This morning started bright and early as I have to leave work an hour early this afternoon to go to an appointment. So, in order to get to work an hour early, and still get my workout in, let's just say, my alarm did not go off during an acceptable hour this morning. The earliest acceptable hour that my body responds well to, is within the 5am hour. It does not like 4am and it certainly doesn't like earlier than that! Lets just say, I got a 7-mile run in, as well as walked the pups, did a 30-minute Pure Barre workout and still got to work by 5:30am. Considering my run alone took me just under 66 minutes, I'll let you do that math on that one.
I will be lucky to make it to 3pm today.
As for right now, I feel great. I had one of my very best runs yet, this morning, averaging a 9:24 minute/mile pace for seven miles total which is the fastest I've run that distance yet. I warm up slow naturally when I'm running so I tend to do a descending pace when I run alone. I started my first mile at an 11:15 minute pace and ended my last mile just a couple seconds under 8 minutes. I wasn't really all that tired and could have pushed myself harder, but my plan called for an easy run today. (I was on a treadmill, inside in the AC so I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact I wasn't as fatigued as I typically have been lately during humid, outdoor runs.) Since I was already pushing myself a bit getting under 10 minute miles, I figured I'd better not overdo it. I still have two more runs this week, after all. Progress is coming, slowly but surely. Running is not only helping me physically but challenging my patience, which certainly needed just as much work. ;)
The rest of my day consists of writing some workouts, teaching a TRX class, working on schedules and other miscellaneous manager type stuff, an appointment at 1:15 and a church program I'm attending tonight. It's gonna be a long one! I'll get through it though, and so will you!
Now for today's Training Tuesday topic of discussion....
Tips to Get More Out of Your Workout
1. Proper hydration begins long before your first working set. This is the main reason, in my opinion, that workouts begin to suffer. Not being properly hydrated has been shown to decrease performance significantly, with muscle fatigue being one of it's first symptoms. Remember, water makes up more of your body than anything else does. It is required for muscle contraction and is in every cell of your body, making it pretty dang important! Waiting until you are exercising to start drinking water is too late. Start drinking 24 hours in advance, and definitely a few hours before your workout. (Really, we should never stop drinking!) Then keep hydrating during your workout and after, in order to better promote muscle recovery and make sure that you are ready for your next workout.
2. Fuel yourself properly. This is going to be completely dependent upon the individual and the workout type/duration planned. Some people eat before they work out or they simply don't have enough energy to do anything. Others, feel sick if they have food in their stomach. This is a trial and error type deal and you have to figure out when to eat and even what foods specifically are best to eat for your body. For example, I can eat fruits and vegetables up to my last meal before a big race. On the complete opposite spectrum, I have a good friend who has to stop eating plants THREE DAYS before long races or she'll end up in the bathroom the entire time. Everyone responds to different foods and timing of foods differently, which is why it is important to try different things and figure out what works best for you.
3. Warm up thoroughly. A dynamic warm up, or the type where we are moving through our stretches, rather than holding them each for 30 seconds, is always my go-to for any type of workout. Your warm up should focus on the muscles you are going to be using, it should mimick moves you plan to incorporate in your workout, and it should gradually increase your heart rate and body temperature. A quality warm up is typically between 10-15 minutes. Dynamic moves include things like high knee jog, knee tucks, quad pulls, straight leg kicks etc. Worst case scenario, get on a treadmill and start with a walk and build up to an easy pace that gets your heart rate up a bit.
4. Work out in the right order. In order to know what order you want to do things, you need to have your desired goal in mind. Are you trying to lose weight? Do your cardio after your strength training. And when determining which strength moves to do first, always work your bigger muscles before your smaller ones.
5. Don't sabotage your progress with a poor diet. This is a tricky one for a lot of people, myself included. There have been a million times that I have absolutely killed myself in the gym, only to go home and throw away all the hard work and sweat I just put in for a crappy, low nutrient meal. Focus on whole, natural foods and include a lean source of protein and some veggies, minimum. The other part to this, is making sure not to overestimate your calorie expenditure. Most cardio equipment such as treadmills, bikes, ellipticals etc. and even the apps on our phones like MyFitnessPal, have a tendency to overestimate our calorie expenditure from certain physical activities quite a bit. Be careful when you grab that third slice of pizza because you think you've earned it.
6. Mix it up, and always include at least one thing you enjoy, every workout. Don't do the same thing every day! For one, you'll get bored of it eventually which will make you dread going to the gym or out for that run. Secondly, your body will stop responding to the training if you aren't mixing it up on a regular basis. Our bodies are so highly adaptive that they very quickly stop responding to training when it is the same type, at the same intensity for the same duration for too long a period of time. It's best to change it up every 12 weeks minimum, but change up your reps/sets or maybe the order of your exercises before that.
7. Find some upbeat music that makes you happy or motivates you. You want whatever it is that is keeping you from getting bored, to motivate you to push yourself to your limit. A lot of us hop on an elliptical and begin flipping through a magazine, read a book or watch a movie. My thoughts on that are, don't allow yourself to get too comfortable. If you're at the gym with the intention to burn calories, a book or similar distraction may cause you to waste your time keeping you at a slower pace and taking your attention away from actually listening to your body. However, every now and then, if that is the absolute only thing that is going to get you to the gym, it is okay to bring along that gossip magazine you have been dying to read. Just stay conscious of your body and your workout goals!
8. Burn more calories by working in some interval training. Instead of getting on the bike and pedaling at a steady pace for 60 minutes, try mixing up a moderate pace with bouts of high intensities where you go as hard as you can for a short period of time. If you're new to this, hop on your piece of cardio and get a 10 minute warm up in. When you're ready to start your intervals, pick your pace up for about 20 seconds and then go back to your moderate/easy pace for 1:40 and repeat that cycle. As your body begins to adapt to this type of training, you'll want to increase that high intensity interval and decrease your low intensity interval.
9. Keep the chit chat minimal. Limit conversations to a minute or two, your friend will understand you are there to get your workout in. They'll be thanking you later!
10. Foam roll and stretch. Make it a priority to spend at least 5-10 minutes after every workout to foam roll and stretch the muscles you've worked. Being fit is about encompassing all aspects of physical fitness, which includes flexibility. Not only that, but if you plan to continue to workout, static stretching after a workout is the best way to keep you injury free.
11. Complete your workout at least three hours before bedtime. For one, you will want to refuel after your workout and eating right before bed is never a good thing. Secondly, getting a good night's rest is often dependent upon how you spent the last three hours. If your heart rate has been all jacked up recently because you just got back from the gym, it is likely going to take you a while to wind down. Since we all know how important it is to get your 7-9 hours of sleep a night, we won't go into that.
12. Leave distractions at home. Bringing your kids to the gym might be convenient, but is it really the best thing for you and your workout? Do you spend more time chatting it up with your friend than actually training? Does every single text or Facebook notification you get require a five minute break? You might need to reconsider bringing any of these things along with you. Try your best to set a time frame for your workout, maybe an hour, and stay focused on bettering yourself, physically and mentally, that entire hour. You deserve it after all! Also, bring your own water bottle so you don't have to take multiple trips to the water fountain when you probably need to be starting your next set.
Share with us! What other tips do you have for getting the most out of your workouts?
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