Category: Exercises and Workouts

If you are working out daily, then a killer body with physical stamina is the best reward that you can give yourself. But, if you are a beginner and have started working out recently, then it might take some time for you to get the physical rewards. In order to create a workout habit for yourself, you should reward yourself immediately. The important thing is to ensure that workout becomes your second nature. This will reduce your chances of missing the workouts or give them up completely.

Ways to Reward Yourself After a Workout

Want to know about the best ways to reward yourself after a tough workout? Then make sure that you go through the steps mentioned below:

Have a Tasty But Healthy Treat

Post-workout, you can prepare a delicious low-calorie smoothie that has low-fat milk and is an excellent alternative to dairy. Along with it, you can add some berries, half a banana, and one teaspoon of peanut butter. You can also add a bit of cinnamon along with a few ice cubes and then blend up the entire thing. This is quite delicious and will provide you with the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, and also healthy fat that the body needs to recover. It is highly recommended that you do not buy smoothies from the store because they are full of calories and sugar.

Hydrate Yourself deliciously

You must hydrate yourself pre and post-workout. But if you want, you can have something more exciting than water. You can fill a mason jar halfway with berries, cucumber, fresh mint, citrus fruit, ginger, and watermelon. After this, you will have to fill the jar with equal parts of the seltzer and water. You can also add a splash of apple, grape juice, orange to it. This is a low calorie, delicious, and super-refreshing beverage that you can enjoy after a tough workout.

Take a Nap

Everybody likes a good nap. You can permit yourself to take a small nap on those days in which you have pushed yourself to a very tough workout. Your body will certainly thank you for providing it with an additional recovery time. Make sure that you keep this napping time less than an hour because otherwise, it will interfere with your night sleep.

Document Your Accomplishments

If you reward yourself after a workout with delicious material things, then rewarding yourself with delicious food is certainly a good option. But at times the only thing that is needed to keep yourself going is to incentivize yourself. For this, you can simplyacknowledge yourself for reaching even the smallest milestone.

If you set a goal that is a little over-reaching and that which takes more time to achieve, it can be disheartening to find that it is not providing you with dramatic results even after putting in a lot of effort in the first few weeks. The best way to track your progress is to keep a journal where you can jot down notes after every workout.

Here, you will have to record the weight that you used in each exercise. You can also take a note of the number of reps you completed without breaking the form. The important thing is to jot down how each routine makes you feel both internally and externally.

Have Some “Me” Time

Once you have completed your workout, you should reward yourself with a bit of ” me time”. A bit of relaxation is the perfect way to reward yourself for all the hard work that you have done. You can do a facemask with your best music on, binge on a Netflix series, or take a warm bubble bath. You can also enjoy reading while having your favorite meal. You can do whatever you feel like doing.

Reward Yourself During The Workout

A common fallacy about rewarding yourself for exercise is that rewards can come only after workouts. But rewards necessarily does not always have to be post-workout. You can also reward yourself during the workout by doing something you love or somewhere you love. You can work out with your friends that might bring in a lot of joy. Begin the workout with mindful stretches. This will help you to be present when you are outdoors or with your friends and will ensure that no negative thoughts come up during this time.

Pay Yourself

This may sound a bit silly at first, however, if you put in some amount to your workouts, that will surely help you. This is an excellent way to reward yourself for being sweaty. Once you have earned yourself a fair amount of money, you can treat yourself to a new gym gear like fashionable gym clothes,a running gear or running shoes. This will not only make you feel good and confident but every time you wear this, you will be reminded that you achieved your goal and will be able to do it again.

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

You need to understand that food is not the enemy of fitness. You can reward yourself by fueling your body with very delicious and healthy foods. You can also treat yourself occasionally with some dessert. Above everything else, fitness is about accountability and discipline. After a workout, you should not certainly eat an entire packet of Oreos but you can certainly have one or two of this.

Have a Rest Day

It is not necessary to exercise regularly. You can also take day-offs in between. This will help you to take an adequate amount of rest and energize you for the tough workouts the next day. 

Summary

Rewarding yourself for working out is one of the best ways to create internal motivation for working out. Rewards are individual. They help you to face new routines and challenges. Make sure that you choose a reward that is most meaningful for you and also integrates it into every workout. Try to get success by sticking to your powerful habits. Rewards surely motivate you. They make you understand that you are slowly proceeding towards your goals.

You have been working very hard to follow a low-calorie diet and improve the habits of your exercise. Watching your weight going down is a reward for all the hard work that you have put in. This makes you feel quite good. But at times the scale stops bulging and identifying the reason for this might be a little difficult. You have thus hit a weight loss plateau.  But make sure not to get discouraged at this point.

