If you have been pushing yourself during your workout, without making sure you rest and recover, you may be experiencing results that don’t feel all that good. By giving your body time to restore itself, you are giving yourself the best chance at coming back stronger and reducing the risk of injury. Consider some of our best practices to improve your workout recovery time and get stronger every day.
1) Get more rest.
Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to your overall health, both mentally and physically. But you might be missing one of the benefits of sleep to your post-workout recovery if you aren’t getting enough rest. You want to be sure you get seven to eight hours of sleep, which will help you with your workout performance and your recovery time. If you are the type to exercise or train earlier in the day, take a short twenty-minute nap a couple of hours after your workout, which won’t get in the way of your nocturnal sleep.
2) Improve your protein intake.
Protein helps the body in a variety of ways, and the benefits of protein vary based on the time you are eating it. For example, eating protein right before bed, such as Greek yogurt, which is rich in protein as well as dairy, can help your muscles repair while you sleep. Having protein in during the morning can help rebuild your muscles and give you an energy boost for the day. If you haven’t eaten for a while since finishing your workout, make sure you get a protein boost afterward between 20-50 grams, based on your weight. Chocolate milk makes for a great post-workout snack.
3) Drink plenty of fluids.
Any athlete or individual with an active exercise lifestyle knows that hydration is essential to your body’s wellbeing. Having a proper amount of water before and after a workout helps prevent dehydration. Many people have water before a workout but forget to do it afterward, which can lead to dehydration. If you sweat excessively during your workout, replacing the fluids in your body is even more essential.
These simple tips we have listed above are the easiest ways to make sure you recover after a workout and reduce soreness. Keep in mind though as you continue to push yourself during your workouts, some soreness is expected. Raw Fitness offers personalized coaching sessions to get you to your best physical self.
At Raw Fitness, we’ve developed a competitive online program to help our customers to stay fit through this unanticipated pandemic. Our Raw Fitness Online training service brings the expertise and dedication of our trainers right into your home.
We adjusted to COVID quickly, but that’s not the only reason to maintain this kind of customized home training program for those who want to avoid making their fitness plans a casualty of coronavirus closures.
Customized Training
Even when we primarily used our Raw Fitness training center, our fitness training was always highly customized to the individual. Instead of running a big commercial gym with hundreds of machines and generic floor plans, we have specialized in running a boutique gym with small group training classes and resources for the individual workout.
In a sense, that fits with the online option that we’re offering, because it allows our trainers to really focus on one person at the time. For example, one thing we’ve learned is that it’s important to fit someone’s schedule. That can be easier to do with an online platform than it is with facility scheduling – especially if you do it the right way!
Understanding Key Challenges
At the end of the day, so much of fitness training involves understanding the triggers and keys that will either propel a person forward, along with knowing about the barriers and obstacles that can move them back or stop their progress.
Our trainers have experience – as those who have struggled with obstacles like cancer or disease, sedentary lifestyle, manic work schedules, and more. So we know how to break through these bad patterns and vicious cycles and enable our clients to go beyond, to thrive in whatever environment they are.
The COVID Era
As people continue to fear a very transmissible virus with few feasible treatment options, you’ll hear people saying that ‘gyms are dead.’
Gyms are not dead – what’s temporarily out of fashion is the idea that you’ll go in and rub shoulders with 100 or more people … the need for gyms and fitness training is still here.
By migrating temporarily to an online platform, we help you to keep yourself healthy in two very critical ways – first, by practicing the right kind of social distancing – and second, by maintaining resources that will help you preserve mobility, longevity, and overall health through better fitness every day. Talk to us about how this works so that you can stay fit through the pandemic without missing a beat.
Gyms come in a myriad of forms and with a wide range of options for people who enjoy exercising and working out. Whatever the size or scope of a gym may, they share a common value of gym etiquette. Gym etiquette is merely the value system in which members and clients adopt while working out and using a facility in order to keep the environment healthy and positive for all staff and clients.
While gym etiquette has a core of common practices that are shared by most all types of gyms, there are more specific practices that are targeted to niche specific gym businesses. Personal training gyms that have specific focuses require a more unique form of etiquette practices, as opposed to the large multi use gyms.
Etiquette At Personal Training Gyms
Personal training gyms such as Raw Fitness, center around providing one on one training and instructions that offers clients the benefits of personalized exercise and health plans. Since this instruction can be given in common areas where multiple trainers are working with their clients, there is a more specific type of etiquette that is adopted in order to keep the experience positive for everyone involved.
Familiarize Yourself With Posted Expectations
Regardless of if you are a personal fitness gym rookie, or a seasoned client who is well versed in the exercise style, there could be common mistakes that you are unknowingly making. While gym typically post rules and expectations, some of the etiquette rules for personal gyms are unspoken. Fortunately, there are a few tips to keep in mind that will make your experience go smoothly when working out at a personal training facility.
