If you are as enthusiastic about training as I am, and I know you are because you are reading this, here are some tips and interesting bits of information to improve your workouts and inspire you to keep going.
Some people experience headaches when they strength train. Two things can trigger exercise-induced headaches when weight training. The first is poor technique. Straining to lift a too heavy weight creates pressure in your abdomen. This tension may keep blood from flowing out of the brain, stretching veins in the skull and activating pain fibers that make your head throb. Use weights you can lift for three sets of 10 reps without struggling so much that you lose form. Ask a certified trainer for some pointers and do not forget to breathe!
The other trigger could also be that you skipped your warm-up, which leaves muscles tight and can lead to spasms in your upper back and neck and sharp pan at the back of your head. Start with 10 minutes on the elliptical or treadmill to loosen up. You will have a better workout and you won’t get hurt.
Making the most of your workout isn’t as difficult as it might appear. Choose new and different moves. Bring variety by shortening, lengthening, and keeping steady with your muscle groups. This will fire up more muscles fibers allowing for quicker sculpting. Every exercise has a position in which the muscle is the most contracted or activated. You usually feel it and you know it. When you get to that point, hold it for 6 counts squeezing the muscle. This will allow you to break down more muscle tissue which increases the toning effects when the muscle rebuilds itself.
When completing the release portion of an exercise, you should count for 6 seconds. This is what is called the eccentric part of the movement. Because you keep the muscle under tension longer, you translate into more toning and a bigger calorie burn. Slow down for faster firming and toning!
Let’s talk a little about fatigue – the good, the bad, and the ugly! If you fatigue easy during workouts, try to work your smaller muscles (biceps, triceps, calves) before your large ones (thighs, buttocks, chest, and back). You will be able to complete more reps and fast track their sculpting. Some studies found that toning small muscles first caused the exercisers to buildup less body fatiguing lactic acid. So it will result in a more effective workout that feels easier, too!!
Making a move smaller can make you smaller by purposefully fatiguing a muscle or muscle group. Try the following technique as an example: Let’s say that you are doing squats. Lower until your thighs are parallel to or below the ground, as usual. Instead of returning to standing to complete the full rep, rise only an inch, and then sit back down. Squatting in this shortened range of motion fatigues the thighs and buttocks faster. Tiring your muscles is what tightens them!
