So you want to get fit and healthy; you want to tone up and beat your personal best, you can either work harder in the gym, which could be tricky if you are already working particularly hard on your fitness goals, or you can work smarter and achieve more of your goals with less of the effort.
If the second option sounds good to you, here are some tips to help you work smarter (not harder) in the gym:
- Don’t skip your warm-ups
Many people skip their warm-ups in favour of doing more exercise in the limited time they have available. This is a really bad idea because not only do warm-ups help you to perform better during exercise, but they also prevent you from injuring yourself, which would put you out of the game and thus unable to meet your fitness goals, anyway. Always warm=up and cool down.
- Consider taking supplements
There are some supplements, Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators are a good example, which will help you to reach your fitness goals more effectively. So, it is always worth looking at supplementation if you have a specific goal you would like to reach, Just make sure they are safe, legal and that your doctor is happy for you to supplement with them first.
- Don’t exercise every day
Many people, when looking to get into great shape, think that exercising every single day si the answer, however, in order for your body to build muscle and get into good shape, it needs time to rest too. That doesn’t mean you have to be completely inactive for three days a week, but it does mean that you should take it easy and do only gentle activities like walking or yoga in between sessions weightlifting or running or whatever your exercise of choice is.
- Use free weights instead of machines
Machines are fine if they are all you have access to, but free weights can offer more versatility which means that, if you have the choice between the two, using free weights is always going to get the job done faster and more effectively.
- Exercise with a partner
Exercising with a partner is a really easy way to exercise smarter. Why? Because studies have shown that when you exercise with a partner, you are more likely to stick with your regime. You are also more likely to work harder without even noticing it because you will have someone there who you are accountable to and who you will want to keep up with.
- Run on an incline
Running on a flat surface is fine and will definitely give you a decent workout if you put the effort in, but running on an incline is even better. It doesn’t feel dramatically different from running on the flat unless you choose a huge incline, but it does offer more resistance and a more intense workout for your muscles.
Working smarter to achieve your fitness goals is the….well, smart thing to do, and the above ideas will really help you with that.