One of the best aspects of going to the gym is that the fruit of your efforts can be experienced in almost no-time. Nothing feels quite so good as looking in the mirror and noticing a visual change to your bodily temple, and if you’re in a good relationship with your food and gym routine, you will certainly see improvement as the weeks roll by.
There are so many good pieces of fitness advice out there, and generally, if you’re getting in an hour of exercise in 5 days per week, you’re soaring.
However, there are also tips (based on research) that will enable you to get the most out of your gym workout. Here is the first part on how to get the most out of your gym workout:
Weight Lifting
Jacon Wilson, a certified strength specialist who has a Ph.D says, “If you just do cardio, you’re sabotaging yourself.” He adds, “Your metabolism will actually go down, making weight loss more difficult. Resistance training, however, builds muscle to increase your metabolic rate.”
A Harvard study showed that adults who spent 20 minutes each day lifting weights gained less fat over a decade than those who spent the same amount of time doing cardio sessions.
Intervals
By incorporating high-intensity intervals into your training session, coupled with low-intensity breaks promote more fat-loss and cardiovascular benefits.
One study proved that people who did 20-minute interval training sessions burned twice as many calories as those who participated in long runs.
The key here is to go all out and do as many reps as possible in a given interval followed by a shorter break, and repeating this for a number of rounds. For example, one may participate in the following workout program to reap the benefits of high-intensity training:
All Out Intensity: 20 seconds of pushups/burpees/squats/lunges
Low Intensity: 10 seconds
Repeat 8 times
Free Weights
One of the great things about using weighted machines is that they can help us perfect our technique as well as keep our technique in check at the end of a workout when we’re nearly burnt out. However, free weights (dumbells, barbells, etc) lead to better hormonal responses, according to this study.
Free weight exercises utilize a much wider range of muscles as your body is the only thing supporting the weights in suspension, whereas machines do a lot of that work for you.
Conclusion:
While there are certainly a plethora of tips out there, these tips are bound to help you reap more fruit from your workout. Always make sure that you’re following the correct technique to avoid injuries, and that your exercise consistency is strong.
