Intensity is the most important principle if you are going to use weights. When you are in the gym, you are only there to do one thing. And that's to focus on working on your muscles. You have to train with all your heart and soul. You are there for a short time and you need to get the most out of it.

Intensity in this case means how hard you are working to lift the weight. At the point of muscular failure, you require 100% intensity to complete the last rep. The muscle is pushed to its limit and must perform at its absolute peak to complete the task.

Its not how many reps or sets, or what weights you lift, it's how well you do them. Quality matters much more than quantity. You don't want to be intimidated by anyone else in the gym. Never compare yourself to anyone else, except your own personal bests.

Your aim is to ensure that you do whatever you can to put the muscle groups you're working out under the most pressure you can. Exercising your muscles in this way helps you attain maximum weight loss because of the permanent boost your metabolism recieves from such a workout.

The problem is that most people in gym workout with the wrong goal.

Most people in the gym focus on doing x number of reps or sets. Weight training is not about lifting weights, it's about maintaining and growing your muscle. So train you're hardest and that's what you'll achieve.

While you are at the gym, your workout routines for each muscle group climaxes at the work set. The work set is the final set for that muscle group in your routine. It's the one that's going to give you the most results. It's the one that's going to be the hardest to complete. It's the one you want to get psyched up for. It's the reason why you entered the gym. All the other sets were merely preparing you for that one.

To prepare yourself for it, you need maximum intensity, otherwise you won't get the results.

It's really simple, the harder you work, the more results you'll see (assuming you follow the rest of these principles).

So how do you ensure you have maximum intensity?

• Concentration - when you are at the gym you want to focus on the task at hand. Focus intently on lifting that weight. You're not there to socialize, or look good. You're there to get the best results you can. You don't want to be thinking about what you're going to do after the gym, or what you're going to have for dinner. To train with intensity you need full concentration during your workout.
• Visualize - As you are lifting the weight, imagine they are actually massive levers that lift the weight easily. See yourself lifting the weight before you begin the routine. Focus on the muscle, imagine yourself completing that rep easily. Studies have shown that if you can establish this mind-muscle connection, your results in the gym can sky-rocket.
• Know Your Target - For each workout, muscle group, set, and even each rep, you should have a target. For that muscle group it will be documented in your training journal. You know exactly what your own bests are, you know what your targets are for the workout based on that. Your target for each rep could be as simple just completing each rep with correct technique (see next principle).

Once you follow these three simple princples, you'll see your body shape changing as your muscle tone and metabolism increases.