Workout Tips
Most people know that working out daily is good for their health, but a few workout tips applied to your daily exercise routine can have you progressing more quickly toward your fitness goals. No matter what you have chosen as your activity or sport, there are some dos and don’ts that can make your path to fitness a little smoother.
Every set of workout tips should begin with this advice: consult your doctor before beginning any new physical activity or workout routine. And, once your doctor has given his or her OK, start out slowly. This is especially important if you haven’t been working out regularly. But even among very fit people there can be a tendency to start off too fast with any new workout routine. You don’t begin training for a marathon by pushing high mileage too fast anymore than you should go from zero exercise to an intensive hour per day the first week.
So basic workout tips 101 begins with this: set realistic workout goals and move toward them slowly. If you do otherwise, you be flirting with a serious injury or complete burnout--neither of which is going to increase your health--both of which are going to set you back for some time and keep you from meeting your goals.
If you are a beginner, start out by exercising three days a week for thirty minutes each time. Unless your specific goals are related to weight training it is better to begin to exercise with a cardiovascular workout and then add strength training later on. For your cardiovascular exercise, choose something you will enjoy doing. For instance, if all your friends are runners, you may be tempted to give running a try. But not everyone has a body type that is conducive to running and you may discover that you do not enjoy running at all. If that’s the case with any workout you have chosen, don’t be afraid to stop and give something else a try.
There are dozens of different sports and workouts and you need to find one you enjoy or you are not going to stick with it for any length of time. Try bicycling, swimming, kayaking, hiking, walking, or if the outdoors simply isn’t appealing, there are usually dozens of high quality machines at the gym for aerobic workouts. Whatever you do, after approximately six weeks of basic easy workouts you should have built a base for more intensity.
Now you can pick up the pace--increase distance or time, work in hill climbs, more sets, or increase the number of days you workout. If you goal is just basic cardiovascular health, low intensity workouts for thirty minutes 3-4 times a week may be all that you need. If you want to increase endurance or have sport-specific goals like running a 10K or cycling 100 miles in a day, you will want to add distance days and intensity days to your weekly workouts.
People in every sport can benefit long term from adding strength training to their workouts. Strength training days alternated with cardio-training days always prove to have good results. Workout tips also need to include eating and hydrating properly. If you are working out every day you need to take in a good amount of carbos, specifically complex carbohydrates. The trend today toward low-carb diets is not the way to go for people who work out every day. The body needs carbohydrates for fuel, particularly for endurance and the more you work out the more carbos you need to take in. Protein is also important, particularly after exercise in building muscle and aiding in muscle recovery, but high carbohydrates are the only thing that can keep you going during high intensity workouts.
Also don’t forget to work in some days of active recovery--that’s where you do a low-key workout to allow for muscle recovery, especially after a particularly intensive day. Cross-training in another sport also can prevent a staleness or hitting a plateau. Try these to mix up workouts and to get the most out of your training.