Understanding What The Weight-Loss Plateau Is All About

Getting stuck at a weight-loss plateau is quite normal. This happens to all people who are trying to lose weight. People tend to get surprised when it happens to them because they are still exercising regularly and eating carefully. The most frustrating part is that even when you plan out the weight loss program in the best way, the weight loss efforts can still stall.

How Does Weight Loss Occur?

During the first few weeks when you reduce the intake of calories, it is quite normal for your weight to drop suddenly. This is because when you cut down calories, the body gets the energy from the glycogen stores. Glycogen is made of partly water and so when this is burnt for energy, water gets out. This is a temporary effect.

When you lose weight, along with the fat, you also lose muscles. It is the muscles that keep the rate of calories burning up. Therefore, when you lose weight, your metabolism also tends to decline. Thus, there are fewer calories that are burnt in comparison to the number of calories burnt when you do heavy weight training. If the rate of metabolism is slow, it will also slow down the weight loss. This will happen even if you eat the same amount of calories that had previously helped you to lose weight. When the amount of calories you burn and the amount you eat becomes equal, you tend to reach a plateau.

If you want to increase more weight, you will have to either increase the amount of physical activity or decrease the amount of your calorie intake. If you follow the same strategy that you used during the weight loss, it will help you maintain the same weight, however, will not help you to lose calories.

Steps That Will Help You to Lose Weight After The Weight Loss Is Plateaued

If you want to overcome a weight loss plateau, you need to adjust the intake of calories. When you lose weight, your body will need much fewer calories for maintenance. If you consume the same amount of calories on day 1 and day 60, it will not be able to help you lose the same amount of weight on day 60 as it did on day 1.

If you are interested to know about a few steps that will help you to start losing weight once it has plateaued, you can go through the discussion given below:

Eat More Fiber

You must have heard that the best way to lose fat is with the help of fiber. Researchers say that if you include a lot of fiber in your diet, it will certainly help you to lose weight even after the weight loss has plateaued. Aim for at least 30 grams of fiber each day from fresh fruits, whole grains, and vegetables. Some of the best sources of fiber that defeats the weight plateau are:

• Nuts and Seeds ( almonds, peanuts, walnuts, chia seeds, and flax)
• Berries ( Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
• Apples
• Beans ( peas, black beans, chickpeas)

If you are still not convinced about whether you should add more fiber to your plate, you can check out a study that was conducted in the Annals of Internal Medicine. It says that if you simply aim to eat 30 grams of fiber each day, it will help you to lose weight. This will also increase your insulin sensitivity. If you want, you can swap cookies with berries and white rice with barley. This certainly seems quite appealing.

Increasing the Exercise Frequency Or Intensity

A person can break through a weight loss plateau by making progressive and small changes in the levels of their activities. Exercise helps people to build muscles that can help in improving the rate of metabolism in an individual. The amount of exercise a person needs depends on several different factors. These include both your age and weight.

According to the Physical Activities Guidelines for Americans, adults should at least do 150 – 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week and 75-150 minutes of vigorous or high intensity exercise each week. There are again some people who need more than 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week and this helps them to maintain proper body weight.

Reduces Stress

Studies show that if you reduce the amount of stress level, this can certainly help people to lose weight. In one of the researches, it has been found that there are two groups of people with obesity issues. One group of people received advice about a healthy lifestyle and also participated in a stress management program. The other group only received advice. The participants in the stress management group were able to significantly reduce the BMI as compared to those in the control group.

Make Sure That You Get a Good Sleep

Sleeping adequately for an adequate number of hours will improve the outcomes of weight loss. People who have slept for less than 6 hours in one night had lesser changes in the circumference of the waist in comparison to people who slept for 7 to 9 hours. If you improve the duration and the quality of the sleep, it will allow you to break through the weight loss plateau.

Summary

It is normal for weight loss to slow down and halt. If you can find out the reasons as to why the weight loss has plateaued, you will be able to take a proper decision to avoid backsliding on the new healthy habits.

The foundation of all athletic strength is the lower body. In most movements, the lower body generates power. This generated power is then transferred through the core to the upper body. The lower body also plays a key role in providing balance and stability. Ensure that you have a healthy pre-workout meal before embarking on this lower body workout. 

What are the Main Lower Body Muscles?

The lower body comprises of five primary muscle groups. They are the glutes, calves, tibialis anterior, quadriceps, and hamstrings. The tibialis anterior muscle, which is located along the shin bone is often ignored. It is a mistake. A weak and overlooked tibialis anterior muscle causes shin splints. This is also known as medial tibial stress syndrome.

