Exercise is something that you must keep doing on a regular basis if you want to maintain a healthy and fit life. No matter what you perform during your workout, you need to make sure that your exercises are being effective and beneficial for you. You can make the time you spend at the gym completely worthwhile, and ensure positive outcomes by having a pre-workout routine.
Exercise doesn’t really start exactly when you enter the gym and start to perform your usual workout routines. It starts much earlier, as there are many important things that you need to take care of before you start working out. Should you drink a lot of water beforehand? Or should you stretch your body or warm it up properly? Or should you take supplements?
All these things are parts of a pre-workout routine that needs to be maintained in order to bring out the best of your workouts. It is really important that you maintain a proper pre-workout routine for your workouts, otherwise, you won’t be able to get satisfactory results from your gym time. Also, you might face various complications while working out too. This article will help you form the best pre-workout routine for yourself that can be highly efficient for you.
Table of Contents
What is a Pre-Workout Routine?
A pre-workout routine consists of a set of things that you perform before you start working out. It can be anything from drinking enough water to grabbing a light snack. The first part of a pre-workout routine should be planning ahead about your workout. There are some things such as stretching, warming up, etc. that need to be done before working out. These things help to get the body ready for intense workout sessions. All these things build up a pre-workout routine.
A pre-workout routine can also include eating or drinking certain things, including workout supplements. No matter what helps a person with their workouts, they should always include that in their pre-workout routine in order to get the best results out of their workout sessions.
5 Best Pre Workout Routine
Hydrate
Dehydration affects your performance. As little as five percent dehydration can decrease your output to thirty percent, and this is something you don’t want to do, especially if you are working hard to get the body you want.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, it is advised that you take 20 ounces of water before a workout but avoid drinking too much as this can cause stomach ache. The lack of hydration can trigger cramps.
You will be sweating. Thus, it is necessary to fill up your hydration before exercise. Being hydrated will keep your energy up and keeps you going. It is important to continue hydrating throughout the day.
Eat Properly
Eat properly before every workout because you will need fuel for your body. Do not go on an empty stomach. For those who often feel stomach discomfort eating before a workout. Go for a light snack.
Eating before your workout helps with the recovery of the body. According to experts, low fiber and fast-acting carbohydrates will help maintain sugar levels during exercising and sufficient protein and healthy fat post-workout recovery. Examples are peanut butter or chicken sandwich with cheese.
However, it is essential to avoid greasy food as this can cause stomach upset. Suppose you’re running out of time, do not skip a meal. Even a simple snack like a spoon of peanut butter or apple and cheese thirty minutes before your workout is sufficient to keep the body going. No fuel means no energy to support your workout.
Don’t skip warm-up
A good warm-up before a workout prepares your body and prevents injury when doing an intense workout. It also improves circulation and prevents cardiac abnormalities. It also improves your range of motion and slowly raises your body temperature.
No matter how short your intense routine is, do not skip warming up. You can choose short five-minute aerobic movements or use a foam roller to warm up and stretch those muscles. The foam roller helps “detangle” the muscles in the body, which allows for a better range of movement later. A dynamic warm-up is also good if you want to focus on specific muscle groups.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is essential for your body to work and perform well. Getting enough rest is not just about good muscle recovery after an intense workout; it is also important pre-workout. Inadequate sleep affects your metabolism, energy level, and hormones. Sleeping is as crucial as working out.
The ideal hours would be eight but get at least six to seven hours of sleep prior to your workout for maximum results. When the body is tired, the fat burner role of exercising will not be effective. Your working our goal is futile when you are not getting enough sleep. Try to create sleep rituals like aromatherapy, listening to calm music, deep breathing, etc., to help induce better sleep.
With today’s lifestyle, lack of sleep is inevitable. However, when you are working out, schedule your routine around days that are less busy, where you can get the rest you need. Working out when your body is tired will only lead to more exhaustion, thus defeating the purpose of exercising.
Wear the right clothing
Wearing proper workout clothes and gear can maximize the result. Exercising requires various movements, which means you need clothing that can provide enough support while not restricting mobility. Clothes or shoes that are too tight or too loose can lead to injuries.
Yoga may not require you to wear shoes or a sports bra, but if you are doing high-impact exercises such as boxing or running, you will need a bra that will provide sufficient support and the right running shoes for comfort and prevention of foot injury.
Comfort may be petty, but it can influence how you feel about your workout. The better you feel, the longer you’ll stay with your routine. It is important to understand that expensive gears and clothing don’t equal comfort. There are a lot of local brands out there that are on par with the branded ones.
What Are the Benefits of a Pre-Workout Routine?
Your preparation for working out can bring in drastic differences in the results of your workout. It is important to have a proper pre-workout routine. You will gain massive success from your workouts if your pre-workout routine contains things that will help your workout procedure. Also, it will help you to get ready for working out. Here are some benefits of having a pre-workout routine-
Prepares The Muscles For Workout
With the pre-workout activities, your muscles will get prepared for the workout. Your muscles will be able to easily endure whatever comes their way during the workout.
Increases Your Energy
Maintaining your pre-workout routine will help you increase your energy levels. It will be of great benefit for carrying out your workout, and you won’t have to leave it halfway due to lack of energy. You’ll be able to make it through the whole workout session comfortably.
Helps Loosen Up Connective Tissue and Joints
You need to make sure that stretching is a part of your pre-workout routine. It will help you loosen up your ligaments, tendons, and joints. You will gain vital elasticity that will reduce the risk of injuries while working out. Also, your overall mobility and flexibility will be increased due to stretching. You’ll be able to perform your workout movements more accurately and smoothly by spending some time stretching before starting the workout.
Gets The Blood Flowing
If you go through pre-workout warm-up sessions, it will get your blood flowing. It will also send heat to the connective tissues and muscles of your body which will improve your workout performance. It will also reduce the risk of suffering from injuries too.
Things to do before a Workout
Here are some things that you can do before a workout-
Warm-Up Part 1: Aerobic
If the warm-ups are well designed, they can increase your blood flow, core temp, muscle temperature, etc. You can even work at a low to moderate level for five minutes on a treadmill, rowing machine, or stationary bike. It will help your muscles gain optimum strength. They will be functioning at optimum power.
Warm-Up Part 2: Foam Roll
It can be painful to use a foam roller, and also an unpleasant experience. However, the pros of using a foam roller before working out outweigh the cons. There are muscles that are held together with perimysium and tendons. These tissues hold muscle fibers together, but when you work out, these tissues can get stiffened up. If you use a foam roller, it can break the stiffened areas up. It will help the muscles move and work more efficiently.
Warm-Up Part 3: Dynamic
Dynamic means warming your body up through special movements. You can go through the muscle group and warm them up before using them to perform compound bodyweight or lightweight movements. Dynamic movements will help to make sure that certain areas such as wrists, keens, and shoulders will be warm and ready for the workout.
Are Supplements Necessary for Pre-Workout?
Pre-work supplements are something that can provide massive benefits for your workout sessions. They can enhance your workout performance, body strength, and even the strength of your muscles. But these supplements also come with some side effects that can create various complications in your body. It can be safely said that pre-workout supplements aren’t for everyone.
One shouldn’t resort to pre-workout supplements automatically even if they lack energy frequently. Nor should they do it if they face difficulties in making it through their workout. In order to repair your muscles and optimize your energy levels, you’ll need to have proper sleep and a balanced diet. Also, you’ll need adequate hydration. You can gain your best form just by maintaining these things, no need for any supplements.
However, if you still think that you’ll need help in enhancing your performance, you can go for various supplements such as nitric oxide precursors, caffeine supplements, creatine supplements, etc. These will help to significantly improve your muscle mass, athletic performance, etc.
So, if you find yourself getting benefits from the supplements, then you can go for them. You just need to be careful about the ingredients of the supplements, and the amount of your regular intake.
Put On Music That Pumps You Up
Music can be a really helpful element in your workout sessions. The workout performance of a person can get highly improved by listening to upbeat music. In a 2009 study published in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, exercisers that listened to the upbeat music of their liking while working out did a better job than others. The music should be at a pace of 135 beats or higher per minute, according to the American Council of Exercise. So, make sure to put some music on before starting exercise. This will help you pump you up during your workout.
Conclusion
Preparation can make a big difference in a workout routine. Just like any endeavor, non-preparation will not lead to the maximum result. It would help if you were proactive to get the result you want. Working out is not just about your time at the gym; it’s the lifestyle you are willing to change and establish to get a better version of yourself.
Pre-workout routines aren’t optional. It’s not like you can have one if you want, otherwise, you don’t need one. Instead, pre-workout routines are important for everyone that takes part in intense workout sessions on a regular basis. Pre-workout routines help to deal with the hardships that come during workouts. The activities of pre-workout sessions get a person ready for the workouts properly. So, make sure to have the best pre-workout routine for yourself in order to get the best out of your workout sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Q. Does pre workout build muscle?
Q. Are pre-workout supplements bad for your health?
