We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore, excellence is not an act, but a habit. Our habits define who we are and what we become. It’s all starts with the basics, the fundamentals, the small ethics that some day become our habits. Whether you’re playing a sport, working a mathematical problem or building a body, it starts with the fundamentals.

Yes, Great Success Starts with the Fundamentals.

Here, we bring you 36 solid tips to boost your workout effectiveness.

Drink Up to Workout

Because water is essential to maximize metabolism[1], you won’t reap the full benefits from your exercise routine unless you stay hydrated throughout. You can boost your body’s performance on workouts simply by keeping topped up with water. Studies have shown that just a 3% loss in body fluid can lead to a 7% reduction in overall physical performance, so drink plenty of water before, during and after your workouts.

Stretch it Out

Studies have suggested that stretching before undertaking exercise[2] isn’t as important as stretching afterwards[3]. Instead, warm up at a slow pace beforehand and devote more time to stretching properly when you have finished.

Get Intense

High intensity workouts have a greater and longer-lasting effect on increasing your resting metabolic rate[4], essential for long-term fat burning. Researchers have found that upping the intensity when you work out could help you burn as much as 300 extra calories a day, even at rest.

Do Exercise to Avoid Diabetes

Exercise reduces fat tissue in the body and makes cells more responsive to insulin. Exercising five times reduce the risk of diabetes by 45%, two to four times a week by 25%.

Don’t Starve if You Want to Stay Fit

People who don’t feed their body enough fuel in the form of carbohydrates and proteins can’t reach same exercise intensities as others and therefore, they don’t achieve the same metabolic changes or weight loss with exercise.

Use Fruit Force

Snacking on healthy fresh or dried fruits, which contain slow-release fructose, teamed with a glass of milk after your exercise routine could improve long-term fitness and performance by rebuilding carbohydrate levels in the body, helping to metabolize fat.

Belt Up to Cure Side Pain

If you often suffer from side stitches when you exercise, wearing an exercise belt can prevent pain. Raising your arms above could also help.

Breathe in. Breathe out

Keep breath flow steady to nourish your body with oxygen. As a rule, inhale on the easy part of an exercise and exhale on the hard part to keep optimum oxygen levels.

Step it Up in Style

Don’t crank up the resistance on the stairmaster or step machine so high that you have to lean on the arm posts, because this reduces efficiency. Instead, pump with your legs, get your heart rate up and progress slowly as you feel more comfortable with each level.

Eat Meat to Build Muscle

Meat-eaters who exercise regularly are more likely to build muscle, lose fat and tone up than their vegetarian counterparts, probably as a result of the higher levels of protein in the diet.

Be a Variety Performer

For most of us, doing the same workout routine daily can induce boredom, not only in your head but also in our body, as it adapts to tasks. So vary your workouts and type of exercise to boost mental and physical fitness.

Score a Goal of the Month

Set small, realistic goals – don’t set yourself up for failure by aiming for unachievable targets. Decide on small goals you can achieve, such as three 30-minute sessions at the gym each week which makes it easier to experience success.

Give Yourself a Gold Medal

Reward yourself for your successes. When you don’t feel like exercising then remember how good you felt after exercising the last time, and reward yourself with healthy treats such as exercise clothes, new music to workout to or a sports massage.

Put Your Back into it

When devising a complete exercise plan, don’t forget back exercises – although they might not seem as those showy triceps curls or leg squat, a strong back is an absolute key to effective injury-free training.

Posture- Perfect Workouts

As you workout, don’t forget to engage your core strength muscles in your abdomen, which will keep your trunk strong and steady and help you avoid succumbing to injury as well as preventing bad exercise habits.

Don’t Curl Up to Sit Up

Many people don’t really work their abdominals properly during their sit up exercise routines. Make sure you are moving the top of your body towards the ceiling, rather than curling it up towards your knees, which doesn’t work the muscles as hard.

Catch a Wave to Tone Your Thighs

If you’re not into sweating it out in gyms or taking up a team sport. But want to tone your legs the best way possible. Get yourself a surfboard and catch a war. Surfing is great for toning legs as well as honing balance.

Anyone for Tennis?

Tennis burns 400 calories an hour and although it might not be such a good cardiovascular exercises as running or swimming, the tactical thinking stimulates your mind as well as your body, giving you a true holistic workout.

Squash Up Your Backside

Played competitively, squash will really firm up your arms and abdominals, as well as giving your system a cardiovascular boost. But it is also one of the best exercises around toning up those flabby behinds because of all the lunging around court that is involved.

