a more toned body or want to lose twenty kilos, patience is and remains a virtue, but with a good dose of discipline and these three simple tips, your bikini body results will come faster than you think.

1. Nutrition

You can hit the gym seven days a week, but if you don't adjust your nutrition accordingly, you will see results more slowly. And even if you eat healthily, it may be that you are not getting the right nutrients. Do you want to become more muscular? Then you need to ‘feed’ your muscles with plenty of protein. Do you want to lose fat and therefore lose weight? Then you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. You can do a thousand sit-ups and plank for a quarter of an hour every day, but if you don't lower your fat intake, that six-pack will never appear. Unfortunately, that's the truth.

2. Heavier weights

Are you training in the gym and those muscles just won't show? Then you are probably not pushing yourself to the limit. And ladies, we really don't need to be afraid that one day we will stand in front of the mirror like Arnold Schwarzenegger, because no, you won't get bulky from strength training. Swap the machines for a set of heavier weights and make sure you can do a maximum of 8-10 repetitions with them. Of course, safety comes first and it's important that it doesn't come at the expense of the technique with which you perform the exercise. When you do more repetitions, you mainly train your endurance, and when you do fewer repetitions, you train your maximum strength. Moreover, muscle mass burns more energy than fat mass, which means that an increased amount of muscle leads to higher fat burning. And that's what we want, right?

3. Rest

Guilty. I am also a failure when it comes to rest. Until two weeks ago, when I literally couldn't lift my weights (with which I normally do a proper bicep curl) anymore. My body shut down, and it was right to do so. Because I had trained for fourteen days straight, had moved, and had gotten way too little sleep. Our body recovers and grows from rest. You wake it up in the gym, but the real progress happens through recovery. If you don't do that, it becomes overloaded and eventually goes on strike.

4. Dumbbells vs. machines

The gym is often divided into two camps: the men in the strength room and the ladies around the machines. And that's of course easy, because all you have to do is apply strength, the machine determines the movement further. And that can be very convenient, but training with free weights involves much more than just applying strength. You engage multiple muscles at once and often have to maintain your balance, which has a positive effect on your core stability. Do you want to get stronger, lose fat, or build muscle mass? Then add squats, deadlifts, and pull-ups to your list. Of course, you don't have to completely eliminate the machines from your routine, but variety is always good. Bring on those perfect round buttocks.