How to Make a Hype Workout Stick? Part 1 – Educating Yourself
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This is part one of a three part series on making a fitness regime stick! Please see my last post on defining a hype workout here
So the first step to turning your favorite hype workout into a lifestyle is all about educating yourself. Here’s what I mean:
Eating Healthy
The first thing I did back in 2014 after my complete flop with BBG was to reach out to one of my friends who happens to be a nutrition nut and ask her what I should be eating. She told me about these magical particles that make up your food called macros. Many of you who are fitness gurus, feel free to skip this portion but for the rest of you that have no idea what a macro even is here’s a summary:
Macronutrient (aka macro) as defined by Webster’s medical dictionary: “a substance (such as protein, carbohydrate or fat) required in relatively large quantities for growth, energy, and health.”
Basically, these macros determine the nutrient density of the food you each and can tell you whether you’re eating well or not. Eating the right macro split not only can be healthier for you overall but will absolutely change the amount of energy you have for the better! Say bye-bye to hangry you!
Now if you’re not as lucky as me with basically a nutritionist for a friend, how do you find the balance of macros that are right for you? There are all sorts of tools out there, my favorite being from body building.com, you can also google macro calculators. But BEWARE – the first time you calculate your macros you will likely (a) have to get used to the types of food your eating and the amount of food your eating and (b) need to be willing to keep an open mind and feel comfortable changing your macros. These puppies are not set in stone. Even changing your break down by 5% could change how you feel on a day – to -day basis! (for more info on how to start this process see my series on how to hone your macros, the first part is here) I would also recommend using myfitness pal after you’ve done the initial research to help you count calories and stick with your macros.
Workout Styles
While trying a workout regime, it’s important to look for patterns. For example with BBG, there are usually 3 resistance days, one rest day, and 2-3 cardio days every week. This is a very similar structure to most workout regime’s built for women looking to become lean. Based on this knowledge I’m able to create my own program and structure it similarly to these other regimes. I did an experiment during my most recent go-round with BBG and added twice as many cardio days (so I was working out twice as long on resistance days.) Specifically, I wanted to see if this had an impact on the BMI and overall look of my body. Interestingly enough, Kayla’s guide advises against this, so naturally, I wanted to try it to see if I could up my cardio. Though I did see a noticeable difference there were some serious drawbacks. Working out large muscle groups repetitively and extensively is extremely dangerous and sure enough, guess who got Bambi legs!
Just like this poor girl…
Or my personal favorite – Barney Stinson from HIMYM (How I Met Your Mother is like the best show in the whole wide world.. drop everything and binge watch it now!)
Resources
Make sure during workouts to use the internet to look up how to do exercises if you aren’t sure. Or if your app is fancy like BBG’s Sweat app or Bodybuilding.com, it will have built-in videos! But I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen one day in the gym doing an exercise the wrong way and then come in the next day with a knee brace!
As always, thanks for reading!
Love,
Francesca Nicole
