Workout Properly

Working out properly is the key to optimal muscle growth and makes injury more preventable. Working out has many benefits when it comes to mental and physical health. However when working out, there are many “unspoken” rules you should follow to prevent injury as well as increasing your rate if muscle growth!

Questions to Answer in This Section

• What are proper actions to take before a workout?

• What type of weight should you lift?

• What should you do after a workout?

What Are Some of The Proper Actions to Take Before, During, and After a Workout?

Drink Water (Before, During After)

Drinking water is very important in all aspects of life and especially when you are working out. A general rule of thumb is athletes should drink 64 ounces of water a day, they should also follow the next few rules:

• 16 ounces of water before working out

• Six to 12 ounces immediately after

• Every 15 to 20 minutes while working out

Drinking water is very beneficial to the health of your heart, your mind, and your muscles (Lappe).

Warm Up (Before)

Warming up before any type of exercise is a great thing to do. This is because warming up can help prevent any injury while working out. Some of the things you should do are:

• “Brisk walking

• Light jogging

• Jumping jacks

• Or another exercise to elevate heart rate” (Lappe).

Following a warm-up, your loosened muscles are easier to stretch, allowing you to get every muscle in your body warmed up. When stretching, you should do slow, dynamic stretches. This helps prevent any muscle pulls or tears. Some of these stretches are:

• “Leg raises

• Hip rotations

• Flowing yoga poses" (Lappe).

Strength Train Properly (During)

Use the proper technique while working out. This is vital because it helps prevent injury.

• Quick repetitions that you just crank out do not do as much for you as you think. Focusing on good form and quality of quantity is the best way to go.

• The amount of weight should be a focus as well. If someone is new to strength training they should do more bodyweight training and stationary exercises like calisthenics.

You should also balance what muscles you work out. Make a schedule of the certain muscle groups you want to work out each day. This prevents overworking one certain group (Lappe).

Cool Down (After)

While cooling down, do more static stretches and slow down your breathing, this should get your muscles to relax a lot more than before.

Doing cool down work out can also help too. After an intense workout, do a 10 minute light jog and help build a bridge between pushing yourself to the limit and doing nothing (Lappe).