How to get more energy for your workout
Do you need to get more energy for your workout?
Like our Brazilian friends like to say, not without some irony, getting fit is all about the three Fs: “force, focus and faith”. Meaning that some discipline and motivation are essential when it comes to workout, whether you’re deciding to change your routine and start training, whether you’re struggling to maintain your attendance after joining the gym or even if you’re looking for more expressive results.
However… in all those scenarios, having some things working out in your favor never hurts. Like all sophisticated machinery, our bodies need to be constantly well lubricated and running. Otherwise, it’s likely to break when put to work full speed.
With that in mind, we prepared six tips that you can easily introduce in your routine for getting that extra energy for your workout and making it easier to adopt healthier habits.
1. Choose light snacks during the day
Instead of the old school three big meals along the day, having around six smaller meals, with shorter intervals between them, will provide you with a constant source of energy and avoid that sleepiness that always hits us after the heavy dishes.
Always pay attention to the signals that your organism sends you. If you are hungry, eat. And remember to recharge your batteries and stomach before and after training.
But keep in mind: the quality of the food is, probably, more important than how many times you eat it. Getting back to that machine analogy, it doesn’t matter if you fuel your car every day if you’re buying rigged gas, right? So avoid highly processed food and snacks that are high in sugar. And remember, while the sweets and caffeine can give you the sensation of energy, they will leave you hanging during workout.
On the other hand, some kinds of food will naturally provide you with stamina and energy for training, while also keeping you satiated for longer periods. But we’ll talk more about that in another article.
2. Hydrate yourself and get more energy.
All life on earth has one thing in common: they all need water to properly function. So, no matter how obvious it seems, it’s always worth remembering to drink water. First of all, one of the first symptoms of dehydration is fatigue, which doesn’t quite match with exercising.
Drinking enough water, distributed in small portions along the day, will avoid those annoying cramps. Also, keeping yourself hydrated before, during and after working out (especially if you’re trying a new exercise) will help the muscles’ growth and won’t leave them so sore the next day.
3. Get yourself a good night sleep
Wanna really treat yourself? Not even a lazy week, spent enjoying an intensive spa treatment, beats the powerful effect of restoring good night sleep. In the rush of everyday routine, it’s easy to forget this simple truth, while keeping your sleeping schedule can actually be hard.
However, resting for (as close as possible to) eight hours will help you fight fatigue and help your organism produce all the hormones it needs to grow muscles, balance weight, keep cholesterol and sugar under control… You get the picture.
If insomnia is an issue, exercises will probably already help you with that. Turning off your phone 1h before going to bed and enjoying a little sunlight everyday is also important for our body to regulate sleep.
4. Keep a routine
Practice makes perfect. There’s a powerful force in the universe called inertia, and it also applies to our habits. While changing our routines can prove harder than pushing a truck up a hill, things get easier once you put yourself into motion. Maintaining the moviment is the key.
Setting yourself a training schedule and sticking to it will help you get motivated to face the gym early in the morning, for instance. Reserve a time for exercises everyday and try not to make other appointments during that time.
But be realistic about the intensity and frequency of your training. If you spent a whole year without taking your car for a ride (again with the machine analogy), it’s probably a good idea to warm up the engines a bit before putting 90mph on a highway. The process of changing habits usually works best when done gradually and consistently.
This may seem odd, but keeping a journal of diet and exercises can be helpful on that matter. If everyday you write down what exercises you did during training, what food you ate during the day and how are you feeling (energy and motivation wise) at each particular day, you’ll be able to identify the habits and foods that are giving you energy for the workout.
5. Everything gets easier with friends
Facing challenges alongside friends it’s always better than facing them alone, and working out is no different. Training with a partner will not only provide that extra motivation that we all need, but also make yourself accountable for keeping the training schedule.
While missing the “leg day” alone can only harm your own goals, when you workout with a friend, skipping the gym will let someone else down. And that’s something most people try very hard to avoid.
On the other hand, a workout partender will push you forward, helping you set more concrete goals and, if you’re competitive by nature, challenge you to reach those goals. Beyond all that, is always good to have someone you can talk to that’s facing the same experiences and relate to the same struggles.
6. Introduce acai in your food and get more energy
Eating a bowl of natural acai it’s not only an easy and delicious way to upgrade your healthy diet, but will also provide you with a lot of energy for working out. Since it became known outside Brazil, this precious black fruit has won the hearts and tastes of many professional athletes for its nutritious and health benefits.
Acai is a versatile pre or post-training meal, easy to combine with any healthy food, that’s rich in nutrients, high-quality oils and minerals (like calcium, manganese, potassium, iron and magnesium) and will truly provide you with energy. Plus, it helps build and grow muscles, keeps the weight and sugar levels under control and helps fight muscular fatigue and sores.
You can easily find it, coming directly from Amazon rainforest and combined with your favorite toppings and Texas true organic honey, here at Vida Boa Açaí. Get to know our menu and come to visit.