Ten Tips for a Better Workout

Bismillah

You can find these at Prevention.com inshallah. I just summarized (and added to some inshallah) them for ease of use.

1.       Drink cold water before and during the exercise (my favorite is walking). According to research done in Britain, cold water revs the metabolism (read gives you more energy) and keeps you cooler longer so you can work out longer.

2.      Swing your arms (again this is for walking, my favorite way to exercise). The swing at the lowest point should have your fingertips just about brushing your waist and at the top of the swing, at the high part of your chest, but not crossing over your chest.

3.      Headphones and listen to something with a rhythm. Normally I listen to Quran, however, one can do nasheeds I suppose, I just haven’t bothered to download or anything like this.

4.      Add weight lifting. The key is to lift the heaviest dumb-bells you can for at least 3 reps, up to ten, a few times during your workout. Perfect thing to do when you stop to catch your breath inshallah. It increases your calorie burning power by up to 25%, during the work out, and who knows how much after.

5.      This is my personal tip: start and stop your workout, speed up and slow down, go up an incline (or a step) then back to flat, and do this continuously, not stopping completely from one type of movement to another, nor waiting to complete one movement before the other. So at home with no equipment, you can jump rope, then butt kicks, then stair stepping, then kicks and punches, then Pilates, then repeat the circuit again at least once but best for a total of three times. If on the treadmill, you can go up and down an incline, fast then slow, stepping off to do weights while climbing the stairs and down, etc.

6.      If you can, go walking outside, and use the natural terrain to work new muscles. Invite a friend for motivation inshallah, or recite Quran, or make Dua, or bring your headphones and listen to something inspiring inshallah.

7.      Aim for at least 15 minutes (so you get beyond the warm-up level). Try for two 15 minute intervals in your day inshallah for better results. Work this up to 4 intervals of 15 minutes or 1 hour total of focused working out for best results inshallah.

8.     Don’t steady pace your activity level, add timed interval of fast and slow for faster results inshallah.

9.      Stretch after the workout. This is a crucial step to helping you maintain your regular workouts as it reduces instances of stiffness and discomfort as you train your body into its new state inshallah.

10.  Aim for at least 3 days per week of at least 15 minutes of focused work outs for steady results. Above all, I urge you not to quit entirely. 15 minutes of a done workout is better than 45 minutes of a planned work out.