Ever returned home from the gym with the feeling that you
didn’t give it your best? Ever skipped a training session because you’re just
‘not in a mood’ to go workout? I get it! Rep after rep, set after set, week
after week- sometimes, doing the same thing over and over again can get really
monotonous- some people stop showing signs of making any progress at the gym,
while others eventually give up on their fitness goals.
Here are 5 tips that
you can start following for better workout!
1. Focus, Don’t multitask in the gym!
You might be one of those busy people who always has a call
to make, a mail to send, a client to meet, a friend to message and ‘work’ to
do. It might be tempting for you to send messages and fire off emails between
sets. But hey, listen- if fitness is one of your priorities, give it some of
your time and focus. A trip to the gym should include wore work than rest.
If you really don’t have much time to spare, try and up the
intensity. Strictly reduce rest periods to less than a minute and stick to high
intensity training- trust me, you won’t be in there longer than 45 mins.
Especially if your goal is to lose weight, you are going to
benefit more from fast paced, high intensity workouts than from lengthy low
intensity workouts with lots of breaks.
2. Warm up:
I just can’t help but feel sorry for people who enter the
gym after a long sedentary day at the office and straight away start pressing
six plates on the bench. If you happen to be one of these guys, you’re headed
straight towards disaster.
Warming up gradually increases the heart rate and blood flow
to the muscles, and loosens up your joints and cramped muscles. Keeping it
simple, it helps prepare your body for strenuous physical activity, AKA
lifting, in this case. If you enter the gym right after work and start lifting,
your body isn’t ready for it- warming up helps your body transition into
‘workout mode’. Also, not warming up can result in all types of injuries,
ranging from a small muscle pull to a serious spinal issue.
Warming up doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do all kinds
of crazy stretches and run till you’re drenched in sweat. Just a little
skipping, jogging or dynamic stretching should do you good.
3. The right time of the day:
A lot of trainers out there might tell you that it doesn’t
matter what time of the day you’re working out, as long as you get in there and
exercise. I’m here to tell you that IT DOES MATTER!
Although There are many factors that must be considered in
order to decide what the best time to train really is, one of the main factors
that must be considered is your circadian rhythm. Keeping it simple, the
circadian rhythm is nothing but physical, mental and behavioral changes that
follow a roughly 24-hour cycle. Some of the activities that depend on your
circadian rhythm are the variations in hormone levels throughout the day, your
sleep timings, variations in your energy level throughout the day, etc.
So, how does this affect lifting? When you workout, your
body is put under some amount of stress, which results in the release of
cortisol (the stress hormone). Well, research shows that the most optimal time
to train is when your cortisol hormone levels are at its lowest and your
testosterone hormone levels are at its peak, so the temporary spike in cortisol
goes down as fast as possible. Why, you may ask? I’ll keep the answer fairly
basic. Cortisol is called the ‘stress hormone’ for a reason- it’s not very
beneficial for us, especially us lifters. Usually cortisol happens to be at its
highest immediately after you wake up and reduces towards the end of the day,
while testosterone peaks towards the end of the day. It can thus be concluded
that the most optimal time for training is somewhere towards the late afternoon/
evening- that’s when your cortisol starts dropping and testosterone starts to
elevate (the ideal condition).
Keeping all the science aside for a moment, it is important
to see when you personally feel more active- for some this might be early in the
morning, while for some it might be at 10 in the night. See what works best for
you, guys! Remember that what works for someone else, MIGHT NOT work for you
too- everybody is different!
4. Music:
Did you guys know that there is a branch of science called ‘Music
Psychology’ that studies the effect of music on our brains. Yup, that’s right,
music affects our brains! Ever wondered why listening to some good electronic
music instantly makes you feel active while classical music calms you down.
Depending on different sounds that our brain interprets, it releases
neurotransmitters, such as dopamine (‘feel good’ hormone) or cortisol (the
‘stress’ hormone).
One thing that can be agreed upon without going into too
much of science is that listening to good music, does make you feel good.
There’s a reason why most people at the gym have headphone plugged in. If you
don’t already, start listening to your favorite music while you’re at the gym.
Music WILL IMPROVE the quality of your workouts- trust me!
5. A gym buddy:
I’m going to get straight to the point. Having a workout
partner not only helps prevent death in the case of being sabotaged by too many
plates on the bench press, but also helps you stay motivated and make faster
progress. Every time one of you feel like taking a day off, just knowing that
you have a friend waiting for you at the gym makes you get in there. Working
out becomes more like ‘hanging out’.
A few jokes and a little motivation from your gym buddy
really helps in keeping those training sessions fun- try it for yourself! Find
someone who has round about the same fitness level as you, motivate each other
and see the difference in your progress.
DM me on my Instagram/ Snapchat for FREE Training/ Diet Advice.
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