Practical exercise scheduling tips for busy mums 

Mums Tips

Fitness & Health

Published on Thursday, 02 September 2021 10:02

Last Updated on 02 September 2021

Monica Costa

0 Comments

Exercise benefits your health and body by lowering your chances of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes and improving your mood, increasing your strength, and making moving about easier in general. However, clingy children and hectic daily schedules can affect the effectiveness of your workout before, during, and after your session. Jumping right into an activity without adequate energy and preparation can lead to poor performance or, even worse, an injury that keeps you out for long periods. 

Starting your training with some of the suggestions in this article will help increase your performance, recovery, and enjoyment of the experience. It will also serve as a mental warm-up for what your body is about to go through. 

• Optimise your pre-workout nutrition with healthy snacks and supplements 

It’s critical to eat before your workout to keep you nourished during your exercise and to make a recovery simpler for your body. A pre-exercise meal should include fast-acting, low-fibre carbohydrates to keep blood sugar levels stable during your workout. It may also contain low fat to avoid gastrointestinal stress and plenty of protein to help you stay energised and recover faster afterwards. Even if you work out in the morning and don’t have ample time to eat before your session, you should eat something. A quick protein bar high in protein, fibre, and other minerals can be a terrific “supplement” to even the pickiest diets before a workout.

 

• Prioritise getting quality sleep every night

The most accessible formula for a healthy body and a healthy workout is a good night’s sleep. A well-rested body has a more efficient mechanism, making you feel more energised. Just make sure you’re not lethargic when you go to the gym. Allow enough time between getting up and going to the gym so that your body does not become stiff. Overtraining symptoms, such as fitness plateaus, develop when you don’t get enough sleep.

 

• Proper hydration before, during, and after your workout

Pre-exercise hydration is equally as crucial as during and after a workout. It is recommended that you drink 17–20 ounces of water for 2–3 hours before beginning your training. Chugging a gallon of water before an activity can also backfire, resulting in stomach discomfort or, in rare cases, more severe over-hydration. Instead, start by drinking 20 ounces of water. If you don’t want to go to the bathroom every few minutes during your workout, don’t drink more than the recommended amount of water at first. Hydration is vital because it stops your muscles from cramping and keeps you from becoming disoriented during your workout.

 

• Perform dynamic warm-ups and body stretches before and while exercising 

You should always warm up first, even if you’re doing a brief workout. Warming up is a technique for preparing your body for a task by stretching muscles and raising body temperature. It also reduces the possibility of overexertion throughout your workout. You can also do a dynamic warm-up if you want to. This will help you increase your range of motion, which will help you get the most out of your workout by allowing you to recruit more muscles during an exercise.

 

• Switch up your workout routine often

If you continue to the same training plan for too long, your body will adapt to the stress level, and you will not receive a good workout. Depending on your expertise level and the time of year, you should switch up workout sessions every three to four weeks to achieve the best benefits. However, remember to first perfect your form for a few weeks before varying your loading method more frequently. 

 

Cross-training is better for cardio than, say, running every time. Therefore, it would help if you mixed up your workouts to use the same muscles every day. That includes exercising the upper body one day and the lower body the successive and alternating lighter movements with full-body resistance training (like yoga or a spin class).

 

• Optimise rest and recovery
  

  Image by Jürgen Rübig from Pixabay

Recovery and rest are equally as vital as your workout. When you don’t give yourself enough time to rest in between sessions, your body produces cortisol, a stress hormone that increases fat storage and increases appetite—a deadly combination for anyone trying to lose weight and burn fat. After a workout, you can take a chilly shower to help you recover faster or avoid post-workout discomfort. You can also maximise the outcomes you’re after by making sure your body has been appropriately warmed up, worked out, and cooled down.