Yahoo Lifestyle Your Best Body Breakthrough
WARM UP FIRST, NO EXCUSES
If you skip your warm-up (we know, it's tempting), you cheat yourself out of maximum results. Prime your body the right way and you can train harder, burn more kilojoules and prevent injury. Here's how:
Take five Spend five minutes doing moves that gently work as many muscle groups as possible (jumping jacks, butt kicks, windmills). "This increases circulation and activates muscles so you get more out of your workout," says exercise physiologist Tom Holland, author of Beat The Gym.
Roll, don't stretch Just one minute of loosening muscles with a foam roller increases their range of motion (ROM) without sapping your strength the way static stretching does, a Canadian study found. And the greater your ROM, the more effective your exercises.
TRICK YOUR MUSCLES When your body gets used to a routine, it becomes more efficient - and you stop seeing results. Your muscles aren't that smart, though. Keep them guessing with simple switch-ups.
Swap equipment Do the moves you love, just change the tools. Trade dumbbells for a cable machine or TRX. Do ab exercises on a stability ball instead of the floor. "Your body has to work harder to adapt when faced with unfamiliar grips and movement patterns," explains Holland.
Change the order If you have a go-to strength routine, work through it backwards. Or mix up the moves entirely. "Fatiguing your muscles in a different way than you normally do feels like a whole new routine," says Holland.
GO HARDER
Not seeing results? You may not be sweating enough. (Working out means you have to work.) To up your game ...
Progress your moves One shortcut to toned muscles is to increase the amount you're lifting, but it's not the only way. Experiment with using your body weight differently. "Once you've mastered a basic squat or push-up, try it with one leg lifted," suggests fitness instructor Stephanie Vitorino. This will shift the weight so each side (and your core) has to work harder to hold the weight and balance.
Take baby steps "A painless way to up your cardio is to increase intensity or time by up to 10 per cent each week," says Dorette Franks, a USA Track & Field coach. So if you run at 10km/h on the treadmill, bump it up to somewhere between 10.1 and 10.6 for your next session.
CHANGE FREQUENCY
Assuming you're already sweating three or more days a week, manipulate your schedule to boost results.
Break up sessions If you run 6km twice a week, try doing 3km four times a week (or vice versa). "You'll fatigue more intensely, which can trigger change," says Holland.
Be flexible Mixing up the time of day you work out can give you an edge, depending on your goal. To melt fat, exercise before breakfast - it helps you burn stored fat instead of dietary carbs (muscles' usual energy source), a recent study** shows. To boost strength and kilojoule burn, go in the evening - cyclists who sprinted between 4pm and 8pm had more power than those who rode in the morning, a UK study revealed.
MAKE TIME TO RECOVER
Permission to relax. You actually get fitter between workouts - it's when your body repairs (aka builds) muscle. Ensure you add some R&R to your plan:
Try active recovery Do an easy activity (light cardio, a restorative yoga class) on days between tough workouts. "The idea is to rest while you gently move, to keep your muscles from getting stiff, to get the blood flowing and to ensure healing," reveals Holland.
Take a day or two off You need at least one no-exercise day each week, suggests Holland. If you don't take a break, you're at risk of injury because you're not giving your body enough time to repair. Plus, you won't perform as well on days you're going all-out. Occasionally, take a week off. If you've been hitting it hard five to seven days a week for months, take seven days of downtime. "Plateaus can be a sign that your body is tired and needs extra time to recover," says Holly Perkins, a women's strength specialist. It will help you to return to the gym refreshed and ready to kill it once again.
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