Anyone who has any experience in sports will tell you that pre-workout is equally important as the workout. You need to be ready for it even before you step into the gym. You can be sure that your sloppy preparation could lead to poor execution. This can further lead to uninspiring sessions or injuries.
Both of these situations are going to limit your muscle and strength gains, or even worse, it could lead to weight loss. You will agree that this is not a good situation to be in. This is something you need to prevent as much as possible.
This is the reason you need to be careful about what you do and take before a training session. Sadly, many people don’t have this kind of habit, so their preparation is not as good as it should be. We already said that there is a high chance of some unnecessary and bad things happening, so we are not going to go into more detail.
One of the things that are the most important is what you take as a supplement. If you are interested in checking out some of these, you can visit Dynamism Labs. With all of this said, we are going to present you with things you should do before every gym session.
Food as a Fuel
Every sportsman will tell you that the time you are eating is going to affect your training. Different timings are going to have an effect on your digestive tendencies. Generally speaking, eating an hour before your session will provide you with just enough amount of energy.
However, sometimes, when you see that your body doesn’t react to well, you should avoid it. Some people have the tendency to have to upset their stomach if they eat before the workout. Furthermore, you need to be sure that you have protein and carbs on the menu. One thing that is probably the most common is toast with peanut butter. The reason is it contains protein, fat, and carbs.
Small Amount of Water
The level of hydration your body needs is varying on your gender, age, height, weight, and naturally, the intensity of your sessions. According to one study we’ve come across, it says that a person should drink at least 20 oz. of water before the workout. However, you need to avoid drinking water before you start to train.
Having a couple of pee breaks during the session could lead you to pee more than you are retaining. Water is important because you probably wouldn’t like to train with dizziness and muscle cramps. Moreover, several studies are stating that an adequately hydrates sportsman will perform at higher levels than those who are dehydrated.
Reviewing your Workout Itinerary
It doesn’t matter if you are going to use a paper and a pad or a smartphone application, you need to have some kind of diary. That way you will follow your progress more closely. You can set some small goals you should overcome at that session. For example, you can set yourself an expected level in terms of sets, weights, reps, and pauses.
Firstly, this is a very effective way to prepare yourself mentally before the session. That way you will have enough mental strength to go over your limits at the moment. Therefore, those limits are going to go higher and higher over time. Also, this is a good way, to be honest with yourself and be reasonable about what you can do at the moment. To know more about physical activity benefits visit this website.
Supplements
Using pre-workout supplements is not something many people consider necessary. However, supplements can boost your focus and provide you with extra energy. Most of the supplements you can find on the market include amino acids and caffeine, which you can use in gums form, such as Vivarin Gum.
Therefore, they will have a good impact on your arteries and veins dilate in order to increase the blood flow. If you take them half an hour before your training session, they are going to be at their peak the moment you step into the gym. We must say that there are a lot of bad supplements on the market, so you need to be careful when choosing one of these.
Making a Playlist
How many times have songs impacted your mood? Well, if you ask us, we would say countless times. This has a psychological effect. When you are listening to your workout song or the whole playlist during a session, this will have a positive effect on your performance levels.
Moreover, it can prevent you from listening to the music playing the gym if you don’t like it. Recently one study emerged that says that music that has between 120 and 140 bpm is the best one to pump you up during your training sessions. Just ask anyone who does this and he or she will tell you that this helps them perform much better.
Warm-Up: Aerobic, Foam Roll and Dynamic
If you prepared your warm-up carefully and you are sticking to your plan, it will have a good impact on your core temp, blood flow, and overall muscle temperature. Moreover, it can have a significant impact on your tendons getting warmer as well. A good warm-up will help your muscles working at the optimum power and strength. Naturally, a good warm-up has several levels. But when it comes to aerobic, you should spend at least 5 minutes on a rowing machine, treadmill, and stationary bike.
Even though using a foam roller can be a quasi-unpleasant and painful experience for a lot of people, we consider them to be really helpful. If you know that muscles are just fibers that are held together by perimysium and tendons, then you know that they are getting bunched up when we are training. Using a foam roller will help them break the bunched areas so your muscles could perform more efficiently.
Last but not least is a dynamic movement. This is a basic warm-up practice that works very well. You need to warm your muscles and the whole body for the session to come. You need to execute lightweight and bodyweight movements in a full range of motions. By doing this, your knees, shoulders, and wrists will be ready and warm for the session.
