Tips to Make Your Workout More Effective

So you want to lose weight, get fit, get lean and look better but you don't want to spend HOURS at the gym. Well I'm here to tell you that you don't have to!!!  

It is possible to get a super-effective workout in 30 minutes, and only do a few workouts a week, if you maximize your workouts!!!

Limit your workouts to 30-60 minutes. Though the tendency of some people who really want to get a lot out of their workouts is to spend a lot of time at the gym, the truth is that after 30 to 60 minutes, the benefit isn’t as great. To go longer, you’d have to lower the intensity of the workout, and that means that you’re spending too much time working out. It’s better to work out at a higher intensity for a shorter amount of time.

Water. Be sure to hydrate throughout the day. It takes a couple of hours for your body to absorb the water, so you can’t just drink right before exercise. Make it a habit to drink water regularly throughout the day. The best way to figure out how much water you need is to take your weight, divide it in half and then drink that many ounces of water! (ex. if you weight 160 pounds you should drink 80oz of water daily) 

Protein. Many people don’t pay enough attention to getting the protein their muscles need to rebuild. If you don’t, you are going to get very little out of your workout, as both cardio and strength workouts require protein for building muscles

 Shake before and after workout. It’s best to drink your Shakeology just before your workout and then follow your workout with some Results and Recovery. Taking it before your workout increases the flow of amino acids to your muscles during training, giving them the building blocks they need. After the workout, the R&R stimulates muscle growth. Also take a small protein/carb meal 60-90 minutes after a workout such as apple and peanut butter or cottage cheese and berries. 

 One set, to failure. Instead of doing 2-3 sets, as many people do, maximize your effectiveness by doing just one, with heavy weights, until you can no longer keep the proper form. Lifting to “failure” doesn’t mean that you should lift the last few times with a wobbly or inefficient form.This is exactly what I'm learning right now with my current program Chalean Extreme. Its not about "throwing" the weights up, its about keeping proper form and failing to get max results.  

Slow lifting. Many people contract their muscles slowly and then release more quickly. But if you lift slowly in both directions, you are maximizing each move. Lift and lower to a 5-second count in each direction. 

Heavier weight. When you’re starting out, it’s best to start with lower weights so you can focus on good form. But once you’ve gotten your form down, it’s best to lift the heaviest weights you can lift while still keeping good form. Don’t sacrifice form for heavy weights — that is ineffective. But heavy weights, with good form, can give you better results in a shorter amount of time. Heavy weights are not just for those who want to bulk up — that’s a common misconception. 

Compound exercises. Instead of isolating your muscles with exercises such as the bicep curl, you can maximize the time you spend in a workout by doing exercises that work out multiple muscle groups at once. With just a few exercises, you could get a full-body workout. Another benefit is that your muscles are working together as they do in the real world, rather than alone. Some great compound exercises include squats, deadlifts, good mornings, lunges, pushups, bench presses, military presses, rows, pullups, dips, and more. 

Good form. For strength training especially form is very important, but it’s also important for other types of exercise. If you’re strength training, start with lighter weights so you can work on your form. Never sacrifice form for heavier weight.

Balance lifting. Instead of having exercises where you’re sitting down or holding on to something or otherwise stabilized, it’s more effective to do them standing up, or on one leg, or on a Swiss exercise ball. These types of exercises force you to balance yourself while lifting, which brings your core muscles into play. This gives you a stronger overall body and allows you to lift more over time.

Pick a cardio exercise you enjoy. It’s no fun to exercise if you hate it. And you won’t keep it up for very long. Pick something that’s fun! For me this was HANDS DOWN, TurboFire!! It was a party in my living room every morning. I never felt like it was a chore. I actually looked FORWARD to workingout!! 

High-intensity workouts. High Intensity workouts help you burn the most amount of fat and calories by doing short, fast, intense bursts of workout and then bringing your heart rate back down before doing it again. Chalene Johnson has incorporated some AMAZING HIIT exercises into her TurboFire program. These allow you to burn up to 9 TIMES more than traditional exercises!!

Circuits. One mistake that people make is to do multiple sets of the same exercise without rest between the sets. This doesn’t allow your muscles to recover and it’s a waste of your workout. But instead of doing a set, resting, and then doing your second set, it’s more effective to move on to multiple exercises in a circuit, so that you don’t rest between exercises but do rest each muscle group. This will give you a good cardio workout while you do your strength training.This is the way that Insanity is designed. 30 second water breaks and then on to a new set, then repeat the circuit! This design is set up to give you maximum results in little time!


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Info compliled from several sources including Beachbody and zenhabits.com