1. Working out isn't everything! Healthy eating is the backbone of your training goals. Without a proper diet you will not be able to achieve that slim body you desire so much. Food is what fuels your body and without it you're like to see a plateau in your progress. A balanced diet should consist of fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, complete proteins, and good fats. Also if possible always aim to eat foods labeled as Organic!
2. Meal prep is important. You should always be prepared for whats next. By having your meals ready to go for your next day you eliminate the chances that you'll consume either bad foods or skip your meals.
3. Your range of motion in your workouts is very important. Always aim to avoid shortcuts and to have the largest ROM you can achieve. Why? It's pretty simple. Your muscles grow as a result of breaking down tissue & re healing it through a process called "muscle hypertrophy".
When your muscles fibers re heal they come back bigger & stronger! So by completing your full range of motion you allow for more breaking down of tissue which results in more muscle growth. (If you're aiming for weight loss don't forget that the more muscle you have, the faster you burn off calories. )
4. Supplements are important but do not take them in excess. We all love our protein shakes! However, you want to definitely try to keep your supplements to a minimum. Aim for healthy & natural supplements, often in the supplement market you will find a lot of products that are sold over the counter but not actually very safe for you.
This is because often supplements have very low amount of regulations, so those pre-workout powders may not be the best or safest options to get your daily boost. Try alternating with natural & organic products such as Alphatox Energy Tea!
5.
Your music maybe helping your workout. It sounds crazy but it has some validity behind it. A recent study suggested that people who listen to their favorite music while working out actually experience their blood vessels expand an average of 26%. More blood flow = more gains!
6.
Progress can be completely nonexistent on the scale. Though often when the scale doesn't budge that doesn't mean you're not making progress. Taking pictures is a great idea to track progress. Take pictures of yourself from the side, front, back, and all angles in a setting with the same lighting you can use next time you take your progress pictures.
Chances are if you've been following your routine you'll be seeing some results. Remember, scales lie but pictures do not.
7.
Cardio for more than 20 minutes is key for burning fat. First you'll want to learn to control your carbohydrate intake. If you don't you maybe just halting yourself from any real progress. Carbohydrates cause our bodies to store fat, this is because our bodies burn carbs before fats.
So the first 20 minutes you're doing your cardio you'll be burning off carbohydrates for energy, every minute after that your body begins to burn more and more stored body fats.
8.
Lower body exercises are essential for midsection progress. Are you looking for that "six pack" ab look? Well studies suggest that doing workouts that require your lower body actually contribute to more belly fat burning.