Be Punctual And Ready To Workout
As in any personal training session or exercise class, being on time is key, not only does being prompt show that you value your trainers time, it also is essential to your gaining the most value from your session. If you are late for your sessions, your trainer’s plan for your routine is altered, and you may even be disruption others if you are coming in late.
Silence All Phones
Properly storing items, such as cell phones will help you and your trainer remain on track during your workout. Phones should be turned off, or volume muted, even if they are stowed in specific storage area. Noisy notifications and ring tones can easily throw both trainer and client off task, causing interruptions for your session as well as those around you.
Be Aware Of Others Space
Personal awareness, and awareness of others around you is also important to gym etiquette. Be considerate of others space, know where you are and be aware of the space you will be using. While you may want to socialize with someone near you, remember that their time is valuable as well, and any socializing should be kept to a minimum or postponed until after the workout to ensure everyone gains the most from their experience.
Remember, personal training gyms involve individualized training sessions that require communication between trainer and client. Respecting this time is key to getting the best results.
Every gym will have its own set of rules. The rules help to make sure that people stay safe, and the gym is not subject to any liability issues. Outside of those rules, there are sometimes some suggestions to make the gym more enjoyable. Then there are the unwritten rules that everyone wishes people would follow, but not all do. If you want to make sure you are not bothering other gym members and employees, here are five excellent gym etiquette tips to remember.
1) Health
If you are sick in any way, stay away from the gym. It is hard for gyms to remain completely clean and germ-free without the help of their members. If you think you may be getting sick or you are overly tired, go for a run outside. Skip a day at the gym and come back when you feel up to speed. Especially at a gym like ours where you are going to be in close contact with a fitness instructor or other members of your class, germs can spread quickly.
2) Phones
The gym is your time. Turn off your phone, leave it in the car or in a locker. Do anything but answer your phone while in a class or working with a trainer. There is nothing more frustrating to the trainer or to the other people around you when you start discussing your latest stock trades with your broker, or what your husband needs to pick up from the grocery store. Make your time at the gym a separation from your phone.
3) Stuff
Especially at a small gym, it can feel like you are home as soon as you walk in the door. This is a great thing and something all gyms want people to feel at home. However, the gym is not your home, so kicking your shoes off, throwing your coat on the ground, or leaving your water bottle in the middle of the room, won’t help the overall operation of the gym. Be mindful of where you place your items.
4) Talking During Class
In certain circumstances, it is perfectly fine to talk to another member of the gym during the class. Just like the seventh grade, make sure you are not distracting other people and make sure that the person you are talking to is still getting the value they want out of each class.
5) Awareness
When it comes to small spaces with little mirror access and limited equipment, be aware that there are other people in this world. You should be able to spend some time in front of the mirror to work on whatever you need to, but when you see three other people waiting behind you to try and see a part of their foot in the mirror, it may be time to move on. Sharing is not hard when everyone is in it together. We all have a similar goal being at a gym. Getting healthy and getting in shape should be something that people strive for together.
You have likely heard of circuit training, but do you know what it is or what it entails? If not, you aren’t alone. There are many people who are right there with you.
Circuit training is a type of exercise where you rotate through several stations, doing various exercises for a certain amount of time or for a set number of repetitions, back to back, with little rest until you have completed the circuit. There are a few ways you can create a circuit, but usually, they consist of several movements that include dynamic, weighted, and bodyweight exercises.
One of the best things about circuits is how they can be adapted to your needs. They can be developed for strength, cardiovascular improvement, mobility, and even for specific sports training – virtually anything you can think of. Also, circuit training doesn’t require much space or a lot of time. You also don’t have to make this overly complicated – unless, of course, you want it to be.
Keep reading to learn more about the benefits offered by circuit training here.
The Specific Benefits Offered by Circuit Training
While there are countless benefits offered when you circuit train, some of the biggest benefits include:
From a practical standpoint, a circuit is extremely easy to set up and they require very little space or equipment. You can engage in circuit training using boxes, weights, TRX, kettlebells, and other types of equipment; however, for many people, body weight is plenty.
Learn More About Circuit Training Here
Circuit training is an exercise routine that is extremely versatile. Regardless of if you are working out alone or with other people, you can utilize this mode of training. Proper circuit training can help with core training, athletic performance, strength, and weight loss.
If you use the services of a personal trainer, they will help you devise a circuit that engages the muscles you want to develop, or another goal you may have. What’s even better, with the help of a personal trainer, you can feel confident that the circuit they develop will be fun.
One of the biggest takeaways of circuit training is how it can be adapted to virtually any type of exercise that you typically do. You can do your circuit training from any location, with or without equipment, and cover many muscle groups in a single session.
Is Circuit Training Right for You?
Circuit training is something that everyone can participate in, regardless of your current abilities or levels of endurance. If you aren’t sure how to create a circuit, it’s a good idea to work with a personal trainer.
They can devise a circuit that works right for your needs and that will help you build your muscles, lose weight, or meet your other training goals, regardless of where you are starting.
