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Working out on an empty stomach helps burn fat faster! And… no. Sorry people. Think of it this way - does your car drive better when it’s running on empty? Do you feel good about leaving the house with your phone at 5% battery? Not really, so try not to do that with your body either. You won’t feel good during your workout if you’re running on fumes, but eating too much before-hand can be just as counter-productive. How many people are running laps in the park after Thanks giving dinner? Only crazy people! Most of the time, people just get sleepy and want to relax, watch TV, and chill on the couch with their cat. Even if you do somehow get up and make it to the gym, you’ll probably have to deal with stomach cramps…you know, that kind of stuff. You won’t have enough stamina, speed, or strength to burn that many calories. It’d be better to just sleep it off and workout the next day. So, don’t overfill your tank- go for a lighter meal or a healthy snack to boost your energy and help you make it to the end of that spinning class. A perfect pre-gym meal should definitely contain some protein, carbs, and water. You can go with oat meal, fruit smoothies, greek yogurt, walnuts, some kind of chicken & amp; rice combo… It’s normal to have an increased appetite when you start working out regularly. If you still have cravings, try to split your meals up, eat half before and half after your workout. If you want to get the most out of your workout, your body needs to digest the food you just ate so it can use it as fuel. Water can help, but, like with food- don’t drink too much. Hydrating your body is important, especially when you exercise, but no good can come of chugging a gallon of water…especially if you’re gearing up for some serious running, swimming or lifting. Drink water little by little for the entire day, and, if you fall behind, don’t try to make up for it before you exercise. You’re not a water bottle, it just doesn’t work that way! Doing 100 jumping jacks with a full bladder is not exactly fun, or healthy. Drinking too much water before you workout can be risky for your body. It’s not used to handling massive amounts of water all at once, and you might feel weak and have low energy. Plus all that water can actually flush out some useful salts from your body. If you feel like you didn’t drink enough water before a workout, just keep sipping water as you exercise, and eat a piece of fruit about 20 minutes before you hit the gym, like an apple, orange or banana. Coffee. Your eyes are still closed, and you hear an alarm buzzing somewhere off in the distance - oh, it’s 5:30, and you gotta get up to make it to the gym by 7. It’s cold and dark outside, and your eyes are half-closed…leaving your comfy bed may not be top on your list right now. Does getting up without coffee sometimes feel like mission impossible for you? Around 85% of adults would probably agree with you…that’s how many people consume caffeine on a regular basis. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system so you become more efficient and focused on what you’re doing. Yeah, that includes exercise - you can burn more calories and train harder with a pre-workout cup of coffee, preferably black, and just a regular mug’s worth people, not those monster size ones they sell at the drive-thru. Coffee suppresses your appetite so you won’t eat too much, and it improves your aerobic and anaerobic performance. Aerobic means cardio… like running, swimming, or cycling, and Anaerobic workouts include sprints, jumping, some heavy lifting, or any other exercise that requires maximum effort for a short amount of time. Caffeine also helps your muscles recover faster, which is especially useful if you train every day. Sounds really good, doesn’t it? But, that doesn’t mean coffee’s a kind of magic potion that’ll boost your energy whenever you take it. The more coffee you drink, the more you need. Your body gets used to large amounts of caffeine, so one cup just doesn’t cut it anymore. The recommended daily amount of caffeine for adults? It comes out to around 3 normal sized cups of coffee. Don’t workout everyday. Even 2 or 3 days a week at the gym can help you burn off a ton of fat, if you don’t stuff yourself with snacks the other days. Your body needs time to repair itself, and you need those days off for your body to transform that fat into energy. Once you’re feeling fitter, you can bump it up to 4 or 5 days a week, just remember to give yourself a break, you’ve earned it! Doing cardio before lifting weights might not be the best idea. Don’t get me wrong - if your goal is to train for a marathon, then go for it. But if you just want to burn some fat and lose weight, do it the other way around. If you do your cardio first, you’ll have less energy for the rest of your workout. That means you can’t give 100% on your lifts and you won’t feel like pushing past your limits. If you head for the weights first, you’ll feel strong enough to do all the reps you need - your performance will automatically be better. Of course, some people just prefer to do cardio before, so if you’re in that group, at least make your cardio light to medium intensity. It’s supposed to warm you up and boost your performance, not leave you with no energy for the business end of the workout. Another thing: training your core. Your core’s a lot more than just a sweet 6-pack, it’s all those muscles that stabilize and move your spine, and help you get power when you do pretty much anything. So that’s the secret, you don’t need to workout your abs, you just need to make sure they’re engaged when you do all that other stuff in the gym. Make sure you squeeze your middle right before you go for a deadlift, bench press, squat, even those free-weight bicep curls. It’ll transform you into a well rounded athlete! You got out of bed, had your coffee, and finally made it to the gym, full of motivation, will power, discipline, time, and money for those gym fees. Congratulations, but…Yep, there’s another ‘but’ - make sure you show up to the gym with plenty of patience too. Nothing good comes overnight, so, unfortunately, no skipping steps - patience and persistence are still the main keys to success. Limit your training time to about an hour so you really make the most of it. Don’t whip through too many warm-up exercises that leave your body exhausted. It’s the worst way to train, and you could get hurt! Do a short, movement-based workout that gets your heart beating. Then take a 5 minute break, sip some water, walk around, get some fresh air, listen to some music. That 5 minutes will make all the difference! Don’t take a nap before your workout. If you’re the type of person that can lie down for only 20 minutes and get up feeling fresh, fine. That’s how the pros do naps. Any longer, and your body will be seriously confused when you walk into the gym. Nap or no nap, You probably shouldn’t go to the gym if you’re really tired. You need to sort out your nutrition and rest before you start pushing your body to the limit. Athletes spend thousands on healthy food, vitamins, spa treatments, expensive beds… otherwise all that training would be wasted. So how are all these things related to losing weight? It’s not enough to just go to the gym every now and then. You gotta get the most out of your workout by using your brain. It’s like a road-trip for your body. It’s gonna take a while no matter what, but if you want to enjoy the journey, you need to plan ahead! If you do, the fat will burn right off. If you don’t, you might end up hurting yourself, then how’re you gonna work out? See?