The January Gym Rush

So, Christmas is over and we've all eaten too much. Don't feel too guilty about it, as I think it's the one time of the year where you should be able to enjoy yourself for a few days and relax on what you eat and do. I still threw in a few push-ups and body squats myself, but this was more to give my metabolism a small boost before enjoying all those Christmas treats...

After Christmas comes the New Year which also brings a 101 New Year resolutions. It's a fair bet that a big chunk of these will involve fitness and it's no surprise that new memberships for gym's are at their highest in January. Great for gyms as aside from the new member numbers before the end of the tax year, after 1 or 2 months most of these new members will stop going to the gym via a number of excuses. What's surprising is a lot of them won't cancel their membership so the gym owners can sit back collecting the money. They hardly chase people up in case they jog the memory and the person they called decide to cancel their membership.
The biggest problem comes to long term gym users, the men and women who use the gym week-in, week-out.

For 4 to 6 weeks we see people who have no idea what their doing, attempting to use gym equipment they have probably never even seen before. A few will have paid extra money for some sessions with a personal trainer but even then, I've seen some really bad trainers just give the out a few exercises and hand out a long list of cardio machines to use. This way they can stand and talk to their client while collecting money which frankly they don't deserve. The new member doesn't know any better and will think this is the right way to go - endless, boring cardio and a few weights thrown in here and there. It's no wonder the numbers of people using the gym go into a decline after February.

A few will walk around with a few pages torn from a fitness magazine trying to copy the routines given (I must admit, this was me some years back). At least they have a routine, but as no one has shown them how to do each exercise (and they hardly ever ask anyone) they also soon get bored and you never see them again. The magazine routines also nearly always involve the heavy use of weight machines which as discussed in a previous blog aren't great to say the least, and can end up causing more harm then good.

The new members who I take an interest in are the one's who will start from scratch using free-weights and will concentrate on form before trying to lift anything heavier - this tell's you that they have taken the time to at least do some proper research. They won't be trying to show off to the opposite sex and they won't be rushing through everything. These are the people who will be taking the time to learn the moves and will even ask other gym users for advice - a few times now this has happened to me and while I'm no expert, it feels good when someone asks for your help.

Another thing to look out for are people who will add weight and mix up their routines. This stops them becoming bored, will allow them to use different muscles and some will say even confuse your muscle. Regardless of what happens, you'll be making your muscle work harder to adapt which will result in your body becoming stronger and being able to cope with what you throw at it next time.

But whatever you do, you must make progress, be it with the size of the weights your lifting or the time you complete a circuit or distance in. Without challenging both mind and muscle you won't reap the benefits of the workout.

If you do see someone new at the gym then take the time to say hello and even offer to help if you want - their bound to be nervous and remember, you were the newbie once...!
Talk soon,
Dan

A bad day at the gym.

We all have bad day's at work - you know from the start that it will be one of those days and that no matter how hard you try, it just isn't going to work out. At the end of the day you can look back over how things went - did I do something different? Was I well rested? Was it my fault?

By looking back over what you may have done wrong or what you could've done differently, you'll be better prepared for next time.

The same can happen at the gym. I go before work and normally I'm ok. But this morning, I just didn't feel 'right'. I've felt this before and I've still gone, as once I get in the gym, I feel like "well I'm here so I may as well do something" and normally when this happens, I end up having a great workout.

However, today was different. No matter how much I tried to fire myself up, I just couldn't. I also felt weak and tired and had no energy in my arms. I shuffled about for 25 minutes but in the end just gave up, had a shower and went to work.

So how come I felt like this? My sleep wasn't that great last night but I still got a solid 6 hours. Yesterday I had a day off work and went to visit a friend and then spent some time playing Video Games, so I didn't do anything stressful.

I was doing circuit training this morning which I don't normally do, but then I also did some circuit training on Wednesday and although I felt shattered afterwards, I wasn't anymore tired then I normally am after a workout.

The only thing that did spring to mind was that I hadn't eaten as much as normal yesterday, or all week to be honest. All I had was some fruit and a protein shake for breakfast, a ham & tomato sandwich at my friends as well as a small piece of chocolate (the guilt!), another shake when I got home and a main meal in the evening which had veg, chickpeas, potatoes and garlic in it. This isn't much by anyone standards, but when you train hard it's pretty poor.

People worry that they have to eat less to lose weight but without food, you won't have the fuel to train. Train hard and you grow bigger muscles, which in turn means your metabolism gets a boost. This then means you can eat more, train harder and fuel even bigger muscles. Obviously you need to remember to eat as cleanly as possible (with a few treats allowed here and there within reason), but without fuel you simply can't function - not in the gym, at work or at home.

So I'm going to go over my diet and see what can be improved. My breakfast recently has just been a protein shake and some fruit and while this seemed to be ok in the short-term, I'm feeling that maybe I have to add more. Actually, I know I should add more.They do always say that breakfast is the most important part of the day and it's true, as it fuels you for the day ahead. A good breakfast will also stop you snacking.

So I'm going to start having scrambled eggs with tomatoes and re-introduce bread back into my diet, but only for the morning. The rest of the day I'll stay on lean meats, veg and a few pieces of fruit, along with one or two protein shakes. Hopefully the carbs from the bread/toast and the protein from the eggs will give me the morning fuel that I currently seem to be lacking.

Why eggs? Because their a great 'super food'. They keep you fuelled for longer then cereal's, are a great source or protein (7.5g per egg), can help you lose weight by keeping you satisfied longer and can also help with brain and memory developments. Their also cheap - you can pick up a box of 6 with added Omega 3 for about £1.80. You can also boil them for a quick and easy breakfast.

If you feel yourself becoming tired more often, then take the time to have a look at your diet. Even the most smallest of changes could have a big effect.

And if you have a bad day, don't worry - there's always tomorrow...

Talk soon,

Dan

How a notebook could be the missing key to you gaining muscle.

If I was to take you to the gym, I can guess you'll probably (and hopefully...) bring the following: good training shoes, clean kit, a bottle of water and a clean towel. What I can bet you won't bring though, is a notebook and pen. Yet this could be just what you need to breakthrough and take your training to a new level.


You train hard but are you doing the same reps and lifting the same weight as a month ago? How much extra weight can you now lift since last year? The answer is you probably don't know. And if you don't know this, then how do you know if all that hard work and sweat has been worth it?


By writing down everything you do in the gym, you can see what increases you have made and what needs to be worked on. It can also motivate: you don't feel like working out today yet look at your notebook and see how you've already increased your Deadlift by 20kg - that alone should motivate you to try lifting that next extra couple of kg.


It also allows you to review your workout afterwards. Sometimes write down a few words to describe how you feel. Maybe you didn't lift as much as last week so what have you done differently in that time? Maybe you haven't eaten enough or you didn't get enough sleep - next time you train, you can try to rectify this.


You can also see exactly how much you need to lift to be stronger then last time.


You may get some strange looks in the gym, but have the last laugh knowing that your the one who has made progress.


Talk soon,


Dan