Top things to do for workouts
What are simple ways to effectively improve your workouts? Here goes my top five list:
Fuel adequately. If you’re looking to exercise for more than an hour, you might need to fuel up more. A simple pre-workout snack would be a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread, or a banana with some peanut butter. This will give your working muscles more fuel to help you with the quality of your workout. Also if you want to train hard the next day, make sure you eat a combination of high glycemic carbohydrate and protein after your workout. Studies show that chocolate milk is very effective for this.
Warm up well. Warm-up exercises do not only increase your core body temperature but they should also prepare your muscles for the subsequent activities. Further, the slight increase in temperature increases the rate of reaction within your body, allowing you to produce energy more efficiently. During exercise, glucagon is also released (this is the hormone opposite insulin). Glucagon’s role in the body is for the release of glycogen to be converted into energy.
Coffee up. Caffeine is a stimulant. And if you’re looking for that pick-me-up before training sessions, coffee might be helpful to you. Just don’t overdo it though, as too much can also lead to some health problems along the way. Also, some studies have shown that caffeine releases lipase, a hormone that stimulates the transfer and breaking down of triglycerides to free fatty acids, ready to be used in metabolism. Although some newer studies have also shown that its effect is very limited, still it’s good to know that you’re burning additional fat!
Get adequate sleep. Sleep improves focus, memory, concentration and even reaction time. Further, lack of sleep might even increase risk of injury and hamper improvements.
Cool down. Now after you train, make sure to give your body time doing light exercise to bring your body back to a parasympathetic state. In short, give yourself time to relax and recover and make sure it’s a part of your workout.