Health
Best Pre Workout Routines for Every Day
When talking about fitness routines, you may credit your weight loss and muscle development to the gym. However, the gym is only a single factor and the things you do before and after also matters.
If you know exactly what you need to do before heading into the gym and after you get home, you can tweak your routines with the help of a personal training booking software to get the maximum effects and progress.
Experts say that the exercises are the easy part. You may lift some weights, run, jog, walk, or bench press for an hour, and this is only 4% of your 24 hours. The things that you do in the remaining 23 hours also matter. Know more about the benefits of exercise on this page here.
You may want to practice good sleeping habits, customize your nutritional needs and do rituals to ensure that you recover speedily. Some of the things that you can do to prepare and maximize your results are the following.
What to Do Before and After your Workouts
1. Get Enough Rest and Quality Sleep
Before you start anything, you need to ensure that you have appropriately rested and had a great good night’s sleep. This way, you can keep your hunger hormones at their normal levels, and you have more energy throughout the day. After all, you wouldn’t want to spend all of your time exercising only to undo your efforts by overeating afterwards.
It’s essential to get at least 7 hours of sleep at night or 6 if the schedule is very hectic. The body should feel rested, and exercising should give you more energy. Set boundaries and avoid electronics if possible before going to bed. Good sleeping habits are important after work as the muscles will have time to recover.
Many fitness enthusiasts also emphasise that finding the right balance of training, recovery, and daily nutrition can make a big difference in consistency and gains. For those curious about how structured supplementation fits into a holistic routine, resources like Evogen Nutrition offer educational insights into performance-focused nutrition that can complement smart pre-workout habits.
2. Drink Plenty of Water
Water is very crucial to one’s overall health and wellness. Proper hydration is critical in any wellness routine because sweating makes you lose water. Energy levels are also high if you practice adequate hydration. Drink water whenever necessary and avoid sugary beverages if possible.
For semantics, you may want to look at the relationship between a car and gasoline. Vehicles can’t run or function without oil, and this is the same with the body that’s devoid of water.
The amount of water that you need will vary with your body mass index, age, weight, and a lot of other factors. You should check your urine, and if it’s light, it’s a good indication that you have enough hydration.
3. Refuel with the Right Food
Snacks and other forms of nutrition can help you get ready in no time. One of these is CBD or cannabidiol that can act as your workout supplement coupled with protein shakes and vitamins.
Sweating excessively is very taxing to the body and giving it carbs and plenty of proteins can help it go back in shape. Your overall nutrition is very important because the food rebuilds the muscles, and plenty of stored glycogen can give you the fuel you need for your next day’s routine.
It’s also important to remember that not eating sufficiently after exercising will make you very hungry later in the day. You may feel irritable and tired, and you may likely avoid the next day’s routine if this is the case. You can go easy on everything and pack a snack before going to the gym.
4. Do Dynamic Warm-ups
It’s crucial never to skip your warm-ups, even if you’re doing a full 10-minute bench press. Warm-ups allow your body to adjust to your routines, increase your motions’ range, raise your body temperature, and prepare yourself in general. You won’t likely have to experience injuries and decrease your chances of getting sore when you do adequate warm-up exercises.
When you increase the range of your movements, you’ll be making the most of your routines. This is a way for your body to recruit more muscles during push-ups or doing dumbbells. Dynamic warm-ups are found on the internet, and they are the ones where you are not held in place while moving.
5. Cool Showers are a Relief
Immersion in cold water after sweating can be a relief. It’s not a guarantee, though, that it can make you avoid the soreness, or you can recover quickly afterwards. However, ice baths are helpful when your body seems to be overheating. Coldwater therapy may be associated with quick recovery, and this is beneficial to you.
Besides, a cool shower can help your overheated body go back to the baselines. Many people said that they felt a lot better physically and mentally, so you may want to consider it a post-workout ritual. It’s not necessary to jump in ice baths like others are doing. You just have to set a shower temperature that’s comfortable to you and cool down a little bit. Know more about showering after exercises here: https://www.healthline.com/health/shower-after-workout.
6. Foam Rollers Can Help
Experts’ opinions and preliminary studies have found out that foam rolling can help you recover after a vigorous exercise. You can increase your range of motion in the process as well. The foam rollers can minimize your soreness and enable you to adjust better to your new everyday routine. Increase the blood flow in your tissues while you exercise.
Many athletes and fitness enthusiasts have noticed that foam rolling feels better to their muscles afterwards. It can give you better performance for the next week because the rolling motions can reduce onset muscle soreness delay.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) says the number of Nigerians enrolled in health insurance has risen to more than 22 million.
The Director-General of NHIA, Mr Kelechi Ohiri, said this resulted from the implementation of the mandatory health insurance, which has gained momentum nationwide.
He said this on Wednesday at the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Association of Insurance and Pension Editors (NAIPE) in Lagos.
Mr Ohiri said enrolment had increased to 22.03 million, representing a 35 per cent year-on-year growth, attributing this to stronger collaboration with state social health insurance agencies, ministries, departments and agencies, organised labour, employers, the private sector, and the gradual implementation of the mandatory health insurance provisions of the NHIA Act.
He said that the country had moved beyond policy formulation to delivering measurable improvements in healthcare access, service quality and consumer protection in line with the federal government’s health sector reform agenda.
According to him, Nigeria already has the necessary policies and legislation to achieve Universal Health Coverage, positing that the key challenge was effective implementation.
“The decisive variable is now implementation- consistent, rigorous and accountable execution that converts political commitment into healthcare access for real Nigerians,” he said.
