Things to do before every workout

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Many of us believe that if one just simply enters the gym and starts working with a few machines, they’ll begin to lose weight and tone their body. But this is not the case.

There is an entire regime that you need to follow in order to have efficient results. Here are some things you need to do before starting your workout.

GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME

Prepare yourself mentally that you have to work out. This might sound useless but believe me, mind-muscle connection is very important. Motivate yourself by thinking about the goals you have to achieve, think about the extra plates you are going to add today and mentally walk through the workout you have to perform, with their respective number of reps/sets and order they have to be performed in.

Dressing up in your workout attire should act as a stimulant to turn on your beast mode. Now that you are mentally prepared, all you have to do is execute what you planned instead on thinking about what to do next.

HYDRATE

It is recommended to drink plenty of water before a workout, unless you like to feel dizzy and want cramps during your workout. But care should be taken as to not drink too much water close to a workout as this can make you feel bloated or make you want to go pee. Drink a moderate amount (500 ml) and you should be fine. Because bottom line is, a hydrated person always performs better.

PRE –WORKOUT NUTRITION

You need energy to lift weight and hence you need a pre-workout meal or drink. If you work out on an empty stomach, soon your glucose will be depleted and the body will start to consume those valuable proteins as closest source of energy. This will affect your progress. I would recommend to consume a good quality pre-workout drink or a creatine shake 30 minutes prior to every workout.

This will keep you energized and will help you lift more weights, which in turn helps gain muscle mass or burn those extra calories. Alternately you can consume a slow to moderate digesting carbohydrate such as sweet potato, oat meal and banana about one to two hours (depending on your digestion) before a workout. So by the time you are at gym, you don’t feel stomach cramps and you have sufficient energy to perform your exercise.

I would recommend against energy drinks as they cause more harm than good. They are also packed with extra-fast digesting sugars which can result in weight gain.

WARM-UP

I always stress on warm-up before a workout as it is crucial for better performance at gym and more importantly it prevents from gym injuries. Warming up causes increase in body-core temperature, steadily increases heart rate, increases blood flow to the muscles and prepares the muscles, joint and tendons for the upcoming workout.

Remember the goal is to prepare your body for the workout and not exhaust it before you even begin your training regime. So perform mild to moderate cardio or use treadmill.

Now, you are prepared to pump those muscles and torch that extra fat. So go ahead and get a step closer to your goals!

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