Thinking of starting a workout program? Here’s 5 things to keep in mind.
Obviously if you are thinking of putting your all into a workout program, you will want to maximize your results. There are a few things that some guides or programs wont tell you that can be extremely beneficial, not only for the duration of your program but throughout your life in general.
1. You should always warm-up before each session and cool down afterwards – warming up will help increase blood flow in your muscles, reducing muscle soreness after exercise. Gradually increasing your body temperature and gently building up cardiovascular activity will allow your body prepare for any aerobic exercise.
Including a dynamic stretch within your warm up will help your range of movement around the joints and actively stretch your muscles lessening the chances of injury.
A static stretch after exercise will reduce the amount of muscle soreness after exercise. It will increase your range of movement and help you feel more at ease during your day to day life.
2. Ensure your workout program is varied & progressive – when choosing or designing your program, always make sure it allows for frequent changes in intensity, weight and exercise difficulty. It should also involve a progressive increase of repetitions, otherwise you will plateau at the level you started at. Not seeing any body change every 3 to 4 weeks could damage your motivation, and stop you achieving your goals. Also, make sure to vary your exercises. This will also help to keep your interest and enthusiasm up! Another thing for you to remember: basic exercises are great. Simple doesn’t mean boring – in fact, the more simple the exercise, the more easily achievable it is. And as you go, you can make them more complicated and even combine them to increase difficulty, which in turn will see your performance shine.
3. Recovery – The recovery is one of the most important parts of your program. Resting between workout days will allow your body and mind to recover fully, keeping your dedication alive whilst allowing your muscles to work at their optimum. This is especially true of any program that is based in a high intensity or weight training. Workouts such as these will result in more significant soreness – so if you don’t rest, your physical pain will impact your motivation.
Giving your body the time to repair and rebuild by taking at least one day off a week will rebuild your motivation and help your body repair itself. So you can keep striving for your goals.
4. Include LISS in your weekly routine – LISS stands for Low Intensity Steady State. This kind of training is very important; it has been shown that when we increase our energy by going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, the energy you use outside the gym decreases.
The body is a machine that is continuously trying to store fat. When you are not at the gym, you are in a period of rest. This is when your body will try and store the fat it wasn’t able to “store” during your gym day. Keeping the body active across the whole week will slow the natural storage down and increase your possibilities to lose weight. The good news is that you can incorporate LISS training into your daily life as modes of transportation or simply as an outdoor activity. It would include, long walks, light jogs or even riding a bike to work.
The idea is to stay active outside of the gym as well as within to maximize your results.
5. A healthy diet lies at the heart of success – Nutrition is pivotal. A good program should always come with a customized dietary plan, so as to replenish the nutrients you are using when you work out. Working out relies on energy; so if you don’t eat in the right way, your body will not work at its best. Balance is key for effective exercise: knowing the difference between good and bad carbs, for example, as well as making sure you eat plenty of vegetables, will help you stay at your optimum.