10 Gym Tips Nobody Really Tells You

There are loads of little things you learn from being in a gym for years that nobody really teaches you.

Some are actual training tips, some are little safety things, some are gym etiquette and some are just things I’ve picked up from doing stupid stuff myself and thinking afterwards, yeah, probably shouldn’t do that again.

None of this is me saying I’ve got everything figured out either.

I haven’t.

I’m just a normal bloke who has spent a ridiculous amount of time training, trying things, changing things, getting things wrong, learning from other people and basically becoming obsessed with improving.

So take what you want from this and leave what you don’t.

1. Take Gym Advice With a Pinch of Salt

This includes mine.

My form, my way of lifting, my mentality towards lifting heavy, getting a graft on, or even the amount and frequency I train isn’t going to work for everyone.

I’m not a science-based lifter, even though some of the stuff I do probably has loads of research behind it.

I’m not a professional bodybuilder, even if some days I look in the mirror and think, yeah, I look alright today.

And I’m definitely not some competitive athlete pulling insane numbers week in, week out.

I’m just a normal bloke with loads of experience and a bit of an obsession with improving and knowing things.

The exact same thing applies when somebody comes over to you in the gym and starts giving you advice.

There’s always that old fella who has been training forever, or that one guy who suddenly decides he needs to correct your form.

Listen to what they’re saying.

Don’t be rude about it.

They might actually know something you don’t.

But that doesn’t mean everything they tell you is automatically right for you.

Try it.

Think about it.

Go home and look into it if you need to.

If it doesn’t feel right, or you realise afterwards there was probably a better way of doing it, then leave it.

Advice in the gym is guidance.

The whole thing is basically years of trial and error, figuring out what works for you and what doesn’t.

2. Put a 1.25 kg Plate Under the First Plate When Unloading a Deadlift Bar

This is such a stupidly simple little trick, but it saves loads of messing about.

If you’ve been deadlifting heavy and you’ve got a load of plates on the bar, trying to strip them all off afterwards can be an absolute pain.

So I just put a little 1.25 kg plate underneath the first big plate.

Roll the loaded plate onto it and it lifts the rest of the plates just enough that you can slide them off loads easier.

That’s it.

Nothing complicated.

But after a heavy deadlift session when you’re already knackered, you’ll appreciate it.

3. Change Your Hand Position and Angles Sometimes

I’m definitely more of a feel-based lifter than anything.

I think about what muscle I actually want to work, then I’ll do the exercise in the position where I can feel that muscle doing the work.

Take barbell rows.

Some days I’ll bend over and pull towards my belly button, which is probably what most people would class as the normal or technically correct way.

Other days, if I want to work slightly higher up my back, I might not bend over quite as far, or I’ll pull the bar slightly higher up my body.

Same with flys.

Try your arms slightly straighter.

Try your hands facing towards you.

Try them facing slightly away.

Change the angle a little bit and actually pay attention to what you feel.

I’m not saying completely butcher your form just because something feels different.

I’m saying listen to your body and think about what part you’re actually trying to train.

A tiny change can completely change how an exercise feels.

4. On Lateral Raises, Think About Your Pinky Being Slightly Higher

This is another little feel cue I use.

When I’m doing dumbbell lateral raises, I sometimes imagine my pinky finger sitting just slightly higher than my thumb.

And I mean slightly.

I’m not twisting the dumbbell loads or trying to turn my shoulder into some weird position.

It’s just a little cue that helps me personally feel my side delts better.

Again, just experiment.

If it feels better for you and you can actually feel the muscle you’re trying to train doing the work, brilliant.

5. If You Bench Alone, Think About How You’re Getting Out Before You Start

This one matters more than any little gym trick.

Years ago, if I was benching alone without proper safeties or a spotter, I sometimes left the collars off because I wanted the option of tipping the bar and dumping the plates if I got pinned.

I’ve done it, and it got me out from under a bar once.

But looking back, I don’t think that should be the safety plan I recommend to somebody else. Dumping plates can make the bar move violently and can put anyone nearby at risk.

The better answer is boring but much safer: use properly positioned safety arms or pins, use a competent spotter when the load might beat you, and if neither is available, don’t take a weight to the point where getting pinned is a realistic possibility.

Think about your escape before you unrack, not after the bar is already sitting on your chest.

And while we’re on the subject, think about where your phone is as well.

I did actually get pinned once using my old method.

I dumped the plates off one side, got myself out from underneath the bar and my music was still playing, so at first I thought everything was fine.

Then I moved the plate.

My phone was underneath it.

It looked like a banana.

Absolute devastation.

