Exercise improves health, helps with weight maintenance and enhances daily activity. If you are going to put in the time to exercise, you want to get the most out of it. Everyone benefits from exercise, but the type and intensity are a matter of personal preference and physical limitations. Regardless of your workout level, a few basic principles help improve your performance and results.
Incorporate All the Components of Fitness
According to the American Council on Exercise, a safe and effective fitness program includes aerobic exercise, muscular strength and endurance conditioning, and flexibility exercise. Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart and burns calories and fat--making weight management easier. Muscle training helps stave off the inevitable loss of muscle that occurs with aging and allows you to perform day-to-day activities with ease and without risk of injury. Flexibility work helps you maintain joint range of motion and reduces instances of muscle soreness. Follow American College of Sports Medicine Guidelines to conduct at least three 30-minute bouts of moderate exercise and two sessions of strength training weekly. Stretch for a minimum of five to 10 minutes after each workout.
Always Warm Up and Cool Down
A warmup increases the flow of blood to your muscles to help prevent injury to cold muscles and joints. For example, walk five to 10 minutes before running, or spend a few minutes on the elliptical before a strength training session. Adequately cool down your body after a workout as well. If you cycle, slow your pedal stroke and let your heart rate drop to a lower level. Walk for a few minutes at the end of a running session.
Rest
Strength training creates micro tears in your muscles. The real building occurs when these tears repair. Give yourself at least 48 hours between strength training workouts to allow the muscles to synthesize and grow--without this rest, they are simply subjected to repeated stress and injury. Cardiovascular exercise dips into your energy stores and puts stress on your muscles and joints. Giving yourself at least one day of rest per week allows your body to recharge so that you can come back stronger on your next workout.
Fuel Appropriately
Even if you are trying to lose weight, you need some sort of fuel to make the most of your workouts. Choose a pre-workout snack containing about 100 to 150 calories such as a banana or half an energy bar. If you plan to exercise longer, eat a more substantial snack an hour prior to your session. Drink plenty of water during your workout.
Change Your Routine
To continue to see results from your workout and decrease the risk of injury, continually introduce changes to your routine. Cross train more often--if you love to run, spend a workout or two a week on the bike or in the pool to challenge your muscles in a different way and to give yourself a break from impact. A strength training routine should change every four to six weeks for maximum gains. Try re-ordering the exercises or incorporating compound moves to create new stimuli for your body.
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