I try to do the right thing. If you do what you know is right, and you're a good person, you might not win short-term all the time, and financial gains might not be there all the time, but ultimately, you can be pretty happy, and you can do some pretty good things in the world. Keep a positive outlook.
There are 800 some muscles, 200 some bones. Your body works in three planes of motion: arms, legs - pentadactyl limbs. That's what we're working with.
Multi-joint movements - squats, push-ups, bent over rows - all put a greater metabolic demand on the body and can be effective when performed with very light weight to get you back up and running. Think bigger movements, not bigger weight, when you are on the mend.
You need to lift weights and do more resistance training. Get more sleep. I'm the first one who's guilty of not doing that, but I work on it, and I'm aware of it. And drink more water. Drink Propel. You have to hydrate. You simply can't perform at the level you could perform at if you're dehydrated. Period.
Hydration is everything. Think of this: your muscles are 70-plus percent water - how are you not drinking water during a workout? I get the whole, 'Let's challenge ourselves; let's do that prison, tough guy thing,' but at the end of the day, you're underperforming.
The Gunnar Challenge offers new workouts every day, a meal plan and daily 'verbal vitamins,' which are a motivational video or workout tip. The thing that really makes the program work is the forum, where Challengers can communicate with each other and with me.
You should be doing something for your body every day. One day it could be a high-intensity class, and the next, it could be as simple as a 20-minute walk with the dog.
I have nothing against tricep kickbacks, but I'd rather have you do a skater's lunge with a kickback and get a lower body workout.
Remember that everything you do in the gym makes a difference in the way you live your life outside of the gym. The brownie tastes better when there's no guilt for eating it. Your relationships with other people are more satisfying.
Even if you can't do a full real push-up, I'd rather have you do them with a limited range of motion and work up to the perfect pushup then do them on your knees, where you probably won't progress at the rate that you could.
If you were inactive due to an injury or a surgery, then common sense rules the day when inching closer to the area that was hurt. That is very different from inactivity due to being ill. After illness, be aware of how taxing your workout is cardiovascularly and err on the side of less.
I really like battle ropes. They're so versatile; you can get a terrific workout doing a ton of different exercises with them. My clients like them because they're a good way to get aggression out, too. Had a bad day? Take it out on the ropes!
There's so much you can do with bodyweight alone. The basics always come up for a reason: sit-ups, planks, push-ups. They'll always give you results. The way to take it up a notch is to compound the basics to work multiple muscle groups at once.
Home workouts are great, but if you can get out, that's even better. If you tell yourself you're going to go do planks in the spare bedroom, you might get interrupted and not get your workout in.
You don't have to be built like Karl Malone to be strong. There are thinner guys who are really strong. Kevin Durant, who I used to work with, has real strength to his body.