How To Do A Workout Effectively?

One of the common and exciting New Year Resolutions of majority of the women all over the globe is to hit the gym and become slim and trim. Women go for different alternatives:

Subscribe for the expensive gym memberships.
Buy a yoga mat and gum outfits to do yoga at home.
Wake up early morning and go for a jog or a brisk walk.
Sit in front of the TV and do breathing exercises.

Everyone has a strong desire and a workout plan as per their capabilities and limitations. However, many few of us are successful in sticking to this New Year Resolution. One of the superficial reasons of some women are:

Oh, I don’t have time otherwise I would have exercised every day.
Oh, I don’t have those gym shoes. I will buy tomorrow and then, do exercises. (Tomorrow never comes).
Oh, I can’t do a proper diet. I am a foodie. And diet without exercise is nothing.
Oh, I don’t have money to join that gym or buy those cool gym outfits. Otherwise I would have done exercises.
The gym is too far from my house. So, I cannot go there daily.

Well, it is true that one needs to be well-prepared before hitting the exercise floor. But the above reasons are just excuses and should never accompany with your workout resolutions.

Hence, in this article, we have elaborated the points needed to perform an effective workout. You won’t need those branded shoes, or cool clothes, or expensive gym equipment. You need to be determined and committed to your resolution, keeping in mind the below mentioned pointers. So, here we begin!

How To Do A Workout Effectively?

The Aspiration

One of the foremost aspects needed to plan a workout regime. Why do you want to exercise? Obviously, you want to be fit and healthy. But there are secondary reasons too.

You want to wear your lovely dresses that don’t fit you anymore.
You want to look beautiful and attractive.
You want to keep yourself away hazardous diseases.
You want to look like your favourite celebrity.
You want to be confident and smart.

You could tick off any reason at any stage. Understand that exercise should not be like a study course. You cannot quit it once your target is achieved. On the other hand, you should adopt it as a lifestyle. You should keep maintaining your physique by working out. Once you have earned your flat abs and toned arms, don’t quit it. Maintain yourself.

The Motivation

Once you have an aspiration, the next step would be to acquire motivation. For this purpose, you do not have to search motivation in external sources. You need to be self-motivated. Some of the tips for being motivated are as follows:

Treat exercise regime as a fun activity. Do not consider it as a compulsory obligation. You should say to yourself, “Wow, I have a workout regime in my daily schedule,’ instead of making faces, “Oh no. I still have to work out today.”
Convert a wall of your bedroom into a visionary board. Stick photos of your favourite celebrities, role models, your own photos when you were slim, your diet charts, your workout schedules, and so on.
Prepare a list of fitness goals that are specific and time-bound.
Reward yourself with valuable tokens as and when you exercise and achieve your goals.
In the beginning, women are highly motivated. However, as time passes, they lose their momentum and are diverted from their goals. Remember that you need to be self-motivated throughout your goal-period.

The Place

Once you have mentally decided to workout, the further step is to fix a proper place for it. It could be your gym, a fitness studio or even your home. Keep in mind the below mentioned tips while choosing a workout venue:

If you are workout out at home, do not choose your bedroom. You may choose a corner of your home that is free from disturbances. You should feel refreshed and pleasant while workout. There should be enough ventilation and sunlight.
In case you are exercising at the gym, prefer which is spacious and has sufficient. ventilation. During summers, the gyms should be air-conditioned to avoid dehydration.
Also, the time required to reach the gym should be noted. If you are spending more time in commuting than the time required for workout, then avoid choosing such places.
Do not feel bad even if you are working out at home. The workout regime is important, and not the gym floor.

The Outfits

Gym outfits are also important while performing an effective workout. You should feel comfortable and focused while working out.

Gym clothes should not be too tight or too lose. You should feel comfortable. Loose clothes can make you feel very casual while working out. Tight clothes won’t allow you to be flexible enough while exercising.
Do not wear heavy accessories like earrings, bracelets or neckpieces. You can wear small studs.
During winters, wear a thin-skinned jacket to protect from cold. During summers, wear cotton or soft-material outfits.
If you have long hair, tie them in a ponytail. Use hair bands to pull your hair back. Your hair should not be falling back and forth while exercising.
Avoid wearing synthetic or velvet material clothes. As you will sweat a lot, your clothes should be able to absorb the sweat.
Another important part of the outfits are the shoes. You won’t need shoes for yoga or for a Pilates workout. But if you are doing cardio or running on a treadmill, or a dance workout, you will need good quality shoes. Always prefer shoes of a reputed brand. By wearing these shoes, you should be able to make quick and swift movements easily.
Do not wear your regular shoes that you use outside home. Get a separate pair of shoes for gym purpose. Investing in high quality, expensive shoes is beneficial for long-term use.
If you browse through sports shops or online stores, you can find great variety of gym outfits and shoes. Some stores even have discount sales or stock clearance sales.
When you achieve a specific fitness goal, reward yourself with an expensive active wear or a pair of shoes. Yes, you will get a valid reason to stalk and shop from stores, then!

