6 Tips to Get the Most out of Your Exercises
Exercise is good for you. It strengthens your muscles, improves your heart health, and gives you the energy to get through the day.
However, while exercise can do wonders, many people just don’t find it enjoyable enough to keep up with over time.
That’s why I’ve put together six tips that will help you get the most out of your exercises and motivate you to work out more often.
You might even find yourself looking forward to your next workout!
1) Stay Motivated
Writing down your goals helps keep you focused on what you’re trying to achieve. Write your goals on a sheet of paper and stick it somewhere you’ll see it every day, like your bathroom mirror or computer monitor.
Setting mini-goals can help take some of that pressure off and make achieving success seem more manageable.
These small goals will act as stepping stones toward larger ones, helping you stay motivated over time as well.
2) Exercise Regularly
In a nutshell, there are three types of exercise: aerobic (cardio), anaerobic (strength training), and flexibility. To lose weight, it’s best to mix up all three types so you don’t get burned out on any one form.
Before beginning any exercise program, be sure your doctor gives you a clean bill of health.
If you are overweight or have other health issues, like diabetes or heart disease, you may want to talk with your doctor before starting an exercise routine.
Remember that exercises can strain muscles and joints, so start slowly and work into more vigorous workouts as your body adapts.
When exercising for maximum fat loss, shoot for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio 3–5 times per week in addition to 2–3 days a week of resistance training.
A good tip is to break down these sessions into two 15-minute chunks—you’ll find you can squeeze in a second workout more easily later in the day that way.
3) Keep it Fun
Exercise can get boring and feel like a chore. But staying motivated can be easier than you think, as long as you make it fun. Pick an activity that’s enjoyable for you—
whether it’s swimming, lifting weights, or taking a dance class—and schedule it in your calendar at least three times per week. Making exercise a priority will make it much more likely that you actually stick with your plan and see results. If you
haven’t exercised consistently for months (or years), don’t try to go from zero to 60 immediately;
build up your stamina by exercising at a high intensity level every other day or even once a day if possible. Just know that going from zero intensity is never recommended and could put your body under too much stress. When starting out, start slow!
4) Listen to your body
One easy way to make sure you’re exercising effectively is by checking in with your body. Pay attention to how you feel when you exercise and ask yourself whether or not what you’re doing is helping achieve your goal, whatever that may be.
If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t right. It takes trial and error but eventually, you’ll hit on some great exercises! Keep trying new things and check in with yourself regularly to make sure you aren’t straying too far from your goals. As Nike says, Just do it. In a nutshell: Be realistic about where you are at today and plan accordingly.
5) Have a plan
The first step to fitness is having a plan for what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it.
It could be as simple as choosing where you’ll work out and what exercises you’ll do, or thinking through your exercise schedule from week-to-week. Putting your workout into writing helps ensure that it happens.
You can also use an app like Fitocracy to make sure you stick with your routine—you can even earn points based on how many days in a row you complete certain workouts! Put all these tools together, and watch yourself transform.
6) Eat right before you exercise
As you exercise, your body uses up its stores of glycogen—the form in which carbohydrates are stored in your body. But if you don’t replenish those stores through proper nutrition, your performance could suffer.
Eating immediately before exercise gives you an energy boost and can help stave off any muscle cramps that result from running on empty.
Include protein in your pre-workout meal: To strengthen lean muscles, eat plenty of lean proteins at least one hour before working out.
A 2013 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when subjects ate whey-protein
supplements for 12 weeks prior to strength training, they gained significantly more muscle than subjects who didn’t supplement their diets with whey.
hope you enjoyed.
