5 Tips To Get Strategic About Your Exercise Routine

How can I make my workouts more intense?

You probably understood by now that exercise and physical activity is good for you, right? However, you might question yourself on how to take advantage of its benefits. Perhaps you are afraid that you cannot spend enough time in order to make it worthwhile or maybe you really can’t afford workout equipment or a gym membership.

No worries, though! By being strategic about your exercise routine, you can hoard all its benefits and become fitter for life. Here are some tips for you:

Most effective way to exercise:

1. Do Not Exercise Too Much

Seems contradictory?

It is advised that you exercise every day and if you are aiming for losing weight, exercising harder makes sense, right?

Well, more is not necessarily better in terms of exercise frequency and you might overdo your workout routine. A study revealed that individuals who exercise an hour a day can lose less weight than those who choose to exercise for 30 minutes only.

The reason?

Psychological.

Individuals who exercise longer feel justified in engaging with other behaviors which can actually undermine their physical health. Through “ego depletion”, people use all their willpower at their workout routine, only to let it go after a few hours by drinking or eating too much.

So, keep in mind that moderation works in your favor in terms of exercise. Just have patience, you’ll get there!

2. Do Not Exercise When You Are Hungry

Exercising on an empty stomach leads to two scenarios you will not like. First, physiologically speaking, your exercise performance is lessened with a risk of passing out; Secondly, it affects you psychologically, causing you to overeat after your workout—you will be more likely to reward yourself for working out like crazy.

3. Pay Attention To Pain

A simple rule:

When something hurts, then stop doing it.

However, it is quite surprising to see how many people still exercise through the pain. It is true that you can feel some discomfort during your first workout— sore muscles and depleted energy— until those endorphins take over. However, if you feel or experienced prolonged strains and aches, then you really need to rethink your workout plan.

Maybe you need better exercise shoes or needs to reduce your stress or need a pilates chair which can help you break fitness plateau and take pilates to a whole new level. According to most Malibu Pilates Chair reviews, the Pilates chair also helped persons to do beneficial stretching exercises suffering from multiple back injuries and chronic pains. So get to the source of your pain and learn how to fix it to enjoy exercise without pain.

4. Include Enough Variety For A Well-Rounded Workout

You might be a “running” person, that you love strolling and jogging more than anything else. However, if you want to be fitter, you need to make sure that you add some form of muscle strengthening and endurance into your exercise routine. Muscle training can include dumbbells, resistance machine, free weight or combination of these.

You can add balance, stretching, flexibility, and posture exercises such as yoga, tai chi and Pilates to the mix in order to make sure that the muscle strength you are gaining does not cause your joints to become too stiff or tight.

Also, you should not work the same muscle groups on consecutive days. You need to follow the 48-muscle conditioning rule since worked tissues need time in order to heal.

5. Exercise In Quick Spurts

A study reported that individuals who did a 4 – 6 30-second sprints gain the same heart-health benefits of those who take a moderate 40 to 60-minute workout.

So, ditch the hour-long exercise and try to do quick spurts exercise. There are two ways in order to get your heart racing: jump rope for 3 minutes or you can sprint to and from your mailbox 3 times (just ignore your neighbor’s curious look). In case don’t have a mailbox, sprint blocks periodically.

Conclusion

By being strategic with your exercise, you get to reap more benefits in every minute you pour into training. And if you want to take your workout routine to the next level then