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How to Have a Great Workout
by Laura Brand
- Avoid boredom. Many people would rather go
outside and count the blades of grass in their yard than spend 30 to 45
minutes on a treadmill. Find something you actually enjoy doing, or mix up
your routine with several different cardio combinations. Gunnar Peterson, the
famous Beverly Hills personal trainer, suggests to break up and mix up your
routine with a “4,5,6 Reverse” combination. Do 4 minutes of cardio on one
machine, such as an elliptical; 5 minutes of cardio on another machine, such
as a treadmill; and 6 minutes of cardio on another, such as a stairclimber or
rower. Then go back to the first machine and do it for 6 minutes; the second
machine, 5 minutes; and finish up by doing 4 minutes on the last machine.
This still equals your 30 minutes of cardio, but by switching it up and
breaking it down this way, you will put more energy into these shorter bouts –
not to mention, it helps the time go by much faster! This is only one example
of how you can break up the monotony.
- Drink plenty of water. You need to drink water
before, during, and after working out… if not, your performance will suffer.
When you’re dehydrated, your workouts will actually feel tougher overall. You
need to drink enough fluids to match what you lose in sweat during and after a
workout. (To figure out your sweat rate, weigh yourself before and after
working out – if you weight less after your workout, that signals a fluid loss
and means you should be drinking more when active.)
- Focus On Your “Core”.
Basically, your “core” is made up of those deep stabilizing muscles
from the bottom of your rib cage down to your hips. You usually can’t see
those muscles, but they are crucial for proper posture, as well as preventing
pain and injury to the back and hips. Using a fitness ball is a great way to
build and improve your core strength, specifically focusing on strengthening
your abs and glutes. In fact, just bouncing on the ball helps build core
strength and elevate core temperature!
- Cardio AND Strength. Doing cardio
or strength training alone won’t get you that dream body. I’ve met many women
who will do their cardio workouts religiously and not see any changes in their
bodies for years (I was one of them!) I’ve also met men who will focus on
strength training alone while completely avoiding the cardio – that is also a
big mistake! You have to mix it up and do both when you work out. Start off
with a 5 to 10 minute cardio warm-up to increase your heart rate and to
elevate your core temperature. Then focus on separate body parts, and cycle
them over the course of your week using a variety of weights, machines, and
other equipment. Remember, muscles take anywhere from 24 to 72-plus hours to
recover. You want to avoid injury at all costs and not recovering adequately
is putting yourself unnecessarily at risk. I prefer to do cardio either after
strength training or at a different time than strength training, because the
amount of energy expended doing intense cardio training will often leave
little energy left over for an effective strength training workout. However,
you have to do whatever your schedule allows… so do what you need to do to
make sure you fit both strength and cardio into your schedule. Always
end your workout with a brief stretch routine to help eliminate or alleviate
tight, sore muscles.
- Give Yourself Credit! Whether you have time to
do only 20 minutes of cardio or 10 minutes of strength training, give yourself
credit for working out! It doesn’t matter how hectic or crazy your day is,
just putting aside a few minutes to focus on yourself and on your body is what
counts. Avoid all or nothing thinking. Something is
better than nothing every time!
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