Fitness Guide: Things to Do Before and After Workout

workout routine

Working out is great. It’s one of the best ways to stay healthy, in addition to shaping your body, of course. However, did you know that an effective workout starts before you even step foot inside the gym and ends long after your cool down? Yup, that’s right. The truth is that in order to have a successful workout session, you need to pay attention to what you do before and after it.

Pre-Workout Routine

Fuel Up Right for Energy

The number of people who love to eat before working out is huge, and it’s totally okay since if there is no food at all in your stomach, there will be no energy to lose. Now, the idea of eating before working out is not to eat the first thing you see in the fridge, but to eat something that can provide you with the needed energy. Such food should contain proteins and carbs and it seems that the ideal choices for this purpose are apples, bananas, oranges, protein shakes and protein bars.

Note: Since avoiding artificial sugar is essential, make sure to choose protein bars that contain only natural sweeteners.

Why Taking Pre-Workout Supplements Matters?

pre_workout

Source:
Bodybuilding.com

As a part of your pre-workout diet routine, you can also rely on the many pre workout supplements online stores have to offer. And some of the most popular ones are protein shakes and fat burners. Containing carbs and proteins, the main goal of this pre-workout nutrition is to provide your muscles with the needed energy while also giving you the needed support throughout your workout.

Generally speaking, the high level of protein in these supplements is needed for supporting muscle maintenance and growth while the creatine can improve your physical performance during short-term and high-intensity exercises. Additionally, these workout supplements can also reduce the protein breakdown which is essential if you want to gain and maintain muscle tissue. According to professionals, the protein synthesis should be at least equal to or exceeding the rate of protein breakdown as this will prevent your muscles from being broken down for energy.

Another benefit you can get from taking pre-workout supplements is that they can prevent premature fatigue. How come?! In short, as energy levels reduce during working out, your muscles can tire and become exhausted in no time, which is not good at all.

Fortunately, you can easily shop for pre workout supplements online that contain the needed nutrients, and that way you’ll be setting your body up for optimum performance with high levels of energy. And since your body has the needed energy to burn, it can endure every rep count without tiring prematurely.

Drink Enough Water

While it’s important to stay hydrated during exercising, drinking water is also essential prior to working out. Practice shows that drinking around 400 – 550ml of water before exercising is needed, giving the fact that you will sweat and lose water. Drinking the needed amount of water for your body can reduce muscle cramps and will keep you from becoming dizzy during your workout sessions. However, this doesn’t mean that you should drink more than you can take. In other words, drinking moderately is the key.

Post-Workout Routine

Do Some Stretching

muscle_stretching

Source: Bidvine

Muscle stretching is an essential procedure after working. That is because stretching will decrease soreness, it’ll relax any tension you might be feeling on some body parts, it’ll accelerate your recovery process and will increase and build your range of motion. Said in simple words, if you don’t want to experience muscle pain and soreness the next day, make sure to include stretching as the final ‘exercise’ of the day.

Take a Shower

By now, we all know that water has healing potential for our mind, body and soul. Taking a nice and lukewarm bath after you have rested enough from working out will help your body get back to the baseline in no time. And to be honest, taking a shower after working out will also help you get rid of all the unpleasant sweaty smell and ‘sticky feeling’.

Eat and Drink Some Water Again

drink_water

Source: LT Men’s Clinic

Drinking water after working out is paramount since, during the session, your body will lose a certain amount of water that you need to re-stock. Besides staying hydrated, you’ll also need to refuel your body in order to re-energise.

Eating after working out is needed, but only if you do it by choosing the right food. By eating healthy, you will help your body and muscles to recover faster which will allow you to get back your strength and energy.

Although a lot of you feel tempted to reach for a pack of ice cream or something sweet, you need to find the strength to avoid doing this. Consuming junk food or even skipping a meal after working out will sabotage all of the efforts you have done with your workout.

Rest

Having an adequate amount of rest prior to and after working out is crucial for a balanced lifestyle. Getting the needed sleep at night and resting a bit prior to working out will keep your hunger hormones stabilised while keeping your strength at the needed level.