Going to the gym can be exciting. Imagine your progress on difficult exercises like the rowing machine, and how your workouts will improve in intensity and strength each week. As we’ve said, to make this possible, there are important factors you need to put into practice.
In the world of fitness, it’s not all about the exercises you choose, the weights and the reps, or just a pre-workout meal. There are many other factors that are just as important and that you should take into account when training, either because you want to achieve a particular goal or because you want to be a little more active.
Regardless of why you want to train, you must understand that what you do before and after training is just as important as what you do during exercise, and these factors will make a very noticeable difference in your results. So, if you want to support your body with every workout you do, we recommend that you keep reading about what you can do to achieve that.
Going to the gym can be exciting. Imagine your progress on difficult exercises like the rowing machine, and how your workouts will improve in intensity and strength each week. As we’ve said, to make this possible, there are important factors you need to put into practice. HealthCanal, a provider of health information, has also discussed some of these points.
The first thing you should do before starting to exercise is a warm-up, in order to increase body and muscle temperature, prevent injuries and prepare the body. You can work by muscle groups. Joint mobility exercises, skippings, and raising the legs while laying down, activate circulation and strengthen the muscles.
However, remember that dynamic stretches, which are not the same as warming up, should be done after the workout since your muscles are still too cold to stretch the muscle fibers before you start.
What to eat before a workout? A balanced meal with carbohydrates and protein, one or two hours before arriving at the weight session, is the best option. Carbohydrates help prevent muscle breakdown and fatigue, while protein regulates muscle growth and repair.
You can eat proteins such as eggs, protein shakes, greek yogurt with fruits and nuts, a peanut butter sandwich, or cheese toast with tomato, to name just a few examples. On the other hand, isotopic drinks are always drunk before and after exercise to provide the body with salts and minerals, although natural fruit juices can also be used.
If we are going to carry out a cardio session, such as walking, or something with more intensity like running or spinning, we should opt for a meal low in fat and sugar, moderate in protein, and high in carbohydrates, such as a smoothie of almond milk, banana and berries to get up the energy levels.
The ideal is to drink it about 60 to 90 minutes before exercising so that we have time to digest and not go too heavy with a full stomach.
It is true that pre-workouts are not a necessary requirement, but they are a great help when it comes to improving your performance during training.
Markita Lewis, MS, RD has commented on how these supplements act on your nervous system, increase blood flow to the muscles, and promote thermogenesis, which in turn helps burn fat. So, if one day you need an extra boost for your stationary bike session, don’t hesitate to use these supplements.
By planning your fitness routine in advance, you will know which muscles you are going to work and how you are going to work them. This optimizes your time and performance. Determining your daily training volume is critical. It could be considered, along with intensity, the most important variables in planning your training.
Some people like to train all muscle groups within the same training session (full-body workouts), others prefer to split, for example, training the upper body one day and the lower body another day. You can choose according to what you think is best for you.
It also influences and affects the choice of how many days you will train per week. A person who has been training for 3 years can perfectly train 6 days, but if you are a beginner, you could start with 3 or 4 days a week. You can do some research on workout ideas to start planning.
Also Read: How important is Brisk walking?
Sleep is involved in cognitive functions and influences physical performance, motivation, the athlete’s mood, learning ability, and the occurrence of injuries. It is vital to dedicate time to sleep.
When an athlete is sleep deprived and does not get the sleep they need, the risk of overstretching injuries increases; postural control decreases; concentration, attention, and reaction time are reduced. In addition, the highest peak of growth hormone secretion is therefore in the deep sleep phase, about 20 minutes after the start of the sleep cycle. Sleeping is also an important part of your post-workout routine.
A well-structured diet will support your workouts, helping your muscles recover faster and also reducing the risk of injury. Eating balanced and healthy, with all the macronutrients also helps prevent you from contracting diseases.
According to a study on sports medicine, “β-Alanine is rapidly developing as one of the most popular sports supplements used by strength/power athletes worldwide. The popularity of β-alanine stems from its unique ability to enhance intramuscular buffering capacity and thereby attenuating fatigue.”
According to Ideal Magazine UK, the dietary supplement is an excellent addition to your diet, as it provides phytochemicals that are key to modulating the renewal of stem cells, which is important for athletes as stem cells can prevent muscle strains, bone bruises, ligament sprains, and inflamed joints.
Your pre-workout routines are extremely important, as your body is constantly functioning and renewing itself before and after exercise. Take these tips you’ve read to get the most out of all your workouts.
