With any sport, hobby, or special interest, there are always some little tips and tricks that can make a big (or little) difference. The same is true for the sport of bodybuilding. There are some little things that you can do that can really help you out. The following are a few things that I do that have really helped me over the years. You might find that these tips are what you need as well.

1. Have a post-workout shake as soon as possible after your workout.

This is critical to assisting your body repair and recover from your workout. It will also help you tremendously in the area of muscle gains. Bring your shake to the gym with you and drink it while the sweat is still on your body. Use whey protein (isolate is best) as it absorbs very quickly. Also use some fruit (bananas are excellent) or fruit juice. Add creatine to voluminize your cells and glutamine to assist in tissue repair.

What I have done for years is keep a small container of whey protein powder in my gym backpack and just mix up a shake with water using my water bottle. I add creatine and glutamine and eat a banana with it or an apple. Sometime I'll even have a couple of cookies. The important thing is to get some sugary carbs into you with your protein. This will replace the depleted glycogen stores from your workout.

Do this on a regular basis and you will notice an improvement. Actually, it's really a no-brainer. What could be easier?

2. Have a coffee before you train.

If you don't like coffee, take some caffeine in another form. This will give you a little boost and help you get through your workout. This is especially effective if you train early in the morning or right after a long day at work.

By the way, caffeine is a fat burner but it is also a diuretic so make sure you drink lots of water. This leads me to the next tip:

3. Drinks lots of water.

Always have water with you and keep hydrated. Pretty simple. Enough said.

4. Listen to your body.

If you are feeling tired, sore, have aching joints, or you are having trouble sleeping at night, you could be overtraining. So take a day off. Also, make sure you take two days off in a row often so give your body a chance to rest and repair. I would say to make sure you take two days off in a row every 2-3 weeks at least.

If an exercise doesn't "feel" right, don't do it. Do something else. Use exercises that feel good to you, ones that enable you to feel the muscle group you are working. Nothing is worse than having to perform a movement that you hate doing. This could lead to injury and just plain boredom.

5. Use straps for pulling exercise like chins, pulldowns and rows.

This will allow you to keep pulling with your lats and prevent you from having to terminate a set prematurely because your forearms fatigue.

6. Keep trying to get stronger and lift more weight.

This is especially significant for the basic, heavy movements that you perform on a regular basis, right? I'm talking about squats, deadlifts, chins, bench presses, incline presses, dips, rows, etc. Set goals and maintain steady progress forwards. The body has incredible adaptive capabilities and to keep getting results, you will have to keep challenging it. The next tip follows from this point.

7. Change your routines often.

I try never to do the same workout twice in a row. Keep shocking your muscles. Don't allow your body to adapt to any set routine. Use different exercises, set and rep patterns, do things in a different order. This is good for your motivation as well. Variety is the spice of life. So change things up.

8. Have fun.

Enjoy your workouts. Relish the pumped up feeling of your muscles. Get addicted to the good vibrations you experience after a good workout. The sense of accomplishment and the positive feedback you get from your friends and loved ones when they see the changes in your physique and your mindset.

9. Get a training partner.

A good partner will motivate you, provide support and so on and so on. It's also a two-way street so your partner will benefit from your help as well. It's a win/win situation and it could be the best thing for your training.

There are 9 tips. As I was writing this, I could think of a few more, but I don't want to be guilty of information overload. I hope that you take some of this advice to heart, give it a try and see if it works for you. Sometimes, it's the little things that make all the difference.