Explode for Strength

Explosive exercises – such as lunging— boost strength much faster than other types of weight training. To test this out, try doing your normal exercises more slowly, but with a high-impact beginning and ending.

Saddle Up to Ride Away Saddle Bags

Horse-riding not only tones hips, legs and thighs through a series of leg exercises as you ride, it also increases strength and flexibility, in your pelvis, hips and lower back, work the thigh muscles to reduce fat.

Add a Foot of Texture

Simply wearing textured insoles inside sports shoes could help prevent knee and ankle injuries by increasing peoples’ awareness of the position of their feet, particularly in fast-response sports like soccer and basketball.

Slam Dunk

Basketball might be better known for toning arms and legs than stomachs. But all that twisting and stretching for the basket is, in fact, one of the best ways to get rid of stomach flab, especially if you’re shooting hoops.

Punch Your Fights Out

For the ultimate body and brain boosting workout, invest in a punch bag and a skipping rope. It has been shown that working out like a boxer not only increases your cardiovascular fitness but also gets rid of aggression and allows stress to flow out of the system.

Boulder Your Way to Better Arms

If rock climbing is perhaps just a bit too extreme for you (but you’d love the upper body benefits), then try the safer alternative of bouldering. This is a sport in which you travel along the rock face rather than scaling it upwards. It builds great arm strength and, as a bonus, burns a whooping 360 calories in just 30 minutes.

Bowl Away Calories

Next time you’re playing a game of baseball, softball, rounders or cricket, volunteer to bowl or pitch- it burns the most calories of any position on the playing field.

Clear of a Caffeine Stitch

To avoid a painful side stitch while you’re exercising, avoid drinking caffeine for at least an hour before you start. Caffeine drinks, particularly if they are carbonated as well, have been shown to increase side-stitch pain.

Workout Burnout

Overtraining can be just as dangerous as under-training. To prevent problems, make sure you have at least one complete rest day a week and give yourself a whole week off every two or three months to stay physically and mentally healthy.

Banish the Banisters

Leaning on the banisters or handrail as you climb the stairs robs your legs of a strengthening workout. Keep your arms by your sides to boost strength and balance.

Boost Metabolism by Working out Early

A workout first thing in the morning helps fire the metabolism all day, and when your metabolism is higher, you burn more calories. As a consequence, morning workouts mean you can eat the same amount and still lose weight.

Be Stretch Effective

Stretches are ineffective unless they are held for a certain time. You should ease into position until you feel the stretch then hold it for at least 25 seconds. Breathe deeply to help your body move oxygen rich blood to sore muscles.

Get Rid of Your Jelly Belly

Belly dancing, because of its constant use of the abdominal and pelvic muscles, is one of the best exercises you can choose to tone up flabby bellies. It’s fun, social and sexy, too – what more could you ask of a workout?

Go Straight to the Weights

Experts suggest that weight training should be done before any cardiovascular work in the gym, because it requires fresh energy. Cardiovascular exercise requires less energy and helps flush toxins away from muscles. So it should be saved for the end of a workout session.

Get More from Your Workout

During exercise that lasts more than 10 minutes, recent research shows that there is better performance, recovery and efficiency in people who drink at 10 to 20-minute intervals throughout the training session.

Don’t Sit Up

Sipping water little and often isn’t as effective while you exercise at rehydrating your body as taking large gulps less often, because larger amounts of’ water travel through your stomach quicker and are more likely to be absorbed.

Asthma-Friendly Sports

More than 10% of Olympic athletes suffer from asthma, so don’t let it prevent you from exercising. Go for sports near water, where asthma is less of a problem, like swimming, canoeing, sailing and windsurfing.

We hope that you really enjoyed the tips to increase effectiveness of your workouts. Try them and see the changes. Share your experience and ideas in the comment below.

References:

[1] Boschmann M, Steiniger J, Hille U, Tank J, Adams F, Sharma AM, Klaus S, Luft FC, Jordan J. Water-induced thermogenesis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Dec;88(12):6015-9.

[2] Herbert RD, de Noronha M, Kamper SJ. Stretching to prevent or reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Jul 6;(7):CD004577. ():

[3] Shrier I. Stretching before exercise does not reduce the risk of local muscle injury: a critical review of the clinical and basic science literature. Clin J Sport Med. 1999 Oct;9(4):221-7.

[4] Perry CG, Heigenhauser GJ, Bonen A, Spriet LL. High-intensity aerobic interval training increases fat and carbohydrate metabolic capacities in human skeletal muscle. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2008 Dec;33(6):1112-23. doi: 10.1139/H08-097.