Mr Ohiri said that the transition from the former National Health Insurance Scheme to the NHIA had strengthened regulation, consumer protection, accountability and strategic purchasing, while providing the legal and operational framework for achieving Universal Health Coverage.
He added that improving the experience of enrollees remained central to the Authority’s reform agenda.
According to him, NHIA has strengthened its complaints management system, introduced faster resolution timelines, and intensified compliance monitoring of Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and healthcare providers.
He further added that NHIA had sanctioned facilities that failed to meet the required standards, adding that his organisation had resolved 3,878 complaints, representing an 87 per cent resolution rate, while 95 per cent of the cases were concluded within prescribed timelines.
Mr Ohiri noted that more than N14.2 million had been refunded to enrollees, while non-compliant healthcare facilities had been sanctioned.
He said NHIA had also introduced service standards, including a one-hour treatment commencement target for enrollees requiring urgent care, to improve access to timely and quality healthcare services.
The NHIA boss further disclosed that capitation payments to healthcare providers had been increased by 93 per cent.
He said fee-for-service reimbursements rose by 378 per cent to enable providers to invest more in personnel, equipment and infrastructure.
According to him, 7,592 healthcare facilities have been assessed under the SafeCare quality framework as part of efforts to institutionalise continuous quality improvement across the country.
Mr Ohiri also highlighted interventions targeted at vulnerable groups, including support for more than 48,500 pregnant women, expanded maternal and newborn healthcare services, the Vulnerable Group Fund, and improved access to healthcare for pensioners and retirees.
He said Universal Health Coverage could only be achieved if every Nigerian, regardless of income or location, had access to quality healthcare services.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The new one-hour authorisation response time ultimatum policy introduced by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has received the full backing of SUNU Health Nigeria Limited.
This policy was introduced by the agency to ensure enrollees get prompt approval codes to access care.
Healthcare service providers have been urged to report any Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) that violates this initiative through an email, with the HMO in copy and a timestamp attached as evidence of the request. They may proceed to offer services to enrollees thereafter.
Speaking at the company’s second-quarter Providers’ Forum for the Lagos-Ogun region in Lagos recently, the chief executive of SUNU Health, Dr Moyosore Olomola, expressed optimism that this policy would improve healthcare delivery in the country, especially for enrollees, who crave quality service.
At the event themed Improving Quality and Access to Care Through Stronger Provider Network, and held at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Yaba, Lagos, Mr Olomola reaffirmed the HMO’s commitment to operating within legal and operational frameworks to guarantee adequate care for enrollees.
“Access to care and quality of care remain key priorities in our healthcare systems. We know quite well that deliberate collaboration, strategic partnerships, and a shared commitment to excellence are required to achieve these priorities.
“A strong provider network is doubtless the backbone of any effective healthcare system. It ensures that our mutual enrollees receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place, and at the right price,” Mr Olomola, represented at the programme by the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Dr Faith Nwachi, stated.
He further assured that SUNU Health would strictly adhere to the one-hour authorisation limit, stressing that this aligns seamlessly with one of the organisation’s core values—promptness and its corporate slogan, Humanity is the centre of our initiatives.
In a bid to further improve access and quality of care, SUNU Health also demonstrated its new operational software and Mobile app, aptly named SUNU Legacy.
Also speaking at the event, the NHIA Lagos State Coordinator (Ikeja), Dr Bethuel-Kasimu Abraham, noted that the forum’s expected outcome is to significantly reduce delays in accessing medical care.
Other key expectations include ensuring continuity of care, improving patient outcomes, and strengthening accountability among HMOs.
Addressing specific pain points faced by enrollees, the NHIA Ogun State Coordinator, Mr Dare Adefeso, acknowledged that the agency had received complaints regarding out-of-stock drugs and the discrimination of enrollees by certain providers.
He affirmed that the NHIA is actively addressing these issues, stressing that moving forward, every facility must ensure enrollees are properly catered to regardless of their status, provided they have an active health insurance plan.
Corroborating the long-standing legacy of SUNU Health, the Ogun State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mrs Aishat Tiamiyu, shared that her agency is responsible for public information dissemination and has been enrolled with SUNU Health for over 25 years.
Commending the HMO’s stellar service over two decades, she called for the immediate enrollment of new NOA staff into the scheme.
The Providers’ Forum remains one of the strategic channels employed by SUNU Health to consistently engage healthcare providers, understand their operational challenges, introduce new software updates, and solidify partnerships aimed at fostering premium healthcare delivery across Nigeria.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced the recall of a sexual enhancement product known as WAP Sensual Enhancement Capsules.
In a statement on Monday, the Nigerian agency disclosed that the recall is due to “undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients” in the product, whose country of origin is unknown, but is marketed and distributed online in the US through eBay.
It was emphasised that the recall is being “voluntarily” made by the manufacturer, Best Supplements Best Prices Company.
The detection of the undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients was made by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Laboratory analysis by the US FDA revealed that the product contained undeclared sildenafil, tadalafil, and flibanserin, which were not mentioned on the product label. Such substances may include phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors or related compounds commonly used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, the statement by NAFDAC stated.
Sildenafil and tadalafil are ingredients in FDA-approved prescription drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction.
It was noted that these undeclared ingredients may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs, such as nitroglycerin, and may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Consumers with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates.
Flibanserin is the active ingredient in an FDA-approved prescription drug used to treat low sexual desire in women. Flibanserin can cause drowsiness, sedation, dangerously low blood pressure, and fainting, especially when combined with alcohol.
Consumers have been encouraged to report compromised products (medicines or medical devices) to the nearest NAFDAC office, call 0800-162-3322, or send an email to sf******@********ov.ng.
