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Making the Most of Your Gym Time
Maximize your gym time by figuring out how you're wasting it.
(Nutricise) — If you often complain that you don't have enough time to go to the gym, it's a good indication that you're wasting time when you're there. It's easy to become a more efficient gymgoer if you can pinpoint how you dillydally and learn to change your ways. Nutricise asked some top trainers how they've seen us squander precious seconds at the gym. Here's what they had to say:
1. We're overtraining. "Some people will take my cardio-kickboxing class and then they'll run on the treadmill for half an hour. They don't realize that they're wasting time," explains Jernell Geronimo, a personal trainer and kickboxing instructor at Gold Coast Multiplex, Crunch, Cutting Edge Fitness and the Windy City Field House in Chicago. "A lot of people think that in order to lose weight, they need to do lots of cardio to burn off those calories, and they do so much they're actually overtraining. Their bodies eventually have to use muscle tissue as an energy source, and the more muscle you lose, the more you increase the chances of creating body fat," adds Jeff Bell, a personal trainer and director of continuing education for World Gyms in New York City.
2. We don't know what we're doing. "Some people just go to the gym and throw weights around for a few hours because they've never learned to exercise properly. They hurt themselves, they become fatigued and they stress their bodies to a point where they start losing connective tissue," says Bell.
3. We take too many breaks. "Some people take big breaks between sets. If you're doing heavy lifting, you should rest between 1½ and 2 minutes after each set. There are techniques, however, that will maximize your time. Switching between opposite muscle groups (one is relaxing while the other one is working) is a method I use to make the most of my time at the gym," says Bell. "A lot of people walk to the water fountain and waste time. I require that my clients bring their own bottle of water," says Michelle Fernandez, a master trainer with New York Sports Clubs in New York City.
4. We socialize. "When people go to the gym at the same time every day, they get to know people, and they eventually start walking around and talking and end up not working out," observes Fernandez.
5. We enjoy the amenities too much. "A lot of people just come to the gym and hang out in the locker rooms and sit in the whirlpool and talk," says Geronimo. Obviously if your goal is to get in shape, that's a big waste of time.
6. We're not versatile. "If you get to your usual machine and someone else is on it, try another exercise that uses the same muscles. If someone is on the seated row, you can do a bent-over dumbbell row. You can always ask someone if you can work in too," says Fernandez. "If you're waiting for a class to start," she adds, "don't just stand around. Warm up on an elliptical trainer or a stationary bike."
Maximize your gym time by figuring out how you're wasting it.
(Nutricise) — If you often complain that you don't have enough time to go to the gym, it's a good indication that you're wasting time when you're there. It's easy to become a more efficient gymgoer if you can pinpoint how you dillydally and learn to change your ways. Nutricise asked some top trainers how they've seen us squander precious seconds at the gym. Here's what they had to say:
1. We're overtraining. "Some people will take my cardio-kickboxing class and then they'll run on the treadmill for half an hour. They don't realize that they're wasting time," explains Jernell Geronimo, a personal trainer and kickboxing instructor at Gold Coast Multiplex, Crunch, Cutting Edge Fitness and the Windy City Field House in Chicago. "A lot of people think that in order to lose weight, they need to do lots of cardio to burn off those calories, and they do so much they're actually overtraining. Their bodies eventually have to use muscle tissue as an energy source, and the more muscle you lose, the more you increase the chances of creating body fat," adds Jeff Bell, a personal trainer and director of continuing education for World Gyms in New York City.
2. We don't know what we're doing. "Some people just go to the gym and throw weights around for a few hours because they've never learned to exercise properly. They hurt themselves, they become fatigued and they stress their bodies to a point where they start losing connective tissue," says Bell.
3. We take too many breaks. "Some people take big breaks between sets. If you're doing heavy lifting, you should rest between 1½ and 2 minutes after each set. There are techniques, however, that will maximize your time. Switching between opposite muscle groups (one is relaxing while the other one is working) is a method I use to make the most of my time at the gym," says Bell. "A lot of people walk to the water fountain and waste time. I require that my clients bring their own bottle of water," says Michelle Fernandez, a master trainer with New York Sports Clubs in New York City.
4. We socialize. "When people go to the gym at the same time every day, they get to know people, and they eventually start walking around and talking and end up not working out," observes Fernandez.
5. We enjoy the amenities too much. "A lot of people just come to the gym and hang out in the locker rooms and sit in the whirlpool and talk," says Geronimo. Obviously if your goal is to get in shape, that's a big waste of time.
6. We're not versatile. "If you get to your usual machine and someone else is on it, try another exercise that uses the same muscles. If someone is on the seated row, you can do a bent-over dumbbell row. You can always ask someone if you can work in too," says Fernandez. "If you're waiting for a class to start," she adds, "don't just stand around. Warm up on an elliptical trainer or a stationary bike."
Very informative, educational, and oh so true!!