1. WATER INTAKE
Just like sleep, it’s really important to drink enough water. Harvard University recommends drinking 1-2 litres per day! If you’re strength training, you should drink towards the 2-litre mark and even a little more. Research suggests that adequate water intake aids with boosting exercise performance as well as muscle growth. Our muscles need water to grow, so if you’re not drinking enough water, you’ll struggle to grow as much. It also helps with hydrating our skin and aiding weight loss if you’re using it as a replacement for juices and soft drinks. Why wouldn’t you want to feel younger, be stronger, and be fitter?
2. WARM-UP
It’s tedious. No one likes to warm up but it’s actually so important for the longevity of our bodies to warm up prior to your sessions. Mechanics recommend you let your car run prior to driving to let the car warm up. You warm up your car, why wouldn’t you warm up your body? Bodyweight squats prior to a leg session or push-ups prior to a back/chest workout are great and simple warmups. 2-3 sets of 5 reps will really warm up the joints, the muscles, and the ligaments within your body while also getting blood pumping around. On the other hand, you want to ensure you’re warm-up doesn’t fatigue you because then your actual work out won’t be a good workout. A warmup of about 50% intensity of your normal routine is sufficient to get blood pumping without exhausting you.
3. MENTAL PREPAREDNESS
This one is a crucial one! listen carefully! You have two people – the gym-goer that does 1 set and has a break for 4 minutes while scrolling through Instagram or there is the other person that goes into the gym, phone on ‘do not disturb,’ does what he needs to do and leaves feeling accomplished. Be the second guy! The only difference is that second person goes into the gym knowing what he needs to do. He knows what muscle groups he’s working on; he knows what weights he’s aiming for and he just does it. His breaks are succinct (not too much, not too little) and he doesn’t get distracted by people or things (phones, mirrors, etc.). Walk into the gym with a sense of keenness, even when you’re tired. Do what you need to do to pump you up – play music, look at a goal physique or even drink a coffee! The main thing is to get yourself in the zone like its game day!
4. WRITTEN PROGRAM
Write your exercise program down, whether on paper or on your phone but just have it somewhere so you can refer back to it. Research shows that having things written down makes it more ‘set in stone’ so that way we adhere to it more. I lifted 20kg last week, I have to lift at least 20kg this week even if I am tired. Write your reps, sets, weight, and each muscle group for the designated session – you’re less likely to skip a gym session now because you’ll fall behind. It’s good for tracking progress and its good for accountability. You also get that sense of accomplishment when you’ve increased your dumbbell weight.
Implement these principles this week and watch your exercise sessions, whatever they may be, drastically improve! look after yourself outside of exercise, so that way what you do inside (outside now because of COVID) counts.
Most Importantly – stay active, stay healthy, and stay happy! 🙂
