Why is it that so many of us are always tired, lethargic
and really don’t have any energy at the end of our
day of work. The last thing we want to do is head down to
the gym, or pull on our jogging sweats and do a workout!
It seems a complete contradiction when you hear about
people doing a workout GIVES them more energy, when all you
are actually doing is burning lots of calories (ie.
ENERGY!!!)
Having once been a desk jockey, spending 8+ hours a day sat
in front of a screen, it is as if that computer monitor,
telephone and my boss was sucking all that precious energy
out of me.
I was not alone!
You could see it in the faces of the men and women working
around me, by the time 6 O’clock came by they would
wearily pull on their coats and jackets, trudge down to the
car park and set off home ready for the sofa and TV remote.
The problem with this energy drain is we would always be
looking for the quick “pick-me-up”. Normally
this comes in the form of snack machine fare, soda drinks
packed with sugar, the post work alcoholic drinks and a
visit to the curry house or fast food outlet on your
journey home.
Coupled with your levels of inactivity this causes the
inevitable weight gain, lowering of self esteem, energy and
enthusiasm, in a horrible vicious circle…
Thankfully there is a solution, but it does require your
first step, luckily we do have a naturally occurring
chemical on our side to help us on the way once we do get
going, beta-endorphin.
This chemical gives us a natural high after doing a
workout, that kind of feel good glow. What’s more it
is possible to become addicted to this feeling, making the
decision to pack a bag for the gym easier and easier!
It is important to understand under what conditions you
need to invoke a flood of beta-endorphin, there is an easy
way and a hard way…
It may seem strange to learn that the hardest way to get
the rush is the most common method of workout that is
adopted. When you jump on to your favorite cardio machine
in the gym, or pull on your trainers for a jog it can take
in excess of 50 minutes, according to clinical studies, in
the “fat-burning zone” to get a decent kick of
endorphin. The problem is it takes an awful lot of
motivation to stick out a long and slow workout for a bit
of a high.
Now I suppose you don’t really want to know about the
hard way!!
The easy way comes in the form of short-sharp bursts of
physical activity, the studies show that this style of
workout normally brings about a bigger endorphin hit in
less time than the long, slow, steady state cardio workouts.
The workouts can take the form of quick 25 minute cardio
interval routines, where the most tedious part is the warm
up and cool down.
Another option is your traditional circuits style routines,
a series of exercises done intensively, each one for 30
seconds, then taking a short rest as you move on to the
next exercise. Not only are these workouts fun,
you’ll burn plenty of calories during and after just
a 30 minute workout.
The third option comes in the form of bodyweight,
multi-muscle, multi-dimensional exercises done at an
intensity and tempo that will exhaust the muscles in your
body quickly. Exercises like squats, lunges, step ups, push
ups, bodyweight rows and pull ups (Notice I didn’t
say crunches or sit ups, avoid wasting your precious
workout time on exercises that really don’t help that
much. The reasons… OK that’s for another
article)
You can set yourself a great workout that is done in 40
minutes with these exercises, all giving you the endorphin
rush to boot too!
Many of our clients report a rush of energy and actual
enthusiasm when they come to do their workouts! One such
client, a particularly stressed and sedentary IT
contractor, who really despised the thought of working out
at the end of the day, started appearing in the Gym more
and more frequently, until I started seeing him there EVERY
evening! I questioned him on his new found enthusiasm, he
said “I still don’t relish the thought of
coming to do my workouts, but I get one hell of a kick out
of finishing it!!”
So you see there is a solution to your lack of energy and
motivation, there truly is a “natural” high
from getting short-intensive workouts done. Yes it is tough
making the first step, but get yourself in your local gym
from tomorrow and get a safe and legal chemical high from a
quick and hard workout.
Enjoy…
Tim
----------------------------------------------------
Tim Goodwin is a fitness professional specializing in help
the busiest people achieve more with their amateur sporting
interests, and at the same time ridding them of excess body
fat. Visit http://www.getfit.lu/success.html to get a free
18 page report "How to lose weight even when you are really
busy" containing a full 4 week program which you can start
today!
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