When the tibialis anterior is weak, it is unable to counterbalance the calves. This causes pain along your tibia. The tibia is the long bone in the front of your lower leg or shin. Shin splints is a cumulative stress disorder that is often experienced by runners and athletes who ignore tibialis anterior training.

Why We Give You the Choice of Several Exercises?

Research has shown that rotating exercises from workout to workout enables the trainee to hit the muscle from many angles. It also prevents overuse injuries. However, it is also important to stick to the basic brick and mortar exercises like squats and stiff-legged deadlifts. For these exercises, the weight can be lightened occasionally to guard against overuse injuries. 

Why Do We Call This Favorite Workout?

You can use the choice of exercises from one workout to another to make one workout different from the other while sticking to the same basic structure.

How Do We Structure This Favorite Workout?

The best way is to start with your glutes and then take a ground-up approach. The glute and hip muscles play an important role in moving your legs. The best exercise sequence is glutes, calves and tibialis anterior. This should be followed by alternating exercises for the quads and hamstrings. In the previous era, trainees would train calves last. This left them with little energy for calves. However, all that has changed now.

How Many Sets And How Many Repetitions?

For the repetition range, start with a weight that allows you to do 15 to 20 repetitions. Add weight after each set and finish off with a weight that allows you to do 8 to 10 repetitions. Do at least two sets of each exercise. However, do not do any more than four sets per exercise.

How Much Weight Should You Attempt to Lift?

Leave your ego outside the training arena. Under all circumstances, do not let the pride of lifting heavy weight lead to poor exercise form. Say “no” to the greed of the short term ego boost. Jeopardize your Long Term Gains. Ensure that you let your exercise form take priority.

Which Are the Glute Exercises you Should Do?

Why start with a glute exercise? It is important to activate your glutes to prevent injury. Your glute and hip muscles maintain the correct alignment of your knees. Start with free non-weighted hip thrusters as a warm-up. This will activate your glutes. The next exercise you should do, must either be a weighted hip thruster or a Jefferson squat. You ought to follow this up with glute sidekicks and glute back kicks to fully work your glutes from all angles.

What is the Structure of Our Favorite Calf Workout?

The calves are comprised of two muscles. They are the gastrocnemius and the soleus. The soleus muscle gets activated when the knees are bent. The key exercise for the soleus muscle is the seated calf raise. After the seated calf raises, any one of the following exercises has to be done to fully work the gastrocnemius muscle. The exercises for the gastrocnemius muscle are leg press, machine toe presses, standing calf raises, donkey calf raises, etc.

Why We Structure the Thigh Workout Differently?

Your thighs comprise of two primary muscles. They are the quadriceps and hamstrings. Your hamstrings consist of three main muscles: the semimembranosus, the semitendinosus, and the biceps femoris. The biceps femoris includes two separate heads, a long head, and a short head. The biggest cause of knee problems is the hamstrings being disproportionately weaker than the quadriceps. The hamstrings should be in the priority muscle group. The act of standing up requires your hamstrings and quadriceps to fire simultaneously. Therefore, we do 1 quadricep and 1 hamstring exercise alternately.

Why Should You Incorporate Unilateral Exercises?

It is human nature to take the path of least resistance. The stronger side tends to get stronger and causes imbalance. Even the competitive powerlifters and strength athletes who compete on bilateral lifts incorporate unilateral movements to balance their musculature and strength.

We Keep the Cardio at the End of the Lower Body Session

Keep the cardio session at the end of your leg workout. Lower body exercises done for repetitions are extremely challenging, to begin with. Adding some cardio at the end of the session with your legs fully pumped will challenge your cardiovascular system and make it even stronger. However, it is not for the faint of heart- literally, practically, and virtually.

The Exercise for The Ignored Tibialis Anterior.

Do one exercise for the tibialis anterior. Gyms rarely have tibialis anterior exercise apparatus. Do this exercise for your tibialis anterior. Sit on a bench or chair high which should be high enough so that your feet does not touch the ground. Get someone to place a light barbell on your feet. Lift the barbell with your feet and then extend your feet to go back to the starting position. This counts as one repetition of seated barbell tibialis anterior raise. If you are new to tibialis anterior training, get used to the movement before adding weight. Remember to train your tibialis anterior. They are the most ignored muscle in the body.

Summary

Make sure that you have a healthy post-workout meal to replenish your muscles. As aforesaid, these workouts are not for the weak-hearted. These exercises will add to your overall strength and fitness.