Sometimes, adding fitness to your lifestyle can come with some difficulties. One of the hardest hurdles to overcome is when you feel like you worked really hard, but you aren’t seeing the results. This can happen for any number of reasons, but one real motivation breaker is when your mind and body don’t align to get you to a point where you feel your workout efforts were maximized. Perhaps your body gets tired before your mentality and you know you should be able to do more. Or your focus isn’t up to the task of getting you through a full and effective workout.
Here are 3 tips that will help you combat these, and other obstacles getting in the way of your ability to maximize your workouts:
Create a workout plan geared towards reaching your fitness goals.
Whether you want to bulk up or slim down, run a certain distance, or lift a certain weight, writing out the steps toward achieving your goal can help you achieve success. Heading into a workout with a set plan will not only give you clear direction for your set time each day, but it will also help to track progress as you gradually improve and continue to reach new levels of achievement.
Apply CBD before and after workouts.
CBD is gaining recognition and popularity for it’s pain management qualities. This awakening has led to the use of CBD in post workout recovery as a means of therapy for sore muscles and inflamed joints. What many people don’t know is that CBD can actually have beneficial effects when applied before a workout as well. Among it’s many attributes, research shows that CBD can help reduce blood pressure. Having a lowered blood pressure when working out not only reduces the stresses your body might encounter during intense exercises, but it also can help increase your stamina and the longevity of your workout. Furthermore, the potential CBD has for pain relief can help ease the soreness cause by building muscles, allowing you to persevere, for example, through a few more reps.
Applying CBD post-workout can reduce recovery time and allow you to get back to the gym quicker. Using CBD, therefore, can not only help provide a boost during your exercise, but it can help your body recover and maintain a steady, consistent fitness routine- allowing for a maxed-out workout.
Eat right and stay hydrated.
Nutrition plans are often a hot topic for debate. However, it is important to stick to whatever you find works best for you. Genes, goals, allergies, tastes, and lifestyles are just some of the many traits that make us and our individual dietary needs so varying. Everyone is different. Eating the right foods for your body can help maximize your workout by boosting your energy, allowing your workout to positively impact your muscles and body, and help you push towards your goals. Some generally helpful foods to consider are: bananas, oats, yogurt, peanut butter, eggs, chicken, and fish.
In addition to eating right, it is important to stay hydrated. Studies conducted have placed the average daily water intake for hydration to be approximately 9-11 cups for women and 13-15 cups for men. When working out, the amount of water out body loses by sweating causes us to need increased water intake to account for the loss. Though factors such as climate and duration of exercise can affect what is needed for proper hydration, experts agree that, for those who exercise, on average, at least 1.5-2.5 cups of water should be added to your regular daily amount.
Making a few minor changes to your workout routine, using these three tips, can help boost your fitness regimen. Hopefully seeing and feeling a positive difference soon allows you to finally achieve and even surpass the goals you have been working hard to achieve.
References: https://www.healthline.com/health/how-much-water-should-I-drink#recommendations
Hydration for Athletes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5470879/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4851925