Knowing how to get maximum benefits from minimum effort is a life skill that you can apply everywhere to save time and energy. And it’s just as important to apply this to your workout as anywhere else, whether you’re at the gym six days a week or only two. How can you get the most out of every rep, every crunch, every minute?
Choose wisely
Everyone thinks they know the key to improving their aerobic fitness. You improve cardiovascular fitness with cardiovascular exercise, like running, swimming, or biking, right? The thing is, that’s not entirely true. Not only is cardio not the only way to get fit, it’s not even the most efficient.
In a recent test of traditional cardio exercise versus aerobic resistance training, results showed that four minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) four times a week simply destroyed 30 minutes of endurance treadmill runs performed four times a week.
Specifically, the group on the treadmill improved aerobic fitness by seven percent, while the HIIT group improved by eight percent. Those doing HIIT also saw huge muscle endurance gains, and improved their ability to do push-ups by a whole 135 percent. When you’re trying to get the most bang for your buck, sixteen minutes of HIIT a week beats two hours on the treadmill cold.
Prepare wisely
You wouldn’t head into the boardroom without being prepared, and you shouldn’t go into a workout unprepared either. This starts the night before when you get plenty of quality sleep. Sleep repairs your body and gives you the alertness and energy you need to exercise right.
Just as crucial as resting your body is thinking about what you’re putting into it. If you’ve heard guys at the gym talking about “pre workout”, there’s a reason for that. Pre workout supplements can help you max out your endurance, strength, and stamina, and can even shorten recovery times.
The key is taking a good one, and that’s why you want a Mesomorph pre workout supplement. Some pre workouts often rely on huge amounts of caffeine or sugar to keep you going, and why would you pay for that when you can just get a sugary coffee drink that tastes better?
You want quality, proven ingredients at clinical dosages — the kind of ingredients that give you maximum endurance, eliminate lactic acid that can stop you mid-workout, and keep you going strong without the fillers and additives that can cause stomach upset or sugar crashes.
Perform wisely
Some of us rely too much on momentum rather than muscle to get in a rep. While you don’t have to use the Super Slow technique exactly, you should be moving slowly and smoothly through your reps.
It’s also important to perform your exercises correctly. There are some pretty common mistakes a lot of us make when cranking out even the most basic moves. One such mistake is trying to take on too much weight in a biceps curl. When we do this, it’s the shoulders, not the biceps, doing a lot of the work. Not only does this mean we’re not working our biceps properly, it also means we’re in danger of neck and lower back injuries.
To fix that, only lift the amount of weight you can actually pull up smoothly while still standing tall, with shoulders back and abs tucked in. Check beforehand to make sure you’re doing all your important lifts correctly.
If you want to get the most out of your workout, you have to choose the right exercises, prepare properly with sleep and a good pre workout, and make sure you’re lifting the right way. Then you’ll be getting the most from all your hard work.
