Workout Tips – How to Maximize Your Workout

Dripping with sweat and still not getting results?

Then you might not be making the most out of your gym time.

There are numerous routines and workouts available that claim to be the best formulas for losing weight and building muscle, but unless you pay attention to your body’s limits then you may be doing more harm than good.

These easy-to-follow tips and tricks will show you how to maximize your workout safely and effectively.

Don’t

Follow the No Pain, No Gain Rule: Many people are under the impression that the key to getting a good workout is to push yourself so hard that you’re in physical pain the next day.

Overtraining can lead to injury as well as mental and physical exhaustion. According to Jessica Matthews, exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, ”if you can’t move the next day, or feel overall more zapped than energized, you may have an acute case of overtraining.”

Stick to the “Fat-Burning Zone”: You may have seen that inviting extra feature on a treadmill or elliptical that will supposedly put you into the “fat-burning zone,” a lower intensity workout that will supposedly help you burn more fat than simply calories.

While studies have shown that when you work out at 50-60% of your resting heart rate, you’ll be burning about 50% fat and 50% glucose, this method will only provide results if you can spend hours upon hours at the gym.

Push to 20 Reps: Aiming for a certain number of repetitions can give you extra motivation to push yourself just a little bit further, but by the time you hit 20 repetitions, you need to bump up your weights. It’s quality not quantity that sculpts those lean, cut muscles. By the eight or twelfth rep, you should be struggling to make each repetition while still maintaining proper form and posture.

Focus on How Much you Sweat: Those sweat stains under your arms and in front of your chest may feel like a proud emblem of workout success, but how much you sweat should not be the way you measure the intensity of your workouts.

Sweat is your body’s way of cooling itself, and it is directly related to outside temperature as well as medications and other physical conditions. Some people sweat more than others, and how much you sweat doesn’t determine how many calories you burn overall.

Do

The Talk Test: The Talk Test is a simple method for determine whether or not you should pull back and give your body a break or bump up your intensity. According to researchers from the University of Wisconsin, the Talk Test directly correlates with respiratory changes and oxygen uptake. If you’re too breathless to talk, then it’s time to reign in the horses.

Monitor Your Heart Rate: There are multiple tools that can allow you to track your current heart rate during physical activity, which will help you to determine whether or not your workout is too tough or not tough enough.

The American heart Association recommends that healthy adults should aim between 50 and 75% of their maximum heart rate.

Conclusion

The key to making the most out of your workouts is to understand your body’s limits and needs.

If you’re too tired to exercise and feeling particularly irritable, then don’t be afraid to skip a day or two of exercise. On the other hand, if you’re lifting hundreds of reps and not getting massive gains, then now is a great time to increase your intensity.

These tips can show you how to maximize your workout, but only you can make the most out of your gym time by challenging yourself without running your body into the ground.