It’s time to workout! Now what?

Setting your workouts up for success can make a big difference in your workout performance, recovery, and results. Small changes can lead to large impacts of you make the right adjustments and take the right measures beforehand. Setting your workouts up for success will lead to greater successes in your workouts and more productive recovery.

Eat Well

You can’t out train bad nutrition. Food is fuel for your body and with the right fuel your body will recover faster, work harder, and push towards results more easily. Focus on foods that are green, grown, or full of protein. Tailor your meals to complement your training. If you have a big weight training day, add in extra protein to aid in rebuilding your muscles and recovering faster.

Stretch

Stretching is the recovery tool that everyone knows about but no one uses enough. Taking time to thoroughly stretch before or after a workout can have big impacts on your workout performance. If you’re tight on time instead of skipping the stretch all together, focus on the muscle groups you trained in your workout and then add in other groups with any extra time you have.

Hydrate

Just like you can’t out train poor nutrition, hydration can make or break your workouts. Hydration is a necessary part of workout preparation and recovery for everyone. Water with added electrolytes is ideal for a post workout cool down. If you know you have an intense, sweaty workout on the horizon start hydrating the day before. Judge your hydration levels off of the color of your urine or the elasticity of your skin.

Warm Up

You warmup sets the tone for your workout and your recovery. If you take the time to properly ensure your body is prepared for exercise you will have better performance while active. Warmups do not have to take much time. Start with five to seven minutes of dynamic stretching combined with basic movements that increase in intensity or difficulty as the body gets warm.

Rest

Rest can be the hardest part of exercise for many people. As inclined as you might feel to be active every day, having time to rest each week is vital to excelling in your workouts. Each time you exercise you are breaking down muscles and your body needs time to rebuild. By allowing yourself time to recover you will get back to your workouts stronger and more prepared. Having trouble adding rest into your schedule? Try some active recovery like a leisurely bike ride, a walk around the neighborhood, a sunrise stretch session, or some foam rolling.

Whether you are new to exercise or continuing down a well established workout routine, making small changes to set yourself up for success can make all the difference in your fitness progress.

Not sure where to start? We can help! Email us at gabriella@blissfit.net to start making changes today.