Many people go to the gym every day and still don’t get the results they want to. Eventually, this leads them to quit the gym.
However, no one actually wants to quit. You started going to the gym because you wanted to get fit and it is a great thing. But lack of knowledge and improper training are the factors that make people quit.
The trainers in the gyms nowadays do not have time to train everyone and hence, people don’t know if they are doing the exercises properly or not. And the biggest reason for poor results is improper exercising.
There are a lot of things that you need to take care of when you are working out. It’s not just a part of your routine, fitness is a lifestyle. You need to set a new schedule, diet plan, and goals for yourself.
I’ve met many people who struggle with proper workout and a balanced diet. I love to help people with my experience because I am physically fit with the help of my diet and workout plan (not bragging). I have managed to bring together a set of some steps that will help you a lot with your workouts, be it gains or losses.
So, here are some steps that I follow to keep myself physically fit and healthy:
Follow A Balanced Diet Of Carbs And Proteins
Diet is one of the most important parts of a workout. Most people fail to set up a properly balanced diet of the required nutrients. With my experience, I can say that a balanced diet of proteins and carbs every day works the best for a person who is working out.
Carbs will provide you the energy required every day and proteins will help you a lot in muscle gain. Plus, a pre-workout and a post-workout meal are very crucial for a proper build of the body. Here’s an example of a balanced protein and carbs workout diet that I follow:
- 8-9 eggs in a day for protein
- Brown bread with peanut butter at least once in a day for carbs
- An apple or papaya in a day
- A pre-workout meal such as black coffee just before you hit the gym
- A post-workout meal (carbs and proteins if you workout in the morning and only proteins if you workout in the evening)
- Green coffee or green tea once in a day (preferably after lunch)
- A cheat meal per week just to keep the required amount of fats in your body
Now, you can arrange the meals according to your schedule but make sure you take in the required amount of nutrients to maintain a balanced diet. The reason for drinking black coffee before a workout is that it provides the required amount of energy and you will feel less fatigue after a workout if you do this.
Set Short Term Goals To Keep Yourself Going
The biggest mistake that leads people to quit the gym is setting long term goals such as making abs or an attractive physique.
While it’s good to be determined, most people quit just after 3-4 months of not getting the desired results.
And the sad part is that it’s normal and can happen to anyone. So, instead of setting such goals we must focus on short term goals like increasing the weight or the number of reps per set every week.
Doing this will give you a sense of accomplishment when you surpass your previous performance and will also keep you going.
This will eventually result in a healthy addiction to workouts and fitness, ultimately making you fit. I follow the same short term goals and it has helped me a lot.
Work On Different Muscles Every Day
You must’ve heard some people saying that today is either their chest day or leg day or back day in the gym.
This is the best way to get the desired results. Make a schedule according to the days of the week and mix a big muscle with one or two small muscles to maintain the balance of your body. Here’s an example of a proper workout plan according to days of the week:
- Monday: Chest and Triceps
- Tuesday: Back and Biceps
- Wednesday: Legs and Abs
- Thursday: Rest
- Friday: Chest and Triceps/Back and Biceps (change alternatively week after week)
- Saturday: Legs
- Sunday: Rest
Now, the reason why Chest, Legs, and Back need two days in a week is that they are big muscles compared to abs, biceps, triceps and other muscles. And the two-day rest is because resting is as important as working out and diet.
Start The Workout With Proper Warm-Up And Cooldown
A warm-up is important as it gets you started and opens up your muscles for the intense workout that follows and is required for a good physique.
A good warm-up can be 10-15 minutes of cardio (treadmill or cycle or mixed). Either that or you can jog or run or cycle to your gym if it’s a little far from where you live. A proper warm-up will help you in going through a balanced and proper workout process.
A cooldown is nothing but simply stretching and in the cases of highly intense workouts (supersets), a 10 minutes walk on the treadmill after stretching the muscles that were worked on. Cooldown will help you by preventing the post-workout cramps and muscle pulls.
Work On Your Mind-Muscle Connection
The mind-muscle connection is a very important thing if you want to build your muscles properly.
It means focusing on the muscle that is being worked on. For example, when you are performing a chest exercise such as bench press, make sure that only your chest is used and contracted.
Avoid using the muscles you are not supposed to work on in that particular exercise. It can be challenging to build a proper mind-muscle connection, in the beginning, however, you will be able to master it in no longer than two weeks if you concentrate hard on the same.
Conclusion
Follow these simple steps that I follow for every workout and you will notice a lot of changes in your results.
And when I say changes, I mean positive and most definitely desired ones. Getting used to these things can be a challenging task, however, it’s not impossible or even hard at all. With pure passion and determination, you’ll be able to accomplish the long term goals you want to with your workouts. I hope this article will help in the way that it’s intended to.
-By Kunal Bansal Chandigarh
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