It doesn't matter what you’re doing with your day to day life, you should always be ready for a workout in the evening. Work is busy and family commitments can be all consuming.
You should be leaving space for yourself and that means finding the time to exercise and take care of yourself.
Dress For Success
The one thing to remember about a great workout routine is that it starts way before you get your gym gear on. Dressing options for women is more complex than guys and fashion tends to be as important as comfort. While guys aren't going to need to worry about snakeskin tights, looking good while working out is still important. Whether you are feeling confident in the gym in a muscle tee and bike shorts, or you prefer something baggier, you need to be in the right mindset to workout. Sloppy preparation often equals sloppy execution, and when it comes to your workouts you want to ensure that you are executing it properly. You want your training sessions to be inspired, and whether you are looking to increase your strength and muscle gains or you want to lose weight, here are four things that you should be doing before every single workout.
Eat
Around an hour before you go to the gym, get some protein-based goodness into you! You should think about the timing of your pre-workout meal or snack, as it does vary from person to person as to what will sit nicely. You don't want to puke during your workout routine. So, you should consider that you have to find a snack with the right energy levels and there is no hard/fast rule about it. You don't have to eliminate carbs, but protein should be the star of the meal before you workout as it will help your muscles and allow you to feel fuller for longer.
Hydrate
You cannot effectively workout if you haven't hydrated enough. Consider how much water you need, because you will also be bringing some to the gym with you for during your workouts. As a guide, you want to ensure that you have around 20oz of water before you exercise. This doesn't mean chugging bottles of water, it just means that ensuring you have hydrated enough before you train is a good idea. You don't want to have to keep leaving the gym floor to pee!
Stretch
Before any workout, you should be stretching out. You want to warm up, cool down and believe that your muscles will be working effectively as you do it all. A good stretch is going to prevent injury and make your movements feel much easier, and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home before you even get to the gym!
Review
Look over your workout routine and get to know what you are expected to do. From the rep numbers to the set numbers, this workout should be easy for you to follow, not too hard to handle. Take the time to make changes if you need it, but always review the workout before you get started so that you are prepared mentally for what you’re about to do. Your workout should be a successful one, and it can be when you are prepared for it!
