Are you using the correct weightlifting techniques? – If your weight lifting techniques or form are incorrect, not only will your training retarded, you are also inviting injury. When you exercise you must think and focus on the working muscles, instead of mindlessly repeating the motions, do take note of how you perform each exercise and rep. Do so with deliberation and at the beginning and end of every lift, pause and squeeze the muscles you are exercising. Mind and muscle must connect! Never never use momentum of the swing to lift the weights and let gravity pull the weight down. That is why you must lift slowly and lower slowly feeling the tension in your muscles and resisting the load all the time.

Use Free Weights – Most machines do not involve as much of the synergistic muscles (supporting muscles) as free weights do and so are less effective than free weights to recruit more muscle fibers to build bigger muscle mass. Synergistic muscles are the smaller muscles that aid the main muscles in balance and strength in each lift. Machines have its uses, but for beginners (with an experienced spotter) and do use free weights more often.

Workout with compound exercises – Compound exercises are exercises that involve 2 or more joint movements and thereby employing bigger muscles and more synergistic muscles to boot. Bench presses, dead lifts, squats, and chin ups amongst others are fantastic compound exercises. To add icing to the cake, because of the massive utilization of your muscles, you will pant, puff and sweat more. That means your routine also has a cardio effect and you will burn body fat calories even hours after you stepped out of the gym.