Get the Most Out of Your Workout, In Less Time & With Less Effort.
Are you making the most of your workouts? Great workouts are not just about what you do in the gym. It’s also about what you do to plan, supplement and support your workouts. Below, you will be introduced to 5 simple but powerful habits that will take your workouts to a whole new level.
1. Plan and Track Your Workout
Your health is a journey of 10,000 steps and like any great journey, you need to both map out your goals and track your progress. Before I religiously tracked my workouts it was very common for me to miss major portions of a workout and to think I had done more each week than I had. When you track the stats you remove the ability to wiggle out of taking responsibility for your workouts.
The transformation you want to achieve with your workouts is more of a gradual journey than a quick sprint. It is not going to happen overnight. When anything is a gradual process, you needs checks and balances to ensure that progress is being achieved in the way you want it to be achieved.
A workout planner goes a long way in helping you both plan and track your workouts. Now, you are probably saying ‘Hey, I have an app for that’. But, you know the truth is that apps get annoying to use after a while, because they are not very flexible in letting you record the data you want, in the way you want.
Besides serving as a great tracker, a notebook allows you to quickly reference all your past workouts in a way you understand, since you were the one who wrote it all down!
An actual notebook planner is however a fantastic alternative, one that you will not get tired of using. Take the notebook along with a pen or pencil and jot down everything you want to jot down about your workouts, in the format that you feel comfortable with. No more app unlocks and fiddling with your phone during an intense workout. A quick jot down and back to the grind.
Besides serving as a great tracker, a notebook allows you to quickly reference all your past workouts in a way you understand, since you were the one who wrote it all down!
2. Hydrate
‘Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate’. You have probably heard that advice a million times already. But yet, you don’t do it as well as you should? Why? Because you simply forget. These water bottles with time based markings have done a tremendous job of helping me stay hydrated. Remember. It is not just about how much water you drink in a day, but also about how you gradually supply the body with timely hydration.
With time based markings on the water bottle, you will be visually reminded if you are falling behind on your hourly hydration progress. After a while with these bottles, you begin to reap the benefits of habitual time-based hydration and you will find yourself automatically reaching for water at the right times. Whether for water or for recovery drinks, these BPA-free and durable bottles work great. Speaking of recovery, learn more about great recovery tips here.
3. Smart Snacking
Healthy snacking is one of the best kept secrets of those who are killing it with their workouts. Eating at just the right time before or after a workout can really lift the workout results you seek.
I work out after work, towards the end of the day. I usually snack on a banana or peanut butter (without added sugar) but there are days when I rely on protein bars, especially before or after intense workouts. Protein bars like Pure Protein Bars tend to have the right combination of protein, carbohydrates and also crucial amino acids that do a brilliant job of recovery and building back fatigued muscles.
A lot of my friends also believe in the school of thought that calls for working out on an empty stomach. Some of my friends swear by it. I have tried it personally, but have never felt great about my workouts after. If you do decide to work out on an empty stomach, I strongly recommend a strategic target snack for after your workout, especially if it lasts more than 30 to 45 minutes.
Also, be smart about your pre or post workout snacks. There’s a fine line between fueling your workout or recovery and going overboard. Calorie counting is critical for these snacks. They are to only help you power or recover from your workouts and not to contribute towards your usual daily calorie intake.
4. Hydrate for Performance
We talked about hydration already. On some days though, water alone just doesn’t cut it. When I am really pushing myself to the limit, I have mix a packet of Zipfizz Healthy Energy Drink Mix into my water, to give me that extra edge I need to try to beat stagnant thresholds.
Performance drinks are great because they give you a mix of both quick release energy as well as slow releasing nutrients to help you sustain through your workout, without providing a unstable calorie or sugar spike.
After a very long and strenuous workout I like to use a little of this little wonder to help me quickly replace the fluids I have sweated out.
5. Invest in Great Workout Gear
The right workout gear goes a long way in keeping you comfortable and focused through an intense workout. Quickly being able to find simple things like towels, clothes, batteries and headphones goes a long way in keeping you from not getting distracted during a workout.
Here’s my recommendation for a must-have list of accessories to aid your workouts.
My workout Go bag contains the following:
Gym Bag
A gym bag like this one is just extremely convenient as it has 10 spacious and easily accessible compartments. There’s a separate compartment for your shoes, clothes, drink, snack, towels and so on and it will save you the time and hassle of stumbling around in the gym, trying to find what you need. Less time searching and more time working out!
Yoga Mat
Whether you are bodybuilding or a yoga enthusiast, a yoga mat is an essential accessory for your workouts. Perfect for stretching and lying core exercises, mats like this give you a clean, personal, anti-slip surface on the gym floor.
Workout Towel
Breaking a sweat is awesome. But, that doesn’t mean it is ok to stay drenched during a workout! Wipe yourself down with these soft, light, stretchable and quick-drying towels. And, be nice, wipe down those benches and machines for the next person who wants to use them at the gym!
Shower Towel
A shower after an intense workout is quite satisfying. When you are done showering, you probably want a quick dry so you can head on out. These Microfiber towels are perfect for that. They absorb water in double time and require minimal wiping. They dry fast too. They come in a nice hygienic carrying case as well.
Shower Bag
Shower stalls in gym don’t have a lot of fixtures. That is why this shower bag is brilliant as it comes with a hook and mesh pouch that you can hang up from the hook on the door of the shower stall. It’s spacious enough to store large shampoo bottles, shower gels, shaving bottles, deodorants or whatever you might need for a full-fledged cleanup, just like how you are used to at home. The bag is water resistant and travel friendly as well.
- 3 in 1 shampoo
- Deodorant
- Small toothbrush/toothpaste
- Hairbrush
Spare headphones
Trust me when I say that there will be days when you forget your primary headphone at home. If not having music is a real buzzkill for your workouts, buying these affordable yet high-quality headphones as your spare is a great idea. The 1.2 meter cable length is long enough to not come in the way of your workouts. Tuck them into your gym bag and you will never have an excuse to blame your bad workout on headphones you forgot at home!
Battery Charger
After forgotten headphones, a dead phone is probably the second most commonly used excuse for a poor workout, as your phone doesn’t have the juice to play your favorite workout playlist. This 10,000 mAh battery charger will take care of that problem for you. Charge it once and keep it in your gym bag and you have a backup charger with a standby time of over 6 months, able to charge up your phone in minutes. It supports fast charging and is rated safe for all leading mobile phones.
There you have it. 5 simple but powerful habits and routines that can change your workout routine. Follow the guide to equip yourself for your next time at the gym, to absolutely kill it with your workout!