How to enhance your workout performance
What’s the most effective way to get results fast and effectively? This question comes up frequently with new clients joining our fitness centre. Have a solid plan and seek guidance from a professional for that clinical edge. And follow these tips to enhance your workout performance. The last thing we want is to waste time on training formats and exercises that aren’t right for you.
Cross-train!
This is striking the right balance between strength and cardio exercise.
Incorporating both will prevent you from getting bored with your workouts. It’s also important for your overall fitness and strength.
Strength training increases muscle size and strength, and enhances coordination of your muscles and joints. It also improves joint and tissue integrity and movement quality.
Cardio exercise enhances your oxygen consumption, cardiac function and endurance, increasing heart health and efficiency.
When you combine both, this is where the magic happens. You can minimise injury risk and see massive improvement in your overall physical performance and wellbeing.
So if you play any kind of sport, or swim, run etc, strength training will make you a stronger and more powerful athlete.
The combined results of strength, power, speed, endurance, agility and balance from cross training will carry through to a happier, healthier and more productive life.
Just remember – alternate between training styles and muscle groups so your body has a good chance to recover.
Mix your classes and keep it interesting: Animal Flow. Bodyweight. Handstand. HIIT. Kettlebell. Mish Mash and Smash. Movement Strength. Rings and Stall Bars.
Stretch and mobilise
When we’re pushing and pulling our weight around at the gym, hitting a tennis ball or running, it’s important our joints move freely. Ideally safely within their full range of motion.
That stiffness we can get from regular exercise or sitting a lot can restrict joint mobility under load or exertion. This results in sub-optimal training, increasing the risk of injury. This will not help to enhance your workout performance. Good mobility is an integral part of healthy movement and fully-functioning mechanics.
If you haven’t tried our Pilates, Yoga or Functional Mobility classes, give them a go.
Mobility training helps you focus on postural alignment and muscle activation, translating to better movement patterns in the gym and life in general. Yoga or stretching can increase your flexibility, and reduce stiffness from your workouts, increasing blood flow, hydration and tissue integrity.
Take your pick from different ways to mobilise: Barre. Functional Mobility. Fusion Yoga. Reformer Pilates. Mat Pilates. Vinyasa Yoga. Yin Yoga.
Rest and recover
This is just as important as the physical component of the training process.
Repeated stress from exercise creates micro-tears in your muscles, making them sore and inflamed.
Muscles need to recover during sleep or on your rest days. Without the opportunity to regenerate you’ll see a drop in performance gains and training capacity and a potential increase of injury.
Generally, allow 48 hours rest between strength sessions for the muscle groups worked to allow them to adapt and build effectively.
The simple message is don’t overtrain and schedule rest days. You’ve worked for it so there’s no need to feel any guilt about that.
Relax and chill with us at our Meditation and Yin classes.
You are what you eat (and drink)
We all know the benefits a balanced diet of fresh food can bring. And it will go a long way to enhance your workout performance.
And when you exercise you particularly need quality carbs for energy – brown and grainy bread, pasta, rice, cereals, lean protein for muscle recovery – eggs, fish, lean meat, quality protein powder, healthy fats – nuts, olive oil, avocados and fluids – the water variety (2-3 L/day) as opposed to alcohol, tea and coffee.
Just remember – 80% of our body composition is what we eat – and in the gym, you’re burning calories and sculpting muscles.
Fresh is best (nothing out of a box or packet) and processed sugars are out. Check out Mark’s Chicken Hotpot recipe for a perfectly lean, fresh post-workout meal.
Have a chat with our nutritionist or dieticians about your eating or weight loss plan.
Read more about our Diet & Nutrition services here
