The Physical Pre-Workout Ritual

Now that your head’s in the right place to get started at the gym, it’s time to get your body ready too.

First thing’s first –

Nutrition

Hopefully you are already aware just how important nutrition is, regardless of your goals at the gym. For building muscle and burning fat, your diet so far today should be on point – plenty of good quality protein, tons of vitamins and minerals from fruits and veggies, some slow-digesting carbs placed strategically in your different meals, and of course a good intake of healthy fats.

Optimal pre-workout nutrition does vary from person to person and what works for you may not be great for someone else. The general rules governing pre-workout nutrition are generally pretty similar for most though:

- Eat something one to two hours pre-workout. This gives your food time to digest so you don’t feel ill, or bloated, when you are training and it also ensures you’ve got a ready supply of energy.

- Your pre-workout meal should be fairly light, so nothing too stodgy or fatty.

- This strategic meal must contain protein, 20-30g of good quality protein from meat, fish, eggs, dairy products or a protein shake will be enough.

- You need carbs for optimal performance at the gym. Even if you’re on a low carb diet, carbs can be extremely useful for a pre-workout boost. The amount of carbs you take in will depend on how many you’re having through the day, but aim to eat roughly a quarter of your daily carb intake in this meal. These carbs can come from fruits, vegetables, brown rice, sweet potatoes, a sports drink, or any other carb source you tolerate well and can digest without any difficulty.

- A small portion of fat will slow your digestion and provide longer lasting energy. A tablespoon of peanut butter, some kind of oil or a small handful of nuts is ideal. Alternatively a fattier protein source such as salmon or pork will be fine. This way, you won't get tired during your workout.

- If you respond well to it, then a strong cup of black coffee or an espresso can give you a much needed energy boost after a long day at the office.

That’s your nutrition sorted. The final part of the puzzle is your warm-up.

Warm-Up

What most people consider a warm-up – some light cardio for five minutes, followed by a few stretches, is fine.

Activation exercises, or plyometrics are explosive movements – think jumping, bounding and leaping — are your best bet for maximum results. These exercises require you to generate maximum power and while you may look slightly odd leaping around the gym, the extra gains will be worth it.

Activation exercises warm-up your central nervous system. The CNS is the control center for your muscles – if it’s cold and underactive you’ll be slow and weak. If it’s fired up and turned on, you’ll see massive strength increases. Make your CNS warm-up applicable to your training session. Pick one or two exercises and perform five or six sets of two to five reps on each. Don’t train to failure though, you must focus on rep speed and quality.

For lower body workouts do squat jumps, jumps onto a box, broad jumps (jumping for distance) single leg hops or some short 40 to 50 yard sprints at full speed.

For upper body workouts try clap push-ups, plyometric pull-ups or even some standard bench presses, shoulder presses or rows performed with 50 to 60 percent of your single rep maximum, but as quickly as you can.

With the mental and physical preparation sorted, you’ve got everything in place for an awesome workout and no more excuses for falling short. Enjoy your workout!