If you are looking for the key to glowing skin, more energy, better sleep, and a longer life, fitness is the answer. To help you figure out how to reap the benefits of a good fitness routine, take a look at the suggestions below. These tips are full of advice you can start using today.
To get the most benefit out of your strength training, incorporate stretches into your routine. At least one scientific study suggests that if you pause after training your muscles and spend 20-30 seconds stretching out whatever muscle (or set of muscles) it is you’ve been working, this will increase your strength.
If you’re just starting to workout, train then drink a pint of protein shake or milk. According to a new study, beginners that used three sets of six exercises and drank a pint of protein immediately after training to failure, gained 5 lbs of muscle within just 8 weeks.
A really good way to get fit is to start using free weights at the gym. A lot of people are intimidated by free weights and tend to stick to machines. Free weights are better than machines because they utilize more muscle fibers. Just make sure that you know how to properly perform lifts.
Keep track of what you have been doing, and what is working for you. Evaluate what exercises you enjoy and what left you bored. A fitness plan should never be stagnant. Keep switching things up and changing things that aren’t working for you. A fitness plan that is set in stone is a fitness plan you’ll stop using.
Your workouts should be under an hour if you are trying to grow muscle. If you exercise for over an hour, your body will produce more cortisol, a stress hormone, that can result in testosterone-blocking effect. It will also waste your muscle. The best way to avoid this is having short weight workouts.
If you have to stand or sit for long periods, take a break to do little exercises. Practice good breathing techniques, for example. Even tightening and relaxing your gluteal muscles as you stand in line at the grocery store can make a small bit of difference to your muscle strength.
Doing sit ups or crunches can be a good way to develop ones abdominal fitness. Sit ups can be done with out any special equipment just a soft spot to exercise on. Also there are different kinds of sit ups one can do to work different parts of their core. Sit ups can boost ones fitness.
A great fitness tip is to start performing cable crossovers. Cable crossovers are a great way to build up the inner pectoral muscles. While it isn’t the best exercise to tack on muscle, it’s still an enjoyable exercise that can be a great addition towards the end of your chest workout.
Dribble a basketball in heavy gloves. Doing this will allow you to learn other methods of hand control, since you cannot feel the ball. Famous basketball stars credit this method with helping them learn hand control, and studies show that it really does help. Get some thick gloves and dribble away!
Avoid using narrow grips on anything unless you absolutely have to. Narrow grips are one of the main causes of tendinitis in a gym setting. They can cause wrist and joint issues, as well as other major injuries. They can be difficult to use and cause painful problems, so steer clear!
Go with a friend. Studies have shown that taking someone along with you to a gym is likely to not only increase the amount of time you stay, but also the intensity of your workout. Some gyms offer discounts when multiple people register together, so take advantage of this and bring someone along!
When training with weights, it is very important to keep your workouts under one hour in length. After lifting weights for 60 minutes, your body starts producing an excess amount of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol has a testosterone-blocking effect and can cause you to lose muscle. If you want to increase muscle size and strength, keep your workouts short and intense.
If you want to run faster, perhaps you should try pumping some iron. A study has proven that experienced runners who performed weight training for eight weeks improved their 5-K times by an average of thirty seconds. This thirty seconds could be the difference between winning and losing a race.
Staying fit is the key to looking better, feeling better, and living longer. As you consider the powerful suggestions in the article above, you will realize that it is not as difficult as you thought to start on the road to being fit. You now have what you need to make fitness a part of your life.