One of the main reasons people go to the gym is to gain muscle mass by following certain workout programs. For people who want to gain muscle mass, one of the things they can do is to keep elevating the intensity of their workout by adding more and more weights to their lifts. Another thing is to keep control of their body fat by doing exercises that can reduce them.
However, workout programs can only do so much. If you’re not satisfied with your workout routine, you can change things up or do additional measures to make the routine more effective. But how? Here are some things you can do to make your workout routines more effective.
Workout Hungry
We can all agree that most people that go to the gym want to have their body fat reduced and make their body more attractive. You can definitely do so if you trick your body into burning its own fat by working out immediately after waking up.
Your body is in a calorie deficit at this stage of the day, and when your body is working, it will be forced to burn your body fat since there are fewer calories to burn in your body. In short, your glycogen levels are so low that your body will burn your body fat instead. However, keep in mind that this is only applicable for cardio and not for lifting weights.
Fuel Up Before Lifting Weights
Although burning body fat while in a fasted state is a good strategy, it shouldn’t be applied when you’re planning to lift weights. You should always fuel up before having a lifting session so that your muscles will be more prepared to do their job and to give yourself a better pump doing a workout. Intense workouts like weight lifting require the body to have some fuel because of its intensity. The best way to do that is to have at least 30 grams of carbs before lifting.
Without doing so, you’ll be tired in the middle of your workout, making it less effective. That said, you can eat a banana or any calorie heavy food that can be absorbed by your body quickly, like oats or a fruit smoothie. You could also fuel yourself up with protein.
Drink more Water
The average percentage of liquid that a regular person loses after a workout is 2%. While it’s also common for people to lose 6-10% of their body fluids after a workout, it tends to make them feel that their workout routine is harder and reduces their ability to regenerate after working out. Not to mention that a lot of people drink less water, and thus they show up at the gym dehydrated, which is always a bad thing.
Professionals recommend that a person drink half to one ounce of water per pound of body weight every day to keep healthy. Also, if you want to keep track of your body fluids, you can weigh yourself before going into a workout and do another after a sweat session. That said, you shouldn’t be losing more than 2% of your weight.
Get a Quality Night Sleep
Some quality night sleep is one of the best things you can do to your body outside of going to the gym. Not just once or twice, though, you have to get a good night’s sleep regularly, or you won’t get the most out of your workout. Poor sleep quality will not only hinder your ability to perform well in your workout sessions and burn calories, but it can also reduce your body’s ability to recover from each of your workout sessions.
Sleep is a big factor for your hormones to kick in to help your body regenerate after a day of workout. Also, without sleep, you can get some symptoms of overtraining like fitness plateaus. That said, always aim to have 7-8 hours of sleep every day for efficiency.
Get Heavier Weights
People who do light workout sessions generally only incorporate lighter weights in their workout routines. That is actually optimal. If you’re one of those people and are having difficulty seeing your training results, maybe it’s time to get slightly heavier weights.
We all know that getting the best form for your training is essential, but if your weights are not heavy enough, then it’s all for naught. Of course, don’t sacrifice your form for weights, but you also need to challenge yourself more.
Takeaway
When you’re facing a roadblock in your training, it’s probably time for you to change your workout routine or simply change your diet. The workout routine will not do everything for you, so you also have to do your part in making it more effective by eating the right foods and getting enough rest for your body.
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