Overall fitness isn’t just about cardio. Although cardio is a major component of weight loss and heart health, it is important to incorporate strength training into your fitness regimen. Strength training builds muscle mass and helps you burn more calories post-workout. Follow these strength-training tips to amp up your workout and get a complete workout.
If you need a little confidence boost in your fitness routine, buy new workout clothes. Even if you purchase a small item, it can motivate you to go to the gym and show it off.
If cycling is your exercise mode of choice, you can increase the efficiency, endurance, and coordination of your muscles by pedaling your bicycle using only one leg at a time, then alternating after every three to five minutes. This helps to engage all muscles in the leg by distributing the work evenly up and down the entire length of your legs and feet.
You can actually fool your body into thinking that it has lifted more weight than you actually have. You can do this by shifting your focus entirely to your dominate hand. This somehow causes a mentality that you are stronger and that you can lift more weight. Thinking that way can cause you to actually be able to lift more weight so that you can increase the benefits of your workout.
Try to stretch your muscles when you are relaxing between sets. You should stretch your target muscle groups for about half a minute at a time. Research shows that men who stretch in between sets have experienced strength increases 20 percent greater than their counterparts who neglect stretching. Additionally, stretching helps to prevent lesions and injuries.
Strengthening your core leads to great total-body fitness. Your back and abdominal muscles support the rest of your body, and control your flexibility and power in almost every physical motion. By building muscle in your core, you also burn more calories in your midsection, and avoid the accumulation of belly fat.
To rock or wall climb more efficiently, purchase footwear that fits so tight on your bare feet that you can stand up but not walk without discomfort. For climbing, footwear this tight gives you the most effective control of your feet as you can better feel the rock you are climbing.
One way to increase strength quickly is to do a high volume of repetitions with light weights at a fast pace. This technique has a similar effect in terms of strength building as lifting a heavier weight more slowly. Start off with a weight level that is about fifty percent of what you would usually lift.
Even though you may want to strengthen your abs there is a such things as working them too much, and you should be careful about that. You should work on your abs no more than two or three days a week. You can do some damage if you overwork them so be careful.
Focus on your workout. As long as you are making the time for fitness, make the most of your time by really focusing on your workout. If you are going at a pace at which you can comfortably chat on the phone or read a book, you are cheating yourself out of results. Really push yourself during your workout and save the leisure activities for later.
One thing to remember when working out is to exercise in order. The proper order that should be followed is to use dumbbells, barbells and then machines. This is because the smaller muscles will be worked out by the dumbbells and lastly, the machines can be done as you grow tired.
To build up shoulder and arm strength you should work on pull-ups. Pull-ups work out different muscles based on the distance between your hands. The further out they are the more the back muscles are used to pull you up. The closer in they are the more they use your arms and shoulders to pull you up. Pull-ups are one of the best exercises to perform because they have very little capability of damaging muscles.
Whenever you are working out your back by performing lat pull-downs, make sure your grip is correct. Do not make the mistake of wrapping your thumbs around the bar, rather, let your thumbs lie along the bar. This will cause you to use more of your back muscles without your arms.
A good tip for weight lifters is to ditch their weight belt. While it is true that a weight belt offers support to your back, it is important to realize that continuous use of a weight belt can weaken both your lower back and your abs. If you must use a weight belt make sure to workout your back accordingly.
Trying to get your stomach into shape? Protect the alignment of your neck when you do crunches. Exercise does a body good – but if improperly done – it can cause injuries! During crunches, place your tongue up against the roof of your mouth. This helps you stay focused on proper alignment and keeps you doing crunches in proper form!
Always maintain your hydration levels. Becoming dehydrated is very easy when you are completing a fitness routine, regardless of the type of exercises that you are performing. You want to always keep water handy and drink some any time that you feel that you are thirsty or that your mouth is a bit dry. Dehydration can be very dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.
Obviously, there are many options when it comes to working strength moves into your fitness routine. Keep doing your cardio, but additionally, choose any number of the tips mentioned to keep your muscles strong and prevent injury. Not only will you increase your calorie burn, but you’ll have awesome muscle definition to boot.
