1. Stretch before and after your workout
It is essential to stretch before and after you workout especially if you are a girl, because this helps tone rather than bulk your muscles. Stretching before you start warms up your body and prepares it to endure high-intensity training. It also spares you from the soreness you wake up with the next day.
After you’re done, stretch again to tone and avoid bulking up certain areas. It will also help align your muscles keeping your body lean and flexible and absolutely sore-free!
2. Fluctuate your heart rate
To get the best out of your cardio training, fluctuate your heart rate with interval training, raising your heart rate from high to low, speeding up your metabolism and fat burn.
Basically, it’s more effective to run using interval training (run, walk, run, walk, etc..) than to keep running at a steady speed for 30 minutes.
The best way to keep playing with your heart rate is with music!
3. Amp up your playlist
When you work out, pretend you’re dancing. The music gets faster, so do you. It slows down, so will you! This way your body is focusing on matching the beat, your brain is focused on your favorite song and making sure you are in sync with the music, taking your attention away from how much longer you have or how long you have been doing this. Before you know it, your 40 minutes are over!
4. Lemon-ize your water
Squeezing a lemon in your water does more for you than you think. First of all, it gives your water a refreshing flavor. That’s something you need when you’re drained! It also cleanses and detoxifies your body.
5. Take a group class
If you hit the gym unwillingly and would rather do absolutely anything else in the world than be there, but think to yourself, “at least I’m IN the gym!” Then I would suggest you take a group fitness class! A class where if you’re not at the same energy level as the others, you feel awkward and are forced to put in effort – that is the class for you. I would prepay as well to make sure you go!
6. Change your routine regularly
Coming from the most easily-bored person in the world, changing up my workout, even my gym, helps me start over and get in a new mindset. I change gyms every month. I change workouts from aerobics to running to spinning to yoga to HIIT. Never gets boring that way. I look forward to exploring what else there is to do every month and do it full heartedly. A new environment, a new activity helps you work different muscles and shocks your body, making your work out more effective and challenging!