The fact is that we all know of the benefits of starting an exercise routine and we are encouraged to get moving, but there’s a lot more to it than just starting to move. Those who have never exercised properly in their lives can find themselves in for a massive shock because if they plan on losing a certain amount of weight, they soon discover that exercising is incredibly exhausting. When you make the shift overnight from a sedentary lifestyle to being an exercise enthusiast, this could set you up for failure. So, with this in mind, what does it really take for you to cope with a new workout routine?
Remember: It’s 80% Nutrition, 20% Exercise!
One of the most common mistakes everybody makes is thinking that they can out-exercise a bad diet, however, nutrition is the fundamental part of building up stronger and/or losing weight. Exercise is merely the stimulus to losing weight or getting stronger, and this means that you need to do the right exercises that target the issues you want to solve, but you need to make sure that you recover appropriately before you start it again. And this is where nutrition plays a critical role.
If you eat a diet high in sugar and trans fats, this is going to have a negative effect on your ability to recover properly. And this is why the pillar of recovery is protein. It’s something that we hear about so much. But protein is key if you want to build up strength, and we cannot underestimate this component. If you are constantly on the move, there are ways for you to get your protein in, such as brands like the EatProtein whey protein shakes or bars, but you need to focus on more than protein. It’s about making sure that you are consuming enough calories to keep yourself energised post-exercise. This is especially true if you undertake high-intensity workouts.
Dialling Your Stress In
Exercise is a stressor. You put your body under an intense load for a short period of time which is sending the signals that you need to build up stronger and better for next time. And this is easier said than done in the modern world. Stress is one of those things that has a negative impact on our abilities to build up strength, purely because of the amount of cortisol that will be soaring through us.
Cortisol has had a bad rap in recent years because it is “the stress hormone.” While a little bit of stress is beneficial especially when you are undergoing your workouts, it’s the stress in other parts of your life that can damage your abilities to recover properly. Everybody knows that sleep is important. Sleep is where you have human growth hormone at its highest, so you can recover from any workout. But if you have a lot of stress in your life, this is naturally going to impact your ability to have a deep sleep.
Sleep and nutrition are vital together, but if you have a lot of stress in your life, you’ve got to consider how this is going to impact your ability to recover. Many people talk about exercising at least three times a week in order to feel the benefits. While this is a general rule, the reality is that it depends on your exercise routines and your specific abilities to recover. Because if there’s a lot more stress in your life on top of this exercise as a stressor, you’ve got to factor in a few more recovery days. Recovery is so important, but people dangerously underestimate it.
Look at your life and make it as stress-free as possible. Because if you are choosing more intense exercises such as the super slow workout protocols, you’ve got to remember that you are not just stressing your body and your muscles, but you are taxing your nervous system, which will take a lot longer to recover.
There’s a lot to take away from any new workout routine. But the workout is not the most important piece of the puzzle. You need to make sure you do it effectively enough so you are fatiguing the muscles and going beyond your limits, but after that, this is where recovery is so crucial. If you are to cope with a new workout routine, you cannot go hell for leather during the first few weeks. Exercise, nutrition, recovery. And when you recover, this is when you need to test if you have truly recovered.
