Wellness

Go for the Gold: 5 Ways to Get More from Every Workout

The Olympics are finally here! And if you’ve been inspired to ramp up your exercise efforts, you’re not alone. 

Especially after being cooped up for more than a year, perhaps you’re one of the many who’s excited to get back to working out. And with added inspiration from the Olympics, your inner champion feels motivated to take things up a notch.

With any exercise effort, you want to see and feel results. You want every single workout to deliver maximum benefits. Luckily, there are simple steps you can take to optimize your performance… including a little-known nutrient that naturally boosts your results.

Workout benefits start with your heart

Your heart is a vital organ. It pumps your blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients to every cell in your body. You rely on your heart for this essential function – and your heart relies on you to keep it in great shape, just like any other muscle in your body.

Exercise strengthens your heart so it can beat more efficiently, delivering more fresh blood with each pump. That helps minimize wear and tear on this muscle. And – even more important – reduces your risk of heart disease, which is still the leading cause of death worldwide.

And along with improving heart health, regular exercise also:

That’s just a partial list of the potential benefits exercise can have for your health. And most of them tie back to improved heart health…

Olympic runners

What’s cardiac output… and why does it matter?

Regular exercise improves your heart health, mainly by increasing your cardiac output. That’s a critical factor because it measures how much oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood your heart pumps every minute. And every cell, muscle, and organ in your body relies on receiving those nutrients and oxygen to function properly.

Cardiac output combines your heart rate with how much blood your heart pumps with each beat (your stroke volume). Better output means your heart doesn’t have to beat as often to deliver all the fresh blood your body needs. So when it comes to your heart, robust cardiac output can mean the difference between strong and healthy or weak and diseased. 

Improved cardiac output is one of the biggest benefits you’ll get from regular exercise… and you want to make sure to maximize this key to optimal health and longevity.

5 Ways to Maximize Your Workout Benefits

Olympic athletes don’t settle for anything less than the best from their workouts… and neither should you. When you put your time and effort into exercise, you want to make sure to get as much  out of it as possible. 

Here are five things you can do to boost the benefits of any workout.

1. Get a workout buddy.

    It’s easier to get motivated and exercise when you’re doing it with a friend. Having an accountability partner makes you more likely to regularly workout. Plus, studies show that exercising with a friend can double your workout consistency and increase workout intensity by up to 188%.

    2. Drink plenty of water. 

      When you work out, you sweat - and you could lose up to 6% of your body weight in liquid in a single session. That can make exercise feel more difficult, lower your performance, and make it harder for your body to recover when you’re finished. You can avoid those potential problems by drinking plenty of water during your workout to replenish those lost fluids.

      3. Listen to music during and after exercise.

        Your favorite music can help get you worked up for your workout. Studies show that listening to music helps you exercise more often and longer. And get this… Once your session is done, listening to calming music improves your post-workout recovery and helps lock in the benefits of your efforts.

        4. Lift some weights.

          While aerobic exercise gets the most attention when it comes to heart health, lifting weights does just as much to keep your ticker in great shape. And it doesn’t take much to get that effect: Lifting weights for less than an hour per week helps reduce your risk of heart disease by up to 70%. Weight training also helps you build muscle, strengthen bones, and increase metabolism so you can get even more out of any aerobic exercise.

          5. Take a high-quality vitamin K2 supplement. 

            If you want to get more out of your workouts without exercising harder, vitamin K2 can help. This little-known nutrient deserves a gold medal for its ability to boost workout benefits. Supplementing with vitamin K2 daily can increase your cardiac output during exercise by up to 12%!

            Other research shows that athletes – especially female athletes – who supplement with vitamin K2 have improved bone health, with a 20% increase of fresh bone cell formation. All it takes to reap these extra exercise benefits is a daily dose of a high-quality vitamin K2 supplement. 

            One caveat:

            Most supplemental forms of K2 fall short in two ways:

            They don’t have the recommended daily K2 dose of 320 mcg... AND they have inferior shelf stability (meaning they’ll quickly degrade in potency the minute they hit the store shelves.)

            To get the most from your K2, make sure that you’re sourcing from a reputable brand that can guarantee stability, and contains the optimal daily dose of 320 mcg.

            Get More From Every Workout with Vitamin K2

            Transform your exercise sessions into Olympic-gold celebrations by supporting your body with Just Thrive Vitamin K2-7.

            Just Thrive Vitamin K2-7 drives heart and bone health with the proven therapeutic dose of 320 mcg per day. And for maximum bioavailability,  Just Thrive Vitamin K2-7 contains critical cofactors such as:

            • Vitamin K1
            • Magnesium
            • Zinc 

            Optimize your physical activity every day with Just Thrive Vitamin K2-7.

             vitamin K2-7