7 Ways To Boost Your Workout Performance

 Healthy diet, lifestyle, and exercise—these are three of the most critical factors that affect one’s physical health, which is also what most people focus on when improving their workout performance. Yet, only a few people ever consider the little things, like stretching or drinking coffee.  Not many people know that these minor details are not so ‘minor’ when it comes to workouts, especially since they can lead to a considerable improvement to your workout routine, be it with bodyweight training or weightlifting. On that note, below are several ways you can boost your workout performance you’ve probably never considered before.

1. Choose The Appropriate Supplements

Everyone knows just how important supplements are to a workout routine. It allows you to take the necessary nutrients that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise from eating foods normally. But unfortunately, people often think of ‘protein’ at the mention of supplements, which is not a good mindset. Contrary to common belief, protein is not the only type of supplement that can help boost your workout performance. Some may even be more beneficial than protein, which is why it’s essential to choose the appropriate ones, specifically those containing the following:

• Creatine is a molecule that provides energy to your tissues, including your muscles. By increasing creatine levels, you can improve your muscle gains and healing.
• Beta-alanine focuses more on minimizing fatigue, which would allow you to make the most out of high-intensity training programs.
• Branched-chain amino acids are beneficial for those lacking in protein as they provide amino acids that come from meat, eggs, fish, and poultry.
• Beta-hydroxy beta-methyl butyrate or HMB is a molecule that’s responsible for managing leucine—the amino acid responsible for muscle growth.

While it may be a bit hard to commit all these to memory, knowing what each type of supplement does can make it easier to identify which would bring the most benefits to your workout performance. It also allows you to break out of your workout rut if you lack a particular amino acid or nutrient. Getting different kinds of supplements shouldn’t be much of an issue either. For starters, you can pick from websites like Supplements Wise Shop.

2. Spice Up Your Protein Shakes

One advice veterans often tell beginners is to drink protein shakes before workouts. There’s nothing wrong with such advice. It’s highly beneficial to those lacking in protein. So, if you’ve been drinking protein shakes, good for you, but it’s worth noting that you can further improve their benefits by adding a few healthy ingredients here and there.

For example, you can add whole milk to your protein shakes to increase their calories and protein content. If you’re dedicated, you can try adding eggs for more muscle-building amino acids like leucine. Plant-based ingredients such as rice, soy, and hemp can also add a bit of leucine to your pre- and post-workout drink. Speaking of drinking, if you’ve never considered drinking coffee before your workout, you’re missing out on a lot of gains.

3. Consider Drinking Coffee Before A Workout

Over the past few years, numerous studies have shown the potential benefits of drinking coffee an hour before workouts. Examples of its benefits include improved workout recovery, heightened focus, and reduced muscle pain, all of which can contribute to greater workout performance. But it’s worth mentioning that much like any other workout technique, drinking coffee can also bring side effects, such as indigestion or stomach ache, so it would be in your best interest if you test it out first before including it in your workout routine.

4. Avoid Instability Devices

Instability training devices, such as wobble boards and exercise balls, are equipment characterized by unstable surfaces. They were initially made to improve an athlete’s stability and balance. Still, lately, people have been using them combined with strength training, believing that it would boost their performance and, consequently, gains.  But in reality, using instability devices is often a waste of time, or worse, it can work against you, mainly because it reduces the force you exert during exercises, which is not ideal with strength training exercises like lunges, glutes, and glutes and quads.

Experts suggest that instability devices are better off being used solely for stability training or combined with bodyweight exercises rather than strength training. On the opposite side of the spectrum, however, there are pieces of exercise equipment that have an incredible benefit to strength training, one of which is wrist wraps.

5. Wear Wrist Wraps During Workouts

A wrist wrap is the strap of cloth you usually see around the wrists of boxers. They wear these to protect their wrists from injuries. It also provides support to their bones and ensures that joints are correctly aligned. By doing so, the chances of overextending the joints, which is extremely painful, are significantly reduced. It also maximizes your grip.

All of these characteristics make wrist wraps the perfect way to boost your workout performance, specifically with weightlifting, or any other exercises involving wrists, for that matter. This might be the best example of minor details having a massive impact on your workout performance.

6. Stretch Only After Your Workout

There are several disagreements regarding the best way to structure a workout routine. One of those disagreements is whether stretching should be done before or after a workout or if it’s essential in the first place. Regardless, it turns out that stretching after working out is the correct answer, and for many reasons. For starters, it speeds up muscle recovery. 

It may also improve overall flexibility after a while of doing this practice regularly. Simply put, you’re better off stretching only after your workout. Furthermore, studies show that stretching before workouts can impede overall workout performance. Runners tend to run slower, jumpers would jump lower, and weightlifters can lift fewer weights. Take note, however, that you can still warm up before workouts through active exercises such as jogging and jumping jacks.

7. Relax In A Hot Tub Daily

Heat therapy is known for its several health benefits. These include improved blood flow, muscle relaxation, and increased healing. If, after your workout, you’re hurt all over, or even if you don’t feel anything at all, soaking in a hot tub relaxes your muscle tissues, which in turn speeds up muscle regeneration, much like what stretching does. You can do this every day before or after your workout routine. It may not directly boost your workout performance, but it’s a great way to end the day, especially if you’re planning on working out the next day.

Final Words

So, you’ve been working very hard so you can see the results of your workout routine sooner, but for some reason, you still aren’t. Your initial thoughts might’ve been that your workout routine isn’t intense enough or your body is not cut out for it, but what if your problem is much more minor than you think? In such cases, rather than taking a giant leap and failing miserably, you’re better off taking small steps toward boosting your workout performance. This guide would help significantly towards that goal.