How to Maximize Your Workout Effectiveness
Warm weather is approaching fast, which brings us out of holiday feasts and into summer dresses and lightweight shorts and tank tops. This is the time of year (in addition to the New Year) that brings us the most motivation to actually change our habits and introduce some fitness hacks into our lives for the sake of that long-lost figure and healthier life in general.
We’ve already established that there’s no unified way to reach your goals in terms of health as well as aesthetics, but there are certain steadfast rules that apply to us all: two of them are eating healthy and training hard.
What can you do to improve your workout performance and reach your goals with more ease and fewer setbacks? Let’s take a look at several of the most effective methods to get the workout you need while you also make the most of your new lifestyle so that you can greet the summer filled with energy and look amazing!
Never get thirsty
Did you know that athletes can lose anywhere from 6-10% of their body weight in sweat alone during strenuous activities? However, the same studies have shown that lower performance is noticeable in much lower instances, even in those who have lost as little as 2%. While your several workouts a week will hopefully never get you to that point of strain, most of us rarely consume enough water, to begin with, that would satisfy our training needs.
Without ample water, you will get tired faster, have a difficult time recuperating after each workout, and your energy levels will plummet for any other activities you have planned for the day. Continuous hydration is a must, not just in the hours before or after your session, but consistently every day. Keep track of your water intake and you’ll see your results soar!
Supplements for Success
Professional athletes have always used a range of supplements to boost their workouts, rest, performance, and muscle protein synthesis. When you cannot fit enough protein into your diet, there are low carb protein supplements such as protein shakes you can consume to keep it simple. However, when you’re in need of stimulation for your exhausted body for a Friday morning workout after a long week at work, pro supplements like a pre-workout drink can give you the right pick-me-up for the duration of your training.
These energy-boosting drinks are designed to give you a short-term blast of instant energy that will help you do your absolute best while you train. If you’re looking to shed weight, make sure you choose a zero-calorie option so that you don’t mess with your daily caloric intake with an energy drink.
Eliminate distractions
Do you train in one gym for a long time, so you know all the members, and you chat with them while you’re warming up and in between your sets? Chances are, you’re wrecking your results simply because you’re not keeping an eye on the length of your breaks, and you’re not focusing on your workout only. If possible, bring your headphones so that you can isolate yourself while you train, and so that others can understand that you need to focus instead of chat.
If you can, turn off your phone completely or at least turn on the Airplane mode so that you can only listen to your tunes and not worry about messages, emails, and calls coming in. Use your tracker to monitor your breaks carefully, and make sure that you keep your workouts timed, so that you can notice discrepancies and tweak your behavior for no disturbances!
Keep your body guessing
Too often, you feel that you’re doing everything right, everything in your power at least to stay on the right track, but certain results might be missing. Keep in mind that your body is designed to adapt to each challenge you tackle, so if you stick to the same set of exercises, sets, rep numbers, and overall intensity of your workouts, you’re likely going to hit a plateau in the gym.
Luckily, you can and should add different variations to your routine, so it becomes anything but a routine! Use HIIT to push your body a bit further, add more compound movements, explore different types of lifts, take your workouts outside, and add a swimming session to your weekly schedule – the sky’s the limit.
Monitor, tweak, and progress
Are you hitting all muscle groups well enough? How’s your mind-muscle connection, or are you just performing movements without putting any thought into them? People often expect their workouts to serve as magic pills, so when nothing happens after a few sessions, they either quit or stop paying attention to what they’re doing and switch to an auto-mode.
Do yourself a favor and start paying attention. You’ll be surprised how many mistakes you’ll be able to correct, introduce new movements that are better suited for your body, and discover how you can keep those breaks shorter and make your workouts even more effective without adding too much weight to the barbell. There are many options to consider, as long as you keep your mind open and criticize your own game.
If you’re putting in the hours in the kitchen, it would be a pity for the hours at the gym to go to waste or produce subpar results. Implement these simple tips to keep your workouts as productive as possible, and you will enjoy the fruits of your labor sooner than you expect.
