Everyone in this world hits the gym with some of the other goals in their mind. For some losing weight is the ultimate goal and for some building that perfect beach body is their dream. Whatever your dream is you need to do a lot more than just working out in the gym to get the desired results.
Some people think that just buying proteins and supplements from the supplements store online will help them to achieve their body goals. But it’s much more than. The following tips will help you to get the most of your workout and reach your goals a little fastest.
1. Lift weights
If you are planning to lose some weight then spending hours running on the treadmill will not help at all. In fact, if you overdo cardio all the time then it will actually make your metabolism slow which will make weight loss more difficult.
On the other hand weight training helps to build muscle. This process of building muscles helps to increase your metabolic rate. That’s the reason why people who indulge in heavyweight training tend to lose more weight in a healthy way as compared to people who spend the same amount of time performing cardio.
Doing a small amount of cardio is good for your overall health, but won’t help you to lose that stubborn belly fat.
2. Listen to music
Listening to your favorite music during a workout can help you stay motivated to achieve your daily weight loss goals. Listening to music during workout boosts the levels of serotonin and dopamine hormones in the body. These hormones help the body to recover faster.
Listening to music keeps you focused on your workout and helps you to avoid distractions. Listening to relaxing tracks immediately after work out helps the heart rate and blood pressure to go back to normal.
3. Drink lots of water
Our body is made up of 75% water. Drinking plenty of water is essential during physical activity. Hydration impacts strength, power, and endurance. Water flushes out harmful toxins from the body which in turn aids weight loss.
Ideally, men should consume 3 liters of water from beverages and women, about 2.3 liters from beverages. Make sure that you take your protein shake with water and not milk for faster digestion.
4. Use free weights
Weight machines in the gym are great for the amateur people who are new and have just started working out in the gym. It helps them to maintain correct form and posture.
But once you are experienced and have developed a good amount of strength, then it’s time to move on to free weights for performing exercises. Working out using free weights like dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells helps to make the exercise more challenging, puts more pressure on the target muscle and leads to greater hormonal responses compared to similar exercises performed on exercise machines.
The main reason behind that is free-weight exercises activate a wider range of muscles. Whenever you perform any exercise or activity using free weights, you don’t have anything guiding or supporting your movement, which makes all your target muscles fire up in order to perform that movement.
5. Get a good sleep
Spending hours in the gym alone won’t help you to achieve your body goals. Diet and quality of sleep are equally important for building muscles.
Quality and peaceful night sleep are vital to get the best results of the sweat lost and hard work is done in the gym. Quality sleep means following a strict timetable and going to bed stress-free and doing it for every day of the week.
Poor sleep and irregular sleep cycles not only hinder your workout performance but it also hinders your body’s ability to repair your muscles and make them strong. Poor quality sleep is also known to affect your mental health. Sleep deprivation also affects the hormonal shifts that promote the body’s muscle recovery process. Make sure that you sleep for a minimum of seven hours every night.
6. Eat protein before bed
Your protein intake is what affects your overall workout performance and it is what helps your muscles to repair and become stronger after a workout. Taking protein after finishing your workout is very important, but eating protein before going to bed is equally important.
For optimal fitness results, make sure that you distribute your protein intake throughout the day and especially before going to bed.
Try to eat a meal or snack rich in casein protein. Casein is a slow-digesting protein that helps to increase the levels of amino acid in the body. It also helps to increase the rate of muscle protein synthesis all throughout the night. To get a good amount of casein protein you can go for vega sport protein bar chocolate.
Apart from protein shakes and bars, you can get casein protein naturally from greek yogurt or cottage cheese. Make sure you have these foods after your workouts and before you’re about to sleep.
7. Get a deep tissue massage
The post-workout deep tissue massages do a lot more than making you feel relaxed. Massages at regular intervals not only release tight muscles but also influences genes in your muscle cells to decrease inflammation. It also helps to increase the number of mitochondria in the muscles. It is what helps to power exercise and speed up recovery.
Always remember that your muscles don’t get stronger and better during your workout, but they become stronger during the time your body rests.