Working out is one of the best things you can do for your health and wellbeing. At this time of the year, especially with stay-at-home restrictions, many of us choose to jump into fitness to feel better and work on our health. But, what happens when you don’t know how well your body is prepared for the workout ahead of you?
Fitness readiness is one of the key points for determining your health and guiding you on the way to achieve your life goals.
Preparing your body for workouts is even more important in order to provide it with the resources to deliver the best possible results. We’re bringing you tips on how to ensure your body is in optimal health to get the most out of your workout!
Sleep
Sleep gives your body an opportunity to heal, conserve energy, and repair and build up the muscles that are used during exercising. If we get enough good quality sleep, growth hormone is released, helping your muscles work better and harder.
Sleep is crucial to help our bodies relax and regenerate to continue performing at the highest level.
While it may sound simple to just sleep enough, there’s more to it than that. If you ever woke up tired when you slept enough, make sure to check out how to get better sleep with Ivy.
Hydration
Water is the most important nutrient your body depends on. In order to be hydrated enough during exercising, you need to drink enough water throughout the day, not just when you’re working out. When exercising, your body loses electrolytes through sweat which need to be replenished.
Hydration status has profound effects on both physical and mental performance, and sports performance is thus critically affected. Both overhydration and underhydration – if sufficiently severe – will impair performance and pose a risk to health.
– R J Maughan, N L Meyer, Loughborough University, UK.
If you’re having a hard time remembering to drink enough water, our Spring smart water bottle comes to the rescue. It determines the amount of water you need in a day based on your age, activity level, height, weight, and whether you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.
Healthy Eating
Food is what largely determines the success of a training plan since it’s the fuel for sustaining the functions of your organism. All of us are becoming more conscious and knowledgeable on the benefits of different food groups for various activities, fitness included.
Your post-workout meals should consist of essential macronutrients, easily-absorbed complex carbohydrates, and high-biological value proteins.
You will undoubtedly improve performance and metabolic recovery with the right selection of food throughout the day. Your diet should always consist of the 3 main food groups: protein, carbohydrates, and fats you should have with every meal.
Determining your fitness readiness with Ivy
Our newest wellness tracker Ivy makes caring about your health easy! Its sensors follow you throughout the day and night and show you how active you are, as well as your body’s natural response to activity, sleep, and stress.
Ivy’s brand new “Fitness readiness” feature gives you a visual representation of how well your body is prepared for working out.
Taking into account your cardiac coherence, sleep quality, and duration, as well as an overview of your activity throughout the week, Ivy helps you know how well your body is responding to your self-care efforts.