1)Sleep---Get at least 8 hours aday and if possible take a nap after training.
2)Water--- drink at least a gallon of water a day try for 2 gallons and drink down at least 1 liter 1 hour before training.
3)Eating--- try eating a small complete meals every 2 hours from (7-8) meals aday including shakes.
Please add to the list of changes you have made that greatly improved your perfomance and/or your apearance so we can make a fact sheet.
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Nam Et Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est!
||192.127.94.7||reg|| Z||000001||riptchick||07-24-2000||02:20 PM||riptchick@operamail.com||Cardio first thing in the am on a empty stomach has done wonders for me.||152.163.194.196||reg|| Z||000002||bikinimom||07-24-2000||02:23 PM||bikinimom@home.com||4) Taking rest days - overtraining is TERRIBLE!
5) Backing off on cardio - (of course, this does not apply to pre-contest).
I'm just reiterating IG's EAT, EAT, EAT!!! The Single Most Important thing tha I have done to positively affect my training!||24.4.252.72||reg|| Z||000003||skydancer||07-24-2000||02:37 PM||skydancer43@hotmail.com||Well thank god...at least I'm handling one area of my life correctly.
I'd like to add that your attitude counts too...postive, energized, willing to work hard attitude is important too.
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Patience is a bitter plant, but it has sweet fruit.
||209.179.205.206||reg|| Z||000004||litloak||07-24-2000||02:50 PM||litloak@wildmail.com||I took off the entire month of January and that did wonders for me! I was pretty burned out from working out all year, stressed out from the holidays, and that time of year is just nuts at work. For the first two weeks I didn't even take the dog for our morning walks. He was a little confused but I was feeling MUCH better. By the time Feb rolled around I was ready to really hit it again. I was a little weak with my poundages at first but things started falling back into place shortly. I also like to take a week off after every 2½-3 months. It's pretty nice for your bod, but especially nice for your brain!||208.16.252.48||reg|| Z||000005||Iron God||07-24-2000||03:04 PM||irongod@hushmail.com||Also include cycle info from personal experience that worked exceptionally for you
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Nam Et Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est!
||192.127.94.7||reg||
Z||000006||Dlady27||07-24-2000||03:10 PM||||The main things that changed for me was :
1. finding this Elite board for motivation and help.(GETTING THE FACTS)
2. realizing that I am someone special and can DO THIS FOR MYSELF! NOT A MAN.
3. SELF ESTEEM!!!!
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Z||000007||Fitnes1||07-24-2000||03:31 PM||angelac@utk.edu||In addition to the wonderful responses so far (yes, I do each of them so I feel good about the responses) - I like to keep a journal. Some people at the gym stare at me when I carry my journal, but when I look back on it later, I can figure out maybe why I didn't have as good a workout as the prior week of doing the same bodypart, i.e.
I log the time I work out as this sometimes varies - how I feel- how long the workout lasts- & also, if it just happened to be that time of mo.!
These types of things can be important!
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Z||000008||MrMuscle||07-24-2000||04:32 PM||mrmuscle@robodoc.net||Dont think you can..KNOW you can!!
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"Pain, is only weakness leaving your body"
"...damn you for not giving my TEST" - Metallica
"After this show i'll be fat and happy again.....If i make it to the show...." - Lee Priest
||130.67.15.250||reg||
Z||000009||missgalaxy||07-24-2000||10:11 PM||missgalaxy@hushmail.com||Get a workout partner. My boyfriend kicked my ass in the gym today. 
||152.163.213.76||reg||
Z||000010||scooby||07-25-2000||01:35 PM||scooby23@hushmail.com||
Try this for like four weeks to shock your muscles for some new growth. Do your reps super slow, and i mean real slow. You need to cut back on the weight a bit but it works. Diet of course would be #1.
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Give me the wisdom to know what is right
And give me the courage to do what is right
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Z||000011||Galen||07-25-2000||02:13 PM||mdmaki@satx.rr.com||Music is an often overlooked key to a great workout. Get your favorite music and jam in your headphones. It really helps you concentrate on your body and cuts out the extraneous conversation. Right now Nelly and Dre 2001 are my favorite workout CDs. Drink a liter of water, cup of coffee, small red potato, and pop my fav CD in and I'm ready to go. Galen
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Surgeon to the Gladiators...
||24.28.136.90||reg||
Z||000012||CONAN||07-25-2000||02:14 PM||||1) DON'T TALK, STAY FOCUSSED ON THE NEXT SET.
2) KEEP A JOURNAL...IT DOESN'T ALLOW YOU AN EXCUSE FOR NOT MOVING UP IN WEIGHT OR REPS.
3) TAKE A NAP MID DAY.
4) WORKOUT AT THE SAME TIME EVERY TRAINING DAY.
5) EAT, EAT, EAT, EAT, EAT!
6) CUT DOWN ON THE WEEKEND PARTYING. THIS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE FOR ME.
7) IF YOU DON'T HAVE A TRAINING PARTNER, GET ONE. IF YOU HAVE ONE, GET RID OF THEM!
8) MAKE A ONE YEAR PLAN...WITH A MAJOR GOAL. THEN SET UP ROAD MAP OF MINOR GOALS TO GET THERE. THEN SET UP YOUR WORKOUTS TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS.
9) MOST IMPORTANT...GOOD FORM!
SORRY FOR THE ALL CAPS...DIDN'T NOTICE UNTIL I WAS FINISHED....||136.1.1.101||reg||
Z||000013||Dlady27||07-25-2000||02:56 PM||||LISTEN TO AND READ WHAT IRONGOD AND WARLOBO PUT ON THIS BOARD!
IF NOT THEY WILL COME TO PA AND KICK MY ASS!
YOU GUYS HELP ALOT, AND MOTIVATE ME MORE THAN YOU KNOW, THANKS, EVEN FOR THE BAD REMARKS.
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"If you are afraid of your future, you don't have a present."
--James Petersen
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Z||000014||WarLobo||07-25-2000||06:47 PM||warlobo@operamail.com||Take a photo of your self in as small a suit you can and do it every month. Don't compare from month to month, just put them in a private place, then after a year take them out and line them up. This sounds corney, but after a year you will thank me forever. You will always have in the back of your mind that the last day of the month you have a photo to take - it is very motivating. And you get to see yourself in a time laps fashion. Much easier to see your progress. It works.
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Late
Lobo||12.10.120.15||reg||
Z||000015||riptchick||07-25-2000||09:25 PM||riptchick@operamail.com||WL, I love this idea. I wish I would have done that years ago. My honey and I did before and after pics one year. We still look at those pics on occassion. I'm definitely gonna do this. How fun :P||205.188.200.191||reg||
Z||000016||FitnessChick||07-26-2000||05:34 PM||fitnesschick@hushmail.com||Listen to IG -----do more compound movements- they now make up the foundation of my workout...eat much more protein....1.5- 2 gm per pound weight a day....read & learn....its amazing what can be learned with a book or magazine.....dont underestimate yourself...if you want it bad enough you can accomplish it....train with a solid training partner or training camp- you want to be with people who want it as bad as you do.....||209.236.135.109||reg||