How You Can Take Your Fitness to the Next Level

How You Can Take Your Fitness to the Next Level

Most people think of exercise as a way to lose weight and stay in shape. However, there is just so much more to it. The human body is an incredible entity and is capable of amazing physical feats. If you are eager to see just how far you can push your body, then you may be looking to boost your fitness level.

Of course, if you aren’t a professional athlete who has a bevy of trainers and coaches around you, then you may be a bit confused about how to go about doing this. Fortunately for you, this article contains everything you need to know on the subject. So, without further ado, here are all the ways you can improve your fitness capabilities:

Measure Your Workouts

One of the first things you will need to do is start quantifying your workouts. Without information on your current fitness level and abilities, there is no real way to determine whether or not you are improving. The truth is, many people, have very little awareness regarding their physical aptitudes.

These days, though, it is actually quite easy to keep track of your heart rate, movements, and overall endurance level. This is all thanks to technology. Fitness trackers have proven to be quite advantageous to those who want to monitor their fitness aptitude. So, find one that works for you and make sure that you note down your daily workouts. This will provide you with an accurate baseline of what you can do.

Progress Gradually

The whole point of tracking your workouts is so that you know when you have reached a workout plateau. At this point, you will find it too easy to complete a particular set of exercises. Also, your heart rate will not increase as much as it did before. In fact, your vital signs will not be affected a lot by your regular regiment.

When this happens, it is time for you to challenge your body and make things more strenuous. However, it is important that you do so the right way. See, it is all about pushing yourself just enough so that your body has to work a bit harder. You shouldn’t, however, overwork or overtrain yourself. Doing so will only result in injury or damage to your body. It is all about progressing gradually and at a pace that you are comfortable with.

Exercise in Quick Bursts

You may have heard of High-Intensity Interval Training – or HIIT – in the news. Here, you complete a workout (cycling, sprinting, jumping rope, etc.) as fast or vigorously as you can for about 30 seconds. Then, for several minutes after that, you continue the exercise at a slower pace. This is followed by a bout of more high-intensity workouts.

The reason HIIT exercises are useful is because they can boost your endurance, in addition to helping you burn fat and calories. Experts have discovered that HIIT can improve your muscles’ oxygen consumption. This is your muscles’ abilities to use oxygen. HIIT workouts improve oxygen consumption considerably, and within a shorter period of time. When your muscles are able to use oxygen more effectively, this primes them to perform better when you increase your workout load.

Balance Your Cardio with Strength Training

One of the best ways to improve your endurance is obviously to build up your cardiovascular system. This is why most people take up cardio when they first start exercising. Now, it is important to continue using cardio machines and engage in cardio workouts in general. However, this alone may not be enough, if you are serious about improving your fitness level.

You should also consider adding strength and weight training to your daily routine. These types of exercises also aid in building up your endurance and physical capabilities. For one thing, they make your muscles stronger, improve your balance and coordination, and can help boost your energy levels as well. So, with both these kinds of training, you should become fitter in no time at all.

Increase Power with Explosive Exercises

Now, in addition to your endurance, you probably want to increase your power, especially if you like to play sports. In this case, your best bet would be to include explosive exercises in your workout regimen. These types of exercises use large muscle movements, which is what helps you build up your power.

There are a variety of exercises that you can try out. For instance, full squat lifts, overhead walking lunges, and sprints are great examples of this. You can also try agility drills like stair running and speed ladder workouts.

Be Careful of Breaks

This point actually refers to the period during your workout as well as life on a daily basis. Let’s first focus on the breaks that you take when you have finished a set. In most cases, experts will suggest that you take about two to five minutes to rest after a set. However, when your goal is muscle endurance, you need to adjust this interval a bit. It would actually be more useful if were to you limit your breaks to about thirty to sixty seconds at a time.

Now, let’s move on to those breaks that inadvertently seem to crop up in life. For a variety of reasons, you may be pressed for time and be tempted to slow down or discontinue your workouts for a short while. This, however, is something you should avoid doing at all costs. Instead, it is much better to power on, even if means that you can’t exercise as often. By keeping up with your workouts, you will be able to ensure that your body maintains its current fitness level.

Prep Your Body with a Healthy Diet

It is going to be quite difficult to improve your body’s power and stamina if you aren’t providing it with the right fuel. This is why, in addition to specific exercises, you also need to focus on maintaining a healthy diet. For the most part, this means eating balanced meals that give you adequate amounts of protein, healthy fats, carbs, vitamins, and minerals.

It is a good idea, nonetheless, to try eating clean as much as possible. This means staying away from processed foods or those that could be classified as ‘junk food’. There are also various foods that can help to improve your performance. Bananas, beets, orange juice, turkey, sundried tomatoes, pickles, and peanut butter are all foods that can help you take your workout to the next level.

Mix Your Workouts Up

Another great way to boost your fitness level is to constantly mix things up with your workouts. Thus, you shouldn’t really settle for just one type of exercise. When you do a variety of workouts, your body has to constantly adapt. This way, there is no chance for it to settle into a routine and get used to the movements.

So, if you are someone who frequents the weight machines at the gym, you may want to break it up with a run outside every now and then. On the other hand, if you tend to do a lot of yoga, then it can be useful for you to take a dance class or lift weights for a bit.

Workout with Likeminded Individuals

When you exercise on your own, it can be tempting to slow down and not stick too closely to your goals. This is why you may want to start working out with others who have a similar goal as you. Look for people who are already in good shape but are looking to take things up a notch. There is a good chance that these individuals will help you achieve your goals even faster.

First and foremost, get someone to track your workouts alongside you. This can make it easier to stick with the plan you have created for yourself. Perhaps best of all, though, is that when you exercise with those who want to improve their abilities and endurance, a sense of friendly competition inserts itself into the group. So, you are more likely to try and outdo one another, making it a lot easier to push yourselves further.

Make Sure to Get Adequate Amounts of Rest

If you are trying to improve your physical abilities, then you may feel like rest is the last thing you need. Nonetheless, it is an important part of your recovery and therefore, a vital component of your physical improvement. If you continue to push your body without any downtime in between, you are simply going to end up feeling fatigued and may even become prone to injuries.

On the other hand, if you take the time to ensure that your muscles are able to repair themselves, you will definitely reap the rewards. Think about it like this, the time that you spend resting allows your muscles, connective tissues, and even bones to rebuild themselves. This makes them stronger and able to complete the tougher workouts that you will impose on them. As you can see, it all comes back around.

These are all the ways that you can take your fitness to the next level. It is important to keep in mind that it will take time, dedication, and perseverance. In the end, though, you will see that you are a fitter and stronger individual for it.