The Equipment

The next question that would have popped up in your mind is, “Do I need to buy gym equipment?” Well, let us answer this question now.
If you are working out at the gym, you don’t need to buy any equipment. Your gym or the fitness club will be well-equipped with all the machines, treadmill and dumbbells. Therefore, the gym memberships are so expensive. It is an added advantage if you are joining a gym or a good fitness club near your area.
However, if you are doing workout at home, you will have to buy certain things. You will need a yoga mat. Invest in a good quality one that does not make you slip and does not have an odour. Always exercise on a mat to avoid injuries.
If you are doing yoga, then you won’t require any other equipment. But if you are performing cardio, or undertaking weights training, you will need dumb-bells. Choose light weight dumb-bells for the first few months and then, move to higher intensity.
In case you want, you could buy an exercise machine, or a treadmill. But that won’t be necessary if you go for walking or running out in the nature. It is best to exercise in the natural sunlight than in closed rooms.
People who workout at home can buy fitness DVDs, or CDs. These DVDs guide us with a complete and effective workout regime.

Before, During And After The Workout

Having subscribed to the gym or collected all the resources, you are ready to hit the exercise floor. Here are some useful tips:

Assign a timing for a workout. Are you comfortable during morning? Or evening? Select those timings in which you feel refreshed and not drowsy or tired.
Always keep your workout resources at one place to avoid last-minute hassle. You should wear clean clothes during a workout. Hence, keep your clothes and shoes ready the previous day before a workout. Keep a gym bag handy with the necessary things.
As water is the elixir of life, you cannot keep it away from a workout regime. Always carry a water bottle.
Drink water in sips while exercising. Do not gulp it down. Drink little and slowly.
Always carry a clean napkin to wipe off sweat from your skin. Do not forget to wash and dry the used napkins or towels.
Do a quick warm up before you start a workout. Slow marching, jumping jacks, arm circles, and skip rope can be added to a nice warm up session. Your body will be warmed up to do the main workout regime. Also, it will prevent yourself from injuries.
During a workout, you are likely to feel exhausted at times. Do not sit back in the chair. Keep marching slowly or take a water break.
During the first few days of the workout, do not stretch yourself beyond limits. Do it only for twenty minutes. Gradually, you can increase the time limit of your workout schedule. You should not feel tired and exhausted after a workout. You should feel amazing.
Try out different workouts such as Pilates, cardio, yoga, power yoga, Zumba, dance workout and many more. If you keep changing your workout regimes at regular intervals, you won’t feel bored and tedious.
Mobile phones could be a major cause of distraction during a workout regime. Yes, we know you cannot avoid important calls or messages. But remember that fitness and health are as crucial as your mobile phones. Hence, keep your mobile phones on silent mode. If you keep attending or checking or answering calls and messages, your workout regime won’t be a success.
While performing certain exercises such as planks or jumping jacks, one faces a difficulty. As a result, the person doesn’t breathe properly affecting the exercise. Hence, remember that you need to breathe while performing. Pay attention to your instructor when he or she says to inhale and exhale at the right moments. If you are exercising at home, keep breathing. Breathing is the key to an effective workout.
Target your abs, flabby arms and thighs properly. Some women feel that they need to concentrate only on their belly and ignore the arms.
After a workout, do not walk off. Always perform a cool down. You need to contemplate on what you have achieved during a workout. Cool down works as a pat on your shoulder for doing an amazing workout. You have stretched your muscles and core a lot, and you need to relax them for a while.
Post a workout, promise yourself that you will return the next day at the same time for an illuminating workout experience.

The Diet

As we are talking about exercise workout, don’t you think we have missed out something? A workout will be effective only when you consume a rich and nutritious diet.

Do not erase your workout with an unhealthy diet.
Your diet must comprise of fibrous foods, oats, wheat, barley, legumes, cereals, pulses, etc. Drink sufficient amount of water. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
Stock your kitchen containers with healthy foods.

Thus, for doing an effective workout, you need to be committed and self-motivated. If you follow the above points properly and carefully, your workout regime will be effective and render you fruitful results in the form of lean and attractive body.