Why Isn't Your Workout Effective?

Whatever your fitness goals are, whether you want to lower your heart rate or you’d much rather build up your strength, you can make some pretty easy mistakes. Lots of people can mean well, and workout out 3 to 4 times a week, but nothing is really happening as a result. Why is that? 

Well, your fitness routine is often only as effective as your commitment to it, and in understanding where you’re going wrong with your workout, you’ll be able to see the results you want much, much sooner. So, without further ado, here are the most common reasons behind workout inefficiency, and what you can do to prevent this from becoming a problem!

You’ve Been Working Out The Same Way For Too Long

Working out in the same way, for the same amount of time, for weeks and months on end is not going to do you any favors. You’ve got to push yourself a little, and prevent your muscles from reaching a ‘plateau’. They’ll simply adapt to what you’re doing, and you won’t notice any more gains until you step things up a little. That can be via timing, intensity, or doing something completely different. 

You’re Not Supplementing Your Routine

If you’re trying out a workout routine and you’re not doing anything else to focus on your health and fitness, you’re already setting off on the wrong foot. Exercise, at its core, is part of one big system, and being able to address all parts in your quest to build muscle or shed a few pounds is essential. 

But what are you missing out on? Well, you’re probably not supplementing your routine enough. It has no support, and thus you’re noticing minimal results. 

For example, it’s why a lot of strength builders down the gym will drink shakes made from a protein concentrate, and why it’s recommended to really pack out your plate during meal times when you’re working out. Sure, you’re trying to lose weight, but don’t let your body go hungry - that’s the opposite of what you need to do here. 

Your Form Isn’t the Greatest… 

Maybe you’re working out in the wrong way? Maybe your form is off, and you’re not getting the benefit of the sets you’re doing because you’re not targeting the right muscles? It can happen easily, and it happens a lot more often than you’d think. 

Without knowing how to properly move, you can injure yourself, cause yourself to feel stiff and sore the morning after, and simply not feel the benefit at all. 

But how can you improve on this? Watch a few videos, follow a few tutorials, even work with a personal trainer down the gym, if you can book a time slot! It’ll benefit you in the long run, and it’ll certainly beat back those workout woes you’re feeling. 

Your workout might not be effective right now, but not for much longer! What do you do to switch up your workout routine? Share it in the comments below!

And until next time...

Stay Curious!

Don't Let COVID Bring You Down, Get Back To Travelling ASAP

With some of the world now starting to come out of the pandemic, meaning that it’s time to start resuming life as normal in most cases. With Melbourne still in lockdown, it can be challenging watching others around the world start to go on adventures again. It may feel like this lockdown will go on forever but that doesn't mean you can't start planning the great escape once we can finally leave our 5km radius!

Of course, those who test positive for COVID still need to self-isolate to help contain the spread, and people travelling should continue to wash their hands and wear a face mask. Other than that, it’s time to get things going again, and one of the things that a lot of people have missed is travelling. In this article, we’re going to look at how to make this work, so keep reading to find out more.

Make The Plans

First, you need to make the plans. You need to search online for the best flights for the best price, then you need to look at accommodation for the duration of your stay, think about who is coming with you or whether you would rather go on your own and so on. It’s a lot of planning, but it needs to be done. Once you have made the plans, you are going to be free to enjoy the time up until then, getting excited to get back into travelling mode.

Double and triple check everything to ensure that you have got everything you need booked. The last thing that you need is to get to your destination, only to realise that you don’t have everything sorted.

Budget It In

Make sure that you are consulting your budget before you book anything though. You can’t be spending money that has already been allocated for something else, as this is really not going to help you. Once you have budgeted in all the usual expenses, you then need to add on some spending money. We recommend working out how much you think the duration is going to cost roughly, and then splitting it evenly into the amount of days that you are there. This way, you always have some spending money, and if you don’t spend it all the previous day, it can roll over.

Explore Your Heart Out

Now that the planning and money is all sorted out, you are free to go and explore your heart out. Go places that you have never been before, and if you have been to the destination previously, find somewhere new to go while you’re there. There is never going to be a shortage of places that you can explore and learn about, so get back to it now. It will all be worth it when you are back doing the thing that you love, making yourself happy with life for the first time since COVID.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that you can do in order to get back to travelling. There is no reason for COVID to keep you down any longer, as long as you are going to take the proper safety precautions. We hope that you have a fantastic time, and that travelling again is everything you have been hoping for.

What are you doing to help beat the quarantine blues? Where will you travel first once restrictions are lifted?

And until next time...

Stay Curious!

Tips for Mentally Recovering From a Sports Injury

Whether you’re an athlete or just enjoy working out, an injury can be a real pain when you have to spend countless hours of physical and mental work behind the scenes. Amateur sportspeople will often not see this when they face struggling with an injury. 

When injured, people can feel isolated, frustrated, anxious, and depressed meaning that their mental health is severely impacted as a result. If you’re injured and out of commission while battling doubts, fear, low self-esteem and confidence issues, you may wonder if you’ll ever get to feeling like yourself again. Here are some of the things you could be doing to make your life easier while in recovery. 

Try to Think Positive 

When we are faced with big life challenges, our minds can often get clouded with negative thoughts. Of course, ‘thinking positive’ is a lot easier said than done when it comes to being able to change your entire mindset, but some people find that positivity can come through simple measures such as having a mantra written somewhere. Having it written down somewhere you will see it frequently will enable you to be able to read it or repeat it when you start to feel those feelings of self-doubt creeping in and sabotaging you.

Feel Those Feelings 

It is natural to feel disappointed by your inability to participate in a sport if it is a big part of your life. You’re likely missing the people you train with, as well as the rush you get from being active or achieving something new within your sport. 

Only you know the feeling you get from taking part in your sports—so when it’s no longer available to you, it becomes a loss that you might grieve. 

Recognizing your feelings is one of the first steps to managing them, owning them and moving through them.

Get Help and Support When You Need It 

Every single world-class athlete gets to an elite level of their game with a whole load of help. In the same way that you may go for physio for your body, seeing a therapist or coach can act as a helpful motivation to keep you in the right mindset.

You would never feel ashamed of going to see a physiotherapist for the pain in your body, so seeing a therapist for the pain in your mind is just as, if not more important.

Know That You Are In Control 

Injuries can often make us feel powerless. While there are many things beyond your control as you recover from an injury, there are certain conscious choices to be made such as taking the right amount of rest and only pushing yourself when it feels 100% right. Taking ownership of your situation means that you can insure that your injury doesn’t have power over you. You are in control. 

It’s not possible to anticipate the obstacles that you will face should an injury occur. However, whether you are training or resting, you should always do yourself to be the best you can be. 

And until next time...

Stay Curious!

The Biggest Myths About Mental Health

Mental health is a field surrounded by controversy. That’s because, unlike most diseases, you can’t easily dissect someone’s brain and point to something and say “there’s the anxiety” or “there’s the depression.” 

Because of this, the field of mental health is rife with mythology. Even practitioners admit that a lot of what they do feels like hocus pocus. Because mind and body aren’t the same thing, they struggle to come to effective clinical diagnoses, even with all their modern instrumentation. 

In this post, we take a look at some of the myths that currently dominate thinking about mental health and then dispel them.