Monday pt. 1: “I just need to get this off my chest”

 

UGH MONDAY!

When it comes to working out, our week begins on Monday. Although, it is the most dreaded day out of the week, it is imperative to your workout regimen on this day because it gives you the momentum to continue your gym routines throughout the rest of the week.

HOW TO PREPARE:                                 Since this particular day will be the day that you will try your hardest to convince yourself not to go to the gym, you must make sure to start your morning by find some motivation. It all starts with a vision. Remember all that planning we spoke about? This is why it’s so important, so you can wake up and already have a plan. Then, your first real motivation is your breakfast! Which you can eat after the workout. Pre-workout snacks are always first (sorry for the tease). However, they can be just as good! Another option to push yourself to the gym, is to drink a pre-workout drink.

These drinks contain many different artificial and natural ingredients which boosts your energy and helps improve stamina and endurance. Although most people believe that these are just an extreme dose of caffeine (which most are), they do vary so make sure to read the nutritional facts and just keep trying to find one that works for you.

Now, we’re off to the gym!

If we review our workout schedule, Mondays are designated for chest and biceps.

CHEST:

For a heavy lifting day, we have to start on the bench. Now, for people who are new to this the bar alone is 45 lbs. So, always start there if you never have benches before. If you are lifting to go after a new personal record (PR), you have to start light and gradually add weight. If you are going very heavy, I suggest you find a spotter so you won’t hurt yourself. Also, it is very important to have the correct form while bench pressing (view below). This form is necessary to achieve your peak performance, while preventing injuries. In addition, this form is the best way for muscles to form while using this technique, so make sure to follow it.

                                           flat bench press form

 

There is two other kinds of bench presses, other than the flat bench. There is the incline and decline bench as well, which each target the chest. I usually rotate the different kinds of benches throughout the weeks. The incline bench focuses on the upper chest, while the decline works on the bottom definition. The flat bench is the best of both worlds, and works on the full chest.

After the bench, they are many other techniques and machines which all exercise the chest. Another important one is the pectoral fly machine. This machine can also be simulated on the cables. Regardless of which one you do, it will still work on expanding the chest muscles which is good for two reasons. When you bench press, your chest muscles is being compressed. However, you really need to tighten and expand your muscles for them to rip, so they can grow bigger. So, these pectoral fly exercises help with muscle growth and with preventing cramps. This method stretches the muscle, so it does not stay wound up; which is the reason for muscle cramps.

                    pectoral fly machine

  pectoral fly simulation with cables

 

There are copious workout with many variations when it comes to any muscle group, these are just a few essential ones that are very commonly used. If you need more ideas check youtube or any fitness guru’s social media, and there will be many to chose from. Sadly, this is only half of your Monday workout; biceps is up next!

You Are What You Eat

“Timing is everything”

This is a phrase you hear for various reasons, but it is most prevalent for lifting. The specific time you go to the gym can have an effect on your “gains” or weight lost. Usually, I prefer to go to the gym as soon as I wake up, even before breakfast. This is due to the fact that your body responds better to working out before it has a lot of food in its system. Exercising without a heavy breakfast will not necessarily make you lose weight faster, even though that is a common belief. However, it does come with the benefit to prevent you from feeling sluggish.

I should clarify what I mean by a “heavy breakfast”. This type of breakfast is packed with multiple items heavy with carbohydrates or fats. Although carbs are crucial to nutrition, when you overload your body with them before a workout, there is more carbs than your body can burn. During exercise carbs are burned off first, then it begins to burn the actual body fat. So, if you eat a heavy breakfast your body will be so overwhelmed by the amount of carbs and fats that you had, that it will become “sluggish” since it has so much to burn through. Often if your workout duration and intensity are not high enough where it is able to burn through the excess carbs, that workout would only serve as burning off what you ate that morning instead of working on the fat underneath.

Instead, a pre-workout snack could be used to fuel your body. It is important that you grab a snack packed with natural sugars and carbohydrates which is what gives the human body energy. These two attributes of nutrition is also what your body burns as well as fat so once they are depleted, your body does not have the same energy. They are necessary to help you continue the same intensity in your workout throughout the entire time. Not including their benefit on your blood-sugar levels.

If you exercise without any breakfast, at a high intensity or even for a long time, you increase the risk of having low blood sugar. The lack of fuel in your system diminishes your strength, stamina, and speed. Along with that, it can cause dizziness or nausea since your blood sugar is low and you are forcing your blood flow to spike as your heart rate increases during your routine. This is why the natural sugar content of your snack is critical.

Here’s some examples of nutritious pre-workout snacks:                       

-bananas

-apples

-greek yogurt

-nuts/seeds

-a slice of toast with peanut/almond butter

Any of these are sufficient for you to complete your rigorous workout regimen, and there’s plenty more snack ideas out there. Be creative! Experiment and find out what works for you. Even with these snacks, timing is still relevant. A pre-workout snack should be eaten at least 45 minutes before exercise because it can lead to cramping or nausea. It needs time to digest and become the fuel that your body requires.

So, next time you exercise don’t forget to grab a treat or you’ll feel beat!