Stretching, cardio, weights and a healthy diet — four essential ingredients in the recipe for a healthy body. But there are a few other secrets for reaching your ideal weight. To prepare your body for a hard workout and to maximize your sweat sessions, follow these tips from medical experts and ASU athletes.
Satisfy your body’s thirst
Sports drinks cover supermarket shelves, but you can spare yourself the sugar and calories of packaged beverages by mixing a drink in your own kitchen.
Eli Ber, a naturopathic physician in Scottsdale, recommends drinking a mix of 32 ounces of water and one-fourth-teaspoon of Celtic sea salt each morning before breakfast. The minerals in the drink increase the amount of water a person’s colon can absorb, therefore aiding with hydration during your workout. A person’s endurance usually increases during a workout from drinking the mix regularly, Ber says.
Warm up before stretching
Stretching is often considered to be the first part of working out, but stretching cold muscles can hurt the body, says Angela Spadafino, a supply-chain management senior and runner for the ASU women’s cross country team.
Spadafino says there’s no point to stretching stiff muscles. Because warm muscles are looser than cold ones, they are more effectively stretched after being briefly exercised first. Spadafino recommends a light warm-up, such as a two-minute jog, before stopping to stretch.
Keep your workouts regular
Beautiful weather seems to call for outdoor exercise, but as the thermostat continues to climb, it’s important to continue regular workouts. When seasons change, so does the frequency at which people work out, according to a January report released by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Generally, people exercise less during the winter, but the same is true for people in areas with extremely hot summers, according to the report. The ACSM also reported that weight is easier gained than lost with inconsistent exercise, so to prevent packing on more pounds, it’s important to keep your legs moving and heart pumping regularly—regardless of the season.
To induce weight loss year-round, the average adult should follow exercise guidelines reported by the ACSM in January. The report stated that the average adult needs 150 to 250 minutes per week of moderate to intense physical activity to induce “modest” weight loss. For a more significant weight loss, more than 250 minutes a week is recommended.
Give yourself a pep talk
A difficult workout can be as strenuous mentally as it is physically, so it’s important to prepare your mind—as well as your body—before starting your session. Kelsey Campbell, the only female on the ASU wrestling team, says she pumps herself up before matches, like the hour-long “grind match” in which she recently competed.
“I just remember telling myself, it’s going to be hard, but I just need to do it,” the religious studies senior says. “The ones who train the best and perform the best are the ones who are prepared mentally.”
Envisioning the end result will help you get through a hard workout or competition, she says. “You have to visualize yourself winning – you have to visualize yourself getting your hand raised at the end of the match.”
With these tips and a little determination, meeting your body goals can be achieved.
Reach the reporter at nicole.m.stewart@asu.edu
Loading ...