DOs and DON’Ts of a Good Workout

You often hear that any kind of exercise is better than no exercise at all. This is true to a certain extent. It’s probably not the best idea to engage in physical activity just for the sake of engaging in physical activity if you are in a position where you can cause injury to yourself, or frankly, are wasting your time by not doing right.

It’s my intention to share with you how to get in a QUALITY workout. What does quality mean to me? In a nutshell, it means an effective, safe and results driven workout. I can’t tell you the number of times I go into a gym and cringe at the way someone is lifting weights. I cringe because I know the way they are lifting is unsafe, and in many cases, ineffective. So here are some Do’s and Don’ts of a QUALITY workout.

• DO focus on quality over quantity. It is more important to focus on good form with controlled movements (even if you do fewer reps) than trying to get in a large number of reps with fast, uncontrolled movements. 
  
  
• DO warm up and cool down. Your body is a machine. You need to warm up for a minimum of five to ten minutes to get the juices flowing. This helps to prevent injury and allow your body to work more efficiently throughout your workout. Cooling down is just as important. It allows your heart rate to slow down in a safe manner. For example, you don’t just start a car in freezing weather and go full speed without first warming up the engine (well, if you’re smart you don’t).
  
  
• DO stay hydrated. This is my personal pet peeve. Water is like fuel. It is sooooooooo important to stay hydrated before, after and throughout your workout. The iced coffee that you sip on the elliptical does not count, neither does the diet coke! Water, Water, Water!!!
  
  
• DON’T do the exact same workout everyday. It’s important to add variety to your routine. Switch up intensity, repetitions, weight and exercises. When you do the same routine your muscles get use to the movements and don’t work as hard. Therefore, your workouts can become less effective.
  
  
• DON’T use too much weight. If you can’t pump out your reps without maintaining good form and avoiding the use of momentum, then, guess what, the weight you are using may be too heavy. If you want to be more effective drop the weight a few pounds and fix your form.
  
  
• DON’T keep doing a specific exercise if it causes you pain. By pain I don’t mean the normal ‘burn’ of working out. I mean pain that can be sudden and sharp or even nagging and dull. If you feel any pain that is not normal stop whatever exercise you are doing. You don’t want to make it worse and risk being out of the gym for several weeks.

These are just a few Dos and Don’ts, but in my opinion, they can make or break your workout. Not to mention, have a big impact on your results. So remember folks, DO keep your workouts SMART and SAFE!