Do you often turn up to your workouts feeling tired and unmotivated?
Have you been looking for a way to increase your energy and morale, and ultimately boost the effectiveness of your workouts?
Do you often wonder what an ideal pre-workout routine should look like?
If so, you came to the right place!
It’s true that the real magic in fitness happens before and after you sweat. Most experts consider the time we spend working out the easiest part of the whole fitness routine since it doesn’t require as much planning as the pre and post-workout periods. A smart pre-workout routine can be all you need to achieve your fitness goals faster than you’d ever imagine, and this article is here to show you how it should be.
Let’s begin.
1.Get hydrated
We all know that water is critical to our survival. When it comes to fitness though, water is more than that; it’s everything. Many people unwittingly start their workouts in a dehydrated state, and it affects their performance tremendously. You must have felt it too at least once: the low energy and stiff muscles- which also get cramped easily. Water forms an essential part of your muscles and helps keep your joints lubricated.
To be safe, take water two to three hours before you start your workout. While the amount of water you require varies from one person to another, you should aim to take at least 50 per cent of your body weight in ounces each day.
2. Eat right
Good pre-workout nutrition should give your body everything it requires to perform at full intensity and help the body prepare for optimal growth. The most important diet components you need to consider therefore are high-quality complex carbohydrates and medium to quick digesting protein.
Here’re some examples:
- Protein: egg whites, low-fat milk and chicken
- Carbohydrates: whole grain bread, yams and brown rice
You may also include fats like avocado and yoghurt if you are looking to have longer sessions, as they burn slower but last longer.
3. Boost your nutrition with a workout protein supplement
If you are a serious exerciser looking for maximum muscle growth and fat burning, chances are you need more amounts of energy and focus than the average gym-goer to fuel your intensive routines. You also have to ensure muscle protein synthesis occurs frequently, and that can only happen if you are delivering enough protein for muscle growth and matching it up with intensive workouts.
A good pre workout protein supplement is thus important to deliver enough protein and other nutrients to maximize your results in the gym and ensure maximum muscle growth.
Take your protein supplement thirty minutes before you start your exercise. This 30-minute window is known as the anabolic window and is the period in which your muscles are most prepared to absorb the most amounts of protein.
4. Rest enough
When we complete a workout, we often base our fulfilment on how fatigued our muscles feel. We know that the aim of strength training is to fatigue as many muscles groups as possible so that they rebuild with more mass, density and strength. Nonetheless, that’s only supposed to take place after exercising, not before.
Before a workout, you should be completely rested, and that may mean getting about 8 hours of sleep the night before. After all, studies show that muscles develop when we’re asleep and resting.
5. Dress right
What you wear during your workout also affects your performance. To be efficient in the gym, you not only have to be energetic and motivated but feel comfortable as well. As a rule of thumb, you should always wear clothing that is the right fit; clothing that is too loose may get caught up in the equipment and one that is too tight may impede your range of motion.
Most athletes prefer wearing a comfortable pair of athletic shorts and a nice tank top. You can consider that as you look for what works best for you.
6. Check your tools
Whether you like going old school with a small pad and paper, or you’re more comfortable using a smartphone app, you should know what’s expected in terms of sets, reps and rest periods to avoid guessing, and make your exercise a lot more efficient.
Reviewing your “exercise itinerary” is one of the most important ways to prepare yourself mentally for a massive workout. If your workouts are well programmed in, all that would be left is executing. You have to agree that this step is particularly important because it helps us to stay honest with ourselves in the gym. When you feel totally bushed halfway through, it’s easier to delete a few reps when there are no stats to keep you on track.