Unique Tips to Get You Through a Long Workout

As someone that is health conscious, I try to get to the gym five or six times a week, but with work and meals and all of the day-to-day activities that must be accomplished, sometimes it is just easier to squeeze five to six workouts into two visits to the gym.

When this happens, they end up being long visits to the gym, and long visits to the gym offer a unique challenge. How do you keep up the stamina to make it through an excruciatingly long workout session at the gym and when you are done, how can you recover without leaving yourself feeling beaten for the rest of the day? Having tackeled these issues regularly, I have come up with some ways to make it through these extra long workout sessions at the gym without wasting the rest of my day feeling fatigue from pushing myself so hard. So, here are four unique tips to get you through an extra long workout.

1. Chew gum - This is not intended for those who are accident-prone. Seriously. I do not want to be the cause of any choking incidents. It does pose a slight risk of accidental swallowing, but chewing gum while doing cardio work, such as time on a treadmill or an elliptical machine, keeps your mouth from drying out from all of that heavy breathing, which helps you feel hydrated as you are working out and prevents you from having to stop to go to the water fountain.

2. Make a playlist - Your mp3 player breaks your tunes up by artist, album, genre, and the like, but wouldn't it be nice if you could have all of the songs that pump you up in one place? You can. Build a playlist of your favorite workout songs on your computer and upload it as a workout folder. Then, when you are at the gym, you only have to click it on and let it do the rest for you. This will keep you from having to fumble with your mp3 player while you are on the treadmill.

3. Make it an early visit - Not only is the gym I go to considerably less crowded in the mornings than it is in the afternoon and evening, but I have noticed a considerable difference in the air quality as well. Getting to the gym right after it opens has given it time to air out, and it usually doesn't have that gym stink that seems to linger later in the day.

4. Drink chocolate milk - I have read numerous different bits of advice for what to eat after a workout to get your strength back up, and I've tried most of them. After a long workout (45 minutes or more), I find that I am often exhausted by the time I get back from the gym. I am ready to go to bed, and it is eleven o'clock in the morning! Of all of the foods I've been advised to eat following a hard workout, chocolate milk is the only one I have noticed makes a substantial difference in my energy level. And it tastes good too!

Using these tips, you should be able to have a productive workout if you are having a lengthy session at the gym. And don't forget to drink some chocolate milk when you are done to get those energy levels back up!