So now I’d say if you’re benching, especially around heavy plates, put your phone under the bench, behind you somewhere sensible or just leave it in your bag.

Basically anywhere other than directly beside the plates.

Getting pinned is bad enough.

Getting pinned and then realising you’ve just folded your phone in half is taking the piss.

6. Wear a Vest If You’re Sick of Ruining Your Favourite T-Shirts

This probably sounds strange, especially if you’re not comfortable wearing a vest in the gym.

But hear me out.

You find a T-shirt you really like training in.

You wear it constantly.

Then six months later your black one has white marks under the arms or your white one has gone yellow.

You’ve basically sweated your favourite T-shirt to death.

Get a few cheap gym vests.

Problem solved.

And if you’re worried people are going to be staring at your body, don’t.

Nobody is actually looking at you anywhere near as much as you think they are.

Everyone else is too busy worrying about themselves.

7. If Walking Into the Gym Makes You Anxious, Sort Your Music

I’ve done this loads.

If you’re already anxious, walking into a busy gym can feel like everybody suddenly turns around and looks at you.

And realistically, some people probably do glance over.

Someone walked through a door.

That’s normal.

But when you’re already in your own head, you can turn that tiny glance into, everyone is staring at me.

So one thing I do is get my phone out, put my headphones in and act like I’m sorting my music while I walk directly to whatever I’m doing first.

I’m not scanning the room.

I’m not checking who’s looking.

I’m not thinking about anybody else.

I’m just sorting my music and getting to my first station.

Then phone away, headphones in properly and I start training.

Once I’ve started, I’m alright.

Sometimes it’s literally just getting through that first thirty seconds.

8. Don’t Make the Hip Abductor Machine Weird

You know the machine.

You sit down with the pads against the outside of your knees and thighs and you push your legs apart.

You’re basically sat there opening your legs against resistance.

So it already puts people in a position where they might feel a little bit exposed.

Don’t make it weird.

Do not be that bloke who suddenly decides this is the perfect time to make eye contact with someone while they’re doing it.

Just let people get on with their training.

Respect their space.

Enjoy your own space.

Gym etiquette really isn’t complicated.

Don’t make somebody else feel uncomfortable while they’re trying to train.

9. If You Sweat Like Me, Bring a Towel

I can be a sweater.

There’s no question about that.

When I first started training, especially squatting, I used to just let the sweat drip everywhere.

Looking back, I think part of it was almost peacock mentality.

Like some weird way of saying, look at me, I’m sweating, I’m clearly working hard.

Then one day it nearly bit me in the arse.

I’d been squatting and there was that much sweat around the rack that I unracked the weight, got myself into position, took one step backwards and my foot went straight out.

I genuinely thought I was about to split my groin in two.

That ended the peacock mentality pretty quickly.

If you know you sweat loads, bring a towel.

Wipe the bench.

Wipe the kit.

And make sure you’re not leaving the floor underneath you like an ice rink.

Sweating might prove you’re working hard.

Slipping underneath a loaded bar definitely isn’t worth proving it.

10. If You Don’t Know, Ask

This one is so obvious, and I’m still guilty of not doing it.

If I don’t feel like I’m progressing, or I see somebody getting bigger or stronger much faster than me, I can go home and become obsessed with figuring out what their secret is.

Paper after paper.

Video after video.

Hours on the laptop.

Then I’m lying in bed thinking about that one bloke who can spread his lats better than me.

Meanwhile, he’s probably going to be ten feet away from me in the gym tomorrow.

Just ask him.

Save yourself ten hours and a sleepless night.

If someone has forearms that absolutely dwarf yours, ask them what their favourite exercise is for forearms. My own hammer-curl guide explains one of the movements I use for the brachialis and forearms.

If someone has a back you’d love to build, ask them what they do.

Ask them to show you.

Take a genuine interest in what they’re saying.

You might learn something that completely changes how you train that muscle.

Or you might not.

But either way, you’ve spoken to someone and probably learned something.

And before you know it, you might have gained more than a new exercise.

You might have gained an actual mate too.

Sometimes the best bit of information in the gym isn’t in another paper, another video or another article.

Sometimes it’s stood right next to you.

Final Thought

The longer I’ve trained, the more I’ve realised there isn’t one perfect way to do all of this.

You basically collect little lessons over the years.

Some come from research.

Some come from other people.

Some come from trying things yourself.

And some come from doing something completely stupid and nearly splitting your groin in two.

Keep the things that work.

Get rid of the things that don’t.

Keep learning.

And eventually you end up with your own way of training without even realising you’ve built it.