As an endurance athlete, rigorous workouts are a part of your everyday life. But are you getting the most out of them? Read on for some tips from Health Fitness Beauty on how you can make sure you’re maximizing every workout’s efficacy.
Incorporate Alternative Workouts Into Your Training Routine
Endurance athletes are prone to overuse injuries, like patellofemoral pain syndrome and plantar fasciitis. Mixing up your workouts to incorporate low-impact activities can help reduce the risk of an injury that takes you out of the game.
Yoga is a fantastic exercise option. According to Verywell Fit, regular yoga practice improves breathing techniques, which are essential for endurance.
Whatever your workout, you’ll want to invest in quality clothing like leggings that are a good fit as well as comfortable.
Choose materials that are lightweight, can stretch when you stretch, and have “breathable” fabrics. For example, garments like those from Davy Piper are constructed from bamboo and designed for versatility, to be worn in the gym, in the house, or just as you’re out and about.
Before Any Workout Make Sure You Perform A Dynamic Warm-Up
Don’t start your workout with a quick jog or light pedal on the bike. Your body needs more than that to properly prepare for a hard workout.
Don’t start your workout with stretches and body weight drills, for example: jumping jacks, squats, lunges, push-ups and dynamic planks.
Perform a proper dynamic warm-up, that will improve mobility, stimulate the nervous system to improve movement and reduce the risk of injury.
Fuel Workouts With A Healthy Diet
Physical training is just one element of maximizing performance as an endurance athlete. As Colorado State University explains, a balanced diet rich in minerals and vitamins can help fuel peak performance.
What you eat also impacts the ability to develop muscle in key areas, like the abdomen. If you want to make your abs pop as a woman, you can also try HIIT workouts.
A strong core is critical to many endurance sports like running since the abdominals are the key point of connection between the upper and lower extremities. Freeletics notes that a strong core is also critical for good balance.
Try Carb-Loading Before Intense Exercising
The proper fuel will help you maintain energy during a long and strenuous workout. Carbohydrates can be a key source of energy for intense exercise sessions. Complex carbohydrates are ideal as they break down slowly, offering an extended energy reserve. These are found in grains, legumes, and starchy veggies like potatoes.
Bon Appetit has a list of carb-loading recipes that you can turn to the night before a particularly rigorous workout or endurance event.
Drink More Water And Stay Hydrated
If you want to engage yourself in any endurance sport, you need to drink more water and make sure your body is properly hydrated because failing to do so can lead you to run the risk of muscle cramps and muscle fatigue. You need to make sure to drink at least 16 to 24 ounces of water before workout.
Let’s say, if you have 150 pounds of lean body mass, drink at least 75 ounces of water a day and make sure to drink more water if you plan on working out a significant amount.
Try Working Out With A Buddy
Working out with a friend can be motivational, encouraging you to increase the intensity of your workouts. Having a workout buddy is great because your workout buddy holds you accountable.
If you’re tempted to skip a session, knowing that somebody is waiting on you can be helpful. You can get even more out of your workouts by training with somebody who is a step above you fitness-wise. You will automatically work a bit harder to try to keep up with them.
Wear Proper Footwear
Investing in quality shoes can help you to prevent foot and ankle damage, so don’t buy your workout shoes at any local sporting goods store.
Finding a shoe that fits your foot correctly and that is right for your respective endurance sport is really important.
You may need anything from a minimalist shoe to a stability shoe so find a store that has someone who can help you get set up with the right shoe.
Consult With A Wellness Expert
Another great way to up your game is to work with a wellness expert who can help you address certain areas that can enhance your performance and recovery. (Reading informative posts on the Health Fitness Beauty blog also helps!)
If you want additional coaching on nutrition, more personalized help with meditation, naturopathic medicine and the like, a wellness consultant can be a great investment in taking your physical and mental energy to the next level.
Listen To Music To Get Motivated
Another way to stay motivated and take your endurance workouts to the next level is to listen to music. Listening to music while you exercise can make you feel more positive about your workout and motivate you mentally.
Music is also shown to make you feel like you’re doing less when you’re actually exerting yourself, allowing you to focus on something other than how hard you’re working.
Find music that’s suited to your workout. For example, Open Fit has a list of running songs with different beats per minute, BPM, so you can find tunes that match your tempo.
Sleep More
Finally, don’t forget to give your body the rest it needs between workouts to thrive.
Sleep is an important part of your overall health as an endurance athlete. Sleep Foundation says that sleep gives your heart needed rest and allows for cell and tissue regeneration.
This will help minimize the risk of injuries in the big picture and ensure you are ready to perform your best in every workout.
Conclusion
As an endurance athlete, you need to overcome physical and mental hurdles to ensure top performance. I hope the above tips can help you get started.
