You’ve finally managed to psych yourself up to get off the sofa and into the gym. The fitness gear is on and you instantly feel like an athlete. You burst through the gym doors thinking you’re going to smash this workout but then, it dawns on you that you haven’t got a clue where to start.
There is so much confusing information about what is the best workout. Some girls can run for miles on the treadmill but that definitely isn’t for everyone. Some people preach the benefits of lifting weights and building muscle, although the thought of becoming Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t bode well with the female physique. So here are 5 steps to make sure you’re getting the best out of your workout, to make the most of the time you spend in the gym.
- Get a workout plan
Go into the gym with an idea of what you’re going to do first, you could even use a notebook or your phone and tick off the exercises as you go. Most workouts begin with a warm up on a cardio machine such as the treadmill and then the main body of the workout should be tailored to what you want to achieve. The Sports Park website even has gym programme template for you to fill in to help track your progress. In this case the professionals really can help you, and at the gym there are loads of staff on hand to give you advice.
- Keep it interesting
Although a solid gym routine can be good, mixing it up also has its benefits. Not only does it stop you getting bored of your fitness routine, it works different muscles of the body that you might not usually use. If you usually run on the treadmill for your cardio workout, why not try cycling or rowing?
- Spread the effort across different muscle groups
Going to the gym three times a week and doing the same exercises each time can get tedious and tires the muscle groups. It is a better use of your time to focus on one muscle group during each workout session. Even better, you can join the millions of people on Instragram that post about “leg day” or “back day”. It’s not just a fitness fad, working just one muscle group during a workout ensures you overload the muscles which then leads to rebuilding of the muscles, and subsequently burns a lot of calories even when you have stopped exercising.
- Interval training
This is a really time efficient way of training. Rather than spending hours on the treadmill, recent exercise science studies have proven that similar benefits can be achieved by working for less time at a higher intensity. For example, on the treadmill sprint for 30 seconds at a high speed and then lower the speed to a slow jog for the next 30 seconds, repeat this 10 times.
- Eat for your workout
This is an important part of a workout that is often overlooked by gym-goers. A good balance of macronutrients i.e. Carbohydrates, protein and fat, should be used to fuel your workout. For example, if you are a big fan of cardio you should be fuelling your body with low GI carbohydrates such as brown rice, sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas. Or if you are more into lifting weights, a high protein diet is needed to repair the muscles, this includes meat, fish, beans, quinoa and nuts.
I hope this has inspired you to revamp your workout, keep it interesting and work a variety of muscle groups. At this time of year we all need some extra motivation to get in the gym and creating a strong workout plan is the first step to keeping that Christmas weight off. So we can all have our mince pies and chocolates, safe in the knowledge that our gym routines will keep us on track!