What are good hacks and tips for exercise, fitness and working out?: originally appeared on Quora: The best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and access insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
Answer by Leo Polovets, CrossFit Trainer (Level 1). 6 years of Crossfit + 10 years of running, cycling, and triathlons.
There are tons of great tips, hacks, and strategies for exercising more, exercising better, and becoming more fit. For the sake of common decency, I'm going to try keeping this answer to 2,000 words or less.
Exercising More Frequently
The hardest part of exercising is actually doing it. The gym is too far, you're tired, you're sore, you need to lose some weight first, you don't have time, your wrist hurts, you ate too much for lunch, you already went three days ago, blah blah blah. There are plenty of available justifications, and not exercising is so much easier than the alternative. Here are some tips to get past the excuses:
- Join a gym that is close to where you live or work. Ideally, the gym is within walking distance. A short drive is okay, too. If your gym is 25 minutes away, that means 45 minutes of exercise turns into a two-hour ordeal of driving, sitting through traffic, showering, and, finally, a little bit of working out. The more time-consuming and daunting the routine sounds, the less frequently you will do it -- until you stop doing it completely. It's better to pay a little more for a close gym that you use than to pay less for a far away gym that you never go to. Keeping a little bit of equipment at home is another effective approach.
Exercising More Effectively
Once you're exercising, you want to get the most out of it. Here are some ideas for doing that:
- As you get more advanced, start doing interval training. Working smarter often trumps working harder, and exercising is no exception. Studies have shown that protocols like Tabata intervals (20 seconds of hard work, 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times) are more effective at improving endurance than long, sustained efforts. Think about that: doing 5 minutes of interval training will help you more with running a 10K than running 10Ks. That's a terrific ROI.
Becoming a Badass
- Work out with a partner and have them encourage you. This is especially useful for intense workouts like CrossFit or Tabata intervals. When you're working out by yourself, you feel like you're putting in 100%, but it turns out that's not true. When someone is on your case, yelling at you to rest a little less or encouraging you to push a little harder, you discover your true level of ability. In CrossFit, I've seen people improve their results on a workout by 10-25% just from having someone to (encouragingly) yell at them.
Recovering More Quickly
Challenging workouts will make you sore, and that soreness turns some people off from exercising. While you can't get rid of soreness entirely, there are things you can do to lessen it:
- Protein and carbs improve endurance during a workout, but they also improve recovery after a workout. Try to consume about 15g of protein and 45-60 grams of carbs after you work out. Consuming less is fine, but you want at least a little bit of carbs and protein to kick-start muscle recovery and reduce soreness the following day. High glycemic index carbs work best.
Ok, still under 2,000 words. Phew. Good luck with your fitness goals! =)