Most of us join a gym at some
point in time but something happens and things don’t ‘workout’ the way you
planned. So what goes wrong? For the sake of this write up, I am referring to
the gym as any form of workout.
Personally speaking, I have been
working out for the past two decades and have been passionate about leading a
healthy lifestyle. When I say this, for me, it’s more of a habit now and I
don’t make much of an effort and push myself to go to the gym. I don’t think I
am an extraordinary guy, exercise to me is like brushing, I do it because I’ve got
used to it and I do it every day.
Having said that, I have seen
people come and go in the gym. Most of them, unfortunately do not last long and
there are reasons as to why that happens and where things go wrong. I am
listing common mistakes made based on my experience of such enthusiastic folks,
who were committed at one point in time but somehow they lost the plot later.
1.
Choosing a gym away from home or workplace
I think the number one mistake people make
is choosing a gym based on its fancy equipments, good looking faces, great
brand name, attractive offers etc. If you are a beginner, all you need is a gym
closer to your home or your workplace. The former is better if you have a
choice. It doesn’t have to be fully equipped, it may just have basic equipments
and decent facilities. Initially, the challenge would always be about hitting
the gym consistently. You don’t want to spend time travelling and get bored in a
few days which is bound to happen- its normal. Don’t go for big brands, they
are all good but you don’t need them right now. You need a gym that is closer
to your home or office, one where you reduce your chances of skipping it. If
you have a gym in your housing or office complex , however basic, go for it
because that’s all you need right now.
2.
Seeking immediate results
I have noticed
that many of us enroll into a gym because there is some event happening a month
down the line or you have your new year of college starting in a few week’s
time . You want to sport that fit look and show off. Not a bad idea but that’s
expecting too much too soon. You should be willing to give yourself time, your
body is not a machine and besides that, exercising is not like a one night
stand, it’s more like a marriage. You should be willing to commit, invest time
to get results. I have met many people who say that they only have only so much
time and they want to know how to get there quickly. I know how long such folks
last in the gym.
3.
Starting weight training too soon
A beginner should stick to basic exercises
initially like pushups, squats, chin ups, abs, stretching, treadmill, walker
etc. Follow a simple routine for a month or so. Aim at increasing your reps,
reducing gaps between exercises, doing variations to move to another level. Don’t
rush into weights.
Unfortunately, people want to start weight
training quickly before realizing that its not going to lead you to a macho
physique right away. One’s body also needs to adapt itself and start responding
to your exercise routine. You may need weights but not in the beginning.
4.
Getting deceived by visible improvements
The thing about gymming is that anyone who
works out for few days would see an immediate improvement in his body, the arms
would feel larger and pumped up, body tighter etc. This would lead one to
believe that his body is responding very well and that within no time, he would
get to a fit body. That’s an illusion you
don’t want to believe. That’s how every body responds and that actually means
nothing. All I can say is that you have a long way to go baby.
5.
Changing gym timings
I think one
needs to really think well and decide the time for a workout. Perhaps, not a
lot of thought goes into this but it’s worth spending time here. In the
beginning, you want to be consistent and not ambitious. Don’t choose 6 am in
the morning when you normally wake up after 8 am just because you are going to
‘make it’ happen. Or an evening time post your office/ work because that’s when
you can work out more. It’s not practical and a recipe for disaster.
Just choose a
time which you know you would be able to make in comfortably without putting in
much effort. You might have to modify your current routine but not majorly and
go out of the way to do this. One of the signs of being on the path to quitting
the gym is when you start changing your workout timings too often. You do it
few times, then frequently and then you don’t do it because anyways you have now
stopped.
6.
Starting with a boom and ending with a crash
Many of us start
enthusiastically and within few days it all fizzles out. The key to this is
start small, never start with a 60 minute workout, start by going to the gym
for about 30 minutes everyday, just make your body get used to it, maintain
this consistency for a month and then increase the time to about 45 minutes and
after another month to 60 minutes. For many, this could appear silly but this
is the way to go in the long haul. Practise being consistent and remember, this
would take time. Remember the saying, what comes up fast goes down faster.
7.
Starting supplements too soon
Remember a beginner doesn’t need
supplements soon, he gets good amount of nutrients through a normal diet to
keep the fire going. You might want to increase your supply of proteins from foods
like eggs, meat, sprouts etc. but no supplements needed right now!
If you want to lose weight, you can curtail
your food intake, eat less sugar and less carbs. If you want to gain weight,
eat more of what you are eating (but not junk food!) Follow these basics and
you would get the desired results when you complement this with a regular workout.
You may want to consume supplements later once your routine gets established
and you want to move to another level which is not earlier than at least 6-8
months depending on your workout levels.
8.
Gossiping in the gym
There are many
time wasters in the gym like other places, who are not there for a good
workout. They have an in satiated appetite for gossip from topics as diverse as
politics, entertainment, local news and just about everything under the roof.
Stay away from them. You might be tempted to join the conversation and before
you know, you would spend a lot of time doing this in the gym and leave with a
false impression that you spent 60 minutes in the gym ‘working out’. At the end
of 3 months, if you don’t get results, you would find an excuse to blame the
gym, the coach or some thing else. Finally, it’s your loss.
9.
Spending time on mobile phone
C’mon, you don’t really need a mobile phone
in the gym, you can spare the cell phone for one hour out of the 24 hours in a
day. Nothing could be as important, just switch it off and make things simple.
If it’s really important, address it before the gym and just switch off for an
hour. In fact, once you have communicated people in your environment that you
don’t carry a mobile phone in the gym, they would adapt themselves. Make that
happen. If you want to carry the phone to listen to the choice of your music,
get an ipod or an MP3 player instead. It’s always tempting to check messages or
respond to calls on the mobile phone when you carry one and believe me, we
waste a lot of time doing this without even realizing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment