To put it simply; summer is full of distractions. The warm weather coaxes you out, the cold beers keep you there, and the long, balmy evenings turn into the next day’s light as fast as July turned to August. Yep, with so much excitement going on, we don’t blame you for hitting the gym a little less this season. No one wants to be sweating in a dim, demoralising space when there’s so much stimulation and light outside its four walls. Should you, like us, feel that your exercise regime has taken a bit of a tumble of late, then we’re here to help; our 4 IDEAL ways to re-energize your workout this summer.
CHANGE UP YOUR WORKOUT
As the old saying goes, a change is as good as a rest. So, whether the weight plateau has set in or you simply can’t find the motivation to make your body move, giving your workout a rejig can be the impetus you need to get committed and focused again.
Approach things methodically; map out for a week what your normal routine is, and then slowly and ruthlessly pick it apart, switching up every finer detail for something which will feel more fun and frivolous for it being fresh, Only then can you rebuild. Spend longer doing cardio, or change up the time you spend in the weight section. Alternate your days or even bring in a totally new activity completely to get different muscles working, and ensure that your body is doing something different. Soon you’ll find that the spark is back.
GET MORE PROTEIN IN
Protein is one of the key factors in most workout success stories. In order to start getting your goals off the ground, the next step for many is to introduce more protein into the diet; effective in both gaining muscle mass and in aiding weight loss.
Many find getting enough of the stuff through diet alone to be difficult. Eventually, the tins of tuna, dozens of eggs and endless chia seeds get a bit overwhelming. This is where protein powder shakes come in. Though it’s often the ripped dudes at the gym you see with a shake, there is of course protein for women too. All you need to do is mix up some of the powder with water, and incorporate it into your diet (make sure you check the product you buy to ensure that you take in the right amount every day).
TRY OUT HIIT
For many exercise enthusiasts, a constant battle between cardio and weight training seems to play out in their goals. As we mentioned before, if you’ve stagnated in your work-out, changing it up will certainly get things moving again. But why don’t you try a whole new approach?
High Intensity Interval Training could just be your answer. HIIT is just what it sounds like; short bursts of highly intensive workouts, followed by a few minutes of normal output. It helps you by potentially increasing your metabolism, which is said to help burn fat but crucially, not muscle. The best part? It can be done from anywhere, and requires no specialist equipment.
There are some common mistakes a lot of people tend to make when they try HIIT for the first time. These include not getting the right fuel before your work out, forgetting to warm up and down and going too hard to fast. Check out this article for more common HIIT workout mistakes to avoid.
ENLIST SUPPORT
The treadmill or pull up bar, with head down and headphones in, can be a solitary place. If you’re like us, you spend the whole workout avoiding eye contact with vague acquaintances, hoping you won’t have to press pause on the new Drake album and succumb to meaningless chit chat. This approach, we have to admit, is counterintuitive to meeting your goals. With the support of peers (or even a personal trainer), you’re far more likely to give it that extra push, go that extra mile and lift those added KGs. By finding a workout partner to encourage your progress (and you theirs), you’ll find a new, invigorated enthusiasm for burning calories and building mass. And that’s what you’re here for, right?
