(BPT) – Any form of exercise benefits your body, and you don’t have to be an elite athlete to experience those benefits. Just moving your body impacts your muscles, lungs, heart and brain – in other words, your entire body.
“The moment you decide to get up and move, your body is working. Any movement positively impacts your health,” says Dana Ryan, director of Sports Performance, Nutrition and Education at Herbalife Nutrition. “Exercising can increase muscle, improve your mood, your brain function and overall health, and leads to better sleep.”
Exercise demands more from your body, so you should fuel your body before, during and after every workout. Here are tips for supporting your wellness and recovery every time you’re active.
1. Prepare for your workout
Your workout starts before you even get moving. Whether you’re hopping on an exercise bike, joining a fitness class or going for a walk, preparing your body from the inside is extremely important. In addition, transitioning from sitting to exercising demands a lot from your body, so you need to support this transition with good nutrition.
Prep before you break a sweat with a pre-workout drink – but not just any drink. Consuming caffeine and nitric oxide precursors before exercise can help you get ready. A great way to get these is by drinking Herbalife24 Prepare, one of the three sports nutrition products included in the Herbalife24 Trial Pack.
2. Warm up
It’s not uncommon to want to forgo your warm-up, but starting your workout “cold” can lead to injury. About 15-30 minutes after your pre-workout drink, begin warming up your body. This allows your body to start increasing your oxygen circulation and core temperature. Take 5-10 minutes to do light stretching and then begin moving.
As your oxygen and blood begin flowing more, it helps your muscles safely transition from rest to exercise more efficiently to maximize your workout.
3. Fuel your workout
As you increase your intensity during your workout, your body needs more fuel. While carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap, the body needs them for fuel. During high-intensity interval training, you spend time in an anaerobic state when your body doesn’t get as much oxygen as it needs, so your body can only use carbs to produce all that energy.
Staying hydrated by drinking water during your workout is a good idea, but if your workout is high intensity or exceeds 30 minutes, sports drinks that deliver carbs and electrolytes (that you lose when you sweat) can support your top performance.
A good option is Herbalife24 CR7 Drive, formulated with 320mg of vital electrolytes to enhance hydration, brain-fueling glucose, and an easy-to-digest carbohydrate blend to help fuel your active lifestyle.
4. Cool down
Toward the end of your workout, you need to give your body time to slow down. Reduce your intensity gradually, restoring normal breathing and heart rate slowly so you won’t feel dizzy or lightheaded. Then stretch your muscles to lower the risk of injury, promote blood flow and reduce stress on the heart and other muscles.
As part of your post-workout routine, provide nutrition for your body for recovery*, specifically with protein. For example, Herbalife24 Rebuild Strength comes with 24 grams of protein per serving, along with branched-chain amino acids to support muscle growth* and L-glutamine to promote immune function and muscle repair*, which makes it a great post-workout shake supplement. Also, while you are producing energy, your body also produces free radicals, but you can consume antioxidants to combat damage from these free radicals by adding a handful of berries to your protein shake.
Combine nutrition with exercise
“Nutrition is never separate from workouts,” adds Ryan. “Consuming protein and other nutrients, combined with strength training and other forms of exercise, helps you build muscle and stay active at any age.”
Incorporating exercise and healthy nutrition into your daily routine is essential as you begin your new journey to a healthier lifestyle.
For more helpful tips on how to get started visit Herbalife.com, where you can find helpful articles related to exercise, proper nutrition and recipes.
* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
