The great gym mistake

The great gym mistake – as I see it, at least – is that everyone is either a bodybuilder or a marathon runner.

In reality, most people are neither.  Most people have little desire to paint themselves orange, squeeze on a tiny pair of posing pants and let others judge who’s the best at …muscles …or something.  And I’d wager that the number of kids who grow up with the dream of going for a 3-hour run is also relatively small.

So why do we train as if these are the only goals in fitness?

Step into any ‘big-box’ gym (in my part of the world, anyway) and you’ll see lines of people religiously putting in their minutes on the treadmill …or the cross-trainer.  Mosey over to the free weights area and the majority will be focussing on a particular muscle group and isolating specific muscles.

“What you training today?”

“Back and bi’s, mate.”

 

 

Lets be clear: although neither really fire me up, I have little issue with either sport.  And actually, the health & fitness industry has a lot to thank the bodybuilding world for.  Bodybuilders have made a significant contribution to our understanding of fat-loss and muscle gain.  If bodybuilding or marathon running is your passion, get after it!

If not, consider that there are other ways to work out.  It frustrates me that running is synonymous with ‘fitness’.  Someone wants to get in shape and the typical first step is to start running.  But if that person is very overweight or doesn’t move very well, is it really the best starting place?

Here’s a game: take a drive around your city or visit your local park.  How many of the runners actually look like they’re running with good posture and healthy mechanics?  More likely you’ll see rounded backs, knees or ankles caving in, and a variety of generally funky running gaits.  What’s that gonna do for you after 10000 reps?

The idea here isn’t to poke fun at runners.  Nor is it to make you feel self-conscious when you go for a jog.  If you love to run, please do.  The idea is that running doesn’t need to be the default option.  In most cases, it probably isn’t the most effective way to train for your goal either.

 

Similarly, if you lift weights, a bodybuilding approach isn’t necessarily the best option for you.  A body part split programme (i.e. training a different body part each day) probably isn’t the most effective approach for someone who trains 3 days a week or less – regardless of their goal.  Isolation exercises such as lateral dumbbell raises or triceps extensions are not the most effective movements for an average person whose goal is fat loss.  Yet, these kind of exercises are amongst the most popular in the gym and, worse, I see personal trainers prescribing them to their middle-aged, overweight, female clients all the time!

 

So what should you do?

Despite my ranting, anything is better than nothing.  If you’re moving your body, that’s a great start.  From there, you definitely want to choose something that you enjoy (at least to some extent!).  You also want to consider your goal.

A forgotten area that you might consider is simply your ability to move well.  Do you have the mobility and stability to do what you want to do in life?  Do you have sufficient strength and coordination in basic bodyweight movements?  If not, what are you heading toward in the future?

If your goal is fat loss, the first step is to improve your eating habits.  And if you’re doing resistance training 3 or fewer times per week, a more effective approach is to workout the whole body in each session – prioritising large movements like squats, lunges and pulling and pushing.

If you ‘just want to be fit and healthy’, those bigger movements will be better use of your time.  Short, intense bursts of cardio might also be a better option than the long slog when it comes to jogging.

If you don’t know where to start, find a good coach and ask for help.

 

BIG IDEA: You’re probably not a bodybuilder or a marathon runner and you probably don’t need to train like one.

TAKEAWAY: Your exercise programme should be effective for your goal (if you have one).  Everybody is busy, so ask yourself if you’re making best use of your gym time.

ACTION STEP: All health & fitness goals are acceptable.  What’s yours?  Identify it, and write it down!

Always Keep Reaching!

Mike