Have the results of your workouts started to plateau? Do you feel like you’re working just as hard as always, but you’re not getting the results you used to? It could be that you’re missing a few things in your workouts that, by adding these workout tips in, can help you break through to new levels of fitness!
Tip #1: Eat slow digesting carbs before your workout. Researchers at Loughborough University (UK) found that athletes who ate slow-digesting carbs such as whole grains for breakfast and lunch had lower insulin levels and burned more fat during the day. Plus, they had more endurance and burned more fat during exercise compared to those who ate fast-digesting carbs such as white bread or plain bagels. Try including 40 grams of slow-digesting carbs such as oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruit, buckwheat (see tip No. 4) or whole-wheat bread to each meal.
Tip #2: Don’t eat fatty meals for 4 hours after your workout. A University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore) study reported that fatty meals block nitric oxide – and nitric oxide dialates blood vessels. Less blood to your muscles means a lower amount of nutrients that grow muscle. So – avoid any fatty foods for 4 hours.
Tip #3: Try using forced reps on your last weight lifting sets. Adding a couple extra reps to your last set has been shown to increase the body’s production of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) – by up to 4000%!
Tip #4: But – don’t work to failure on every set! Training one set to failure can add strength and mass. But doing that for more than one set can actually cut strength gains by ½.
Tip #5: Save your cardio for after your strength training workouts. Researchers from Japan found that when subjects did cardio before weights, it dropped their production of HGH by ½. Try to do your cardio either after weights or on a different day.
