Tag Archive | nutrition

Getting The Best Results From Your Workouts

Yes, you can get a great workout without spending money on a monthly gym membership.  You can still get great results

We received an email from one of our subscribers (who will go nameless to protect their identity) and they had specific concerns about not being able to get great results from working out because they couldn’t afford to go to a “real gym”.  We reached out to our friends at the Functional Athlete, a personal training gym in Countryside, IL, to address some of the concerns and we wanted to share their responses with you.

I don’t have fancy equipment. 

Don’t be mistaken…you can still get a great workout without using fancy equipment. In fact, you don’t really need any equipment at all. Many people don’t realize just how fit you could get with nothing but your own bodyweight, a small space on the floor or ground, and a timekeeping device (say, a wall clock or wristwatch).

I don’t have a lot of time to workout.

Search any app store and you’ll find many apps that promise a great workout in 7 minutes or less. We have tried several and they are good for beginners but once you master the 7-minute workout, the next progression for many of these apps are doing the same workout twice or even 3 times. It’s true that you can get sweat dripping, calorie burning complete workouts in 20 minutes or less. In that time, you can get all the strength, endurance, flexibility/mobility, balance, and cardio that you need.

Do I just need to workout or do I need to change my diet too?

No matter what your workout routine is, its benefits can be nullified by a bad diet. If you want to see tremendous results then try to eat clean for at least five days a week. Include plenty of fresh vegetables and protein. Try to limit your dairy intake.

How do I overcome my hatred for working out and just do it?

Alright, alright….workouts can be tough, but so can being obese and all of the damaging effects that it comes with. Working out can be exhausting but you’ll feel so good after a great workout. Put in the extra effort. Step up your game. You will feel tired when you’re putting in that extra effort. It should suck. It should hurt (in the right way, of course). Push yourself! If you can laugh, read a newspaper/magazine/novel, hold a conversation, or watch TV while working out, you’re not going hard enough.

I lose focus during my workouts.

Get your mind right.  Workouts are more effective if you’re mentally focused and present. Be present in your workouts and by that we mean that everything you do in your workout, you should be thinking about how your body is moving, whether it’s moving as a cohesive, unified, functional unit, how it feels, whether your form is as correct as possible, etc. While it’s true that you can benefit from a workout even if you just zone out to music, you can get even more benefits by putting forth the effort and paying attention. Remember, it’s only 20 minutes after all.