I've been challenged by ETB Fit to reveal my workout routine! And not just what reps I do and stuff, but how I actually prepare for it and how I manage the after care hours after exercising.
What foods do you eat pre workout?
This depends entirely on what I'm doing really! If I'm doing cardio I tend to load up on carbs more for the extra energy. A slice of rye bread with hummus or whole wheat with veg is an easy snack to have and doesn't take forever to make. If I'm doing weight training I try to get a more protein heavy snack in, such as yoghurt with berries or a simple protein shake. I try to keep my snacks pretty light, as I don't want to wait longer than 45 minutes before getting started.
Oh and coffee. I basically run on that stuff.
What music do you listen to during your workout?
I don't specifically have a playlist for working out actually. I do go for the more upbeat songs to give myself that extra motivation when I feel like dying during the last reps, but other than that it's just the same music I listen to any other time. Some of my current favourites are:
How do you switch up certain routines daily/weekly to stay motivated?
I've got quite a few sources of finding new exercises and motivation in general. I have a health & fitness related board on Pinterest, I follow several workout related blogs and have lots of inspirational people and pages on my social media feeds. On top of that I use Workoutlabs quite often to mix up my routines when I feel like my beloved dead lifts and squats are getting boring. ;)
I do have quite a wide base of exercises from years of working out, though. I'm quite used to doing Jillian Michaels' workouts and she just finds the most amazing ways of combining just about ten different muscle groups in one exercise. Talk about being efficient!
What do you eat or do after your workout to make sure you get the most out of your workout?
Stretching and using a foam roller are my ways of cooling down after putting my muscles under a lot of stress. I thoroughly stretch all the muscles I've worked and especially after leg days I tend to use my foam roller for a good 10-15 minutes to really massage my legs (if I have the time I also use the roller to open up my muscles before working out). I'd really love to have a roller with those funny patterns, at the moment I'm just using a plain tube one - it does its job more than well, but I'm curious about the patterned ones! I can only imagine how deep they can dig when the basic version makes me want to cry sometimes!!
What foods do you eat pre workout?
This depends entirely on what I'm doing really! If I'm doing cardio I tend to load up on carbs more for the extra energy. A slice of rye bread with hummus or whole wheat with veg is an easy snack to have and doesn't take forever to make. If I'm doing weight training I try to get a more protein heavy snack in, such as yoghurt with berries or a simple protein shake. I try to keep my snacks pretty light, as I don't want to wait longer than 45 minutes before getting started.
Oh and coffee. I basically run on that stuff.
What music do you listen to during your workout?
I don't specifically have a playlist for working out actually. I do go for the more upbeat songs to give myself that extra motivation when I feel like dying during the last reps, but other than that it's just the same music I listen to any other time. Some of my current favourites are:
How do you switch up certain routines daily/weekly to stay motivated?
I've got quite a few sources of finding new exercises and motivation in general. I have a health & fitness related board on Pinterest, I follow several workout related blogs and have lots of inspirational people and pages on my social media feeds. On top of that I use Workoutlabs quite often to mix up my routines when I feel like my beloved dead lifts and squats are getting boring. ;)
I do have quite a wide base of exercises from years of working out, though. I'm quite used to doing Jillian Michaels' workouts and she just finds the most amazing ways of combining just about ten different muscle groups in one exercise. Talk about being efficient!
What do you eat or do after your workout to make sure you get the most out of your workout?
Stretching and using a foam roller are my ways of cooling down after putting my muscles under a lot of stress. I thoroughly stretch all the muscles I've worked and especially after leg days I tend to use my foam roller for a good 10-15 minutes to really massage my legs (if I have the time I also use the roller to open up my muscles before working out). I'd really love to have a roller with those funny patterns, at the moment I'm just using a plain tube one - it does its job more than well, but I'm curious about the patterned ones! I can only imagine how deep they can dig when the basic version makes me want to cry sometimes!!
Food wise I keep it pretty simple. I usually time my workouts inbetween my pre-workout snack and dinner so if I've done cardio I just tend to wait until I make dinner, and if I've done weights I have a handful of nuts to get a quick hit of protein into my system. I find it very important to get the protein in as soon as really, since working out actually tears your muscles and need the nutrients to start patching up again.
And there is one more thing that was left out from the questions I received - what do I wear? To me wearing proper exercise clothes is so important, especially sports bras. Boob wise I'm rather big, so having maximum support keeps me focused on exercising instead of trying to control my boobs all the time.
When I was just starting I used to wear joggers and any top I could find at the time. I've slowly moved on to decent workout friendly materials that breathe properly and keep the sweat off my skin. While they're more pricey than just going to Matalan and buying the cheapest pair of joggers possible, it's definitely more enjoyable wearing decent workout clothes. It's more comfortable and definitely more flattering.
While at the moment I'm trying to keep my diet as natural as possible (I'm not using any supplements), I do highly recommend ETB Fit's amazing range of pre workout supplements. :) They offer different kinds of bundles based on your workout needs and also separate products for men and women.
