Are you spending too much time at the gym?
30 12 2007
The western world has been hit with a recent burst of fitness frenzy. Gymnasiums are now more profitable than ever, with people lining up to use treadmills and resistance equipment. Personally, I used to train for 45 minutes a day at the gym every other day. I have since moved my training outdoors and have not looked back. However, how much time should we be spending at the gym?
I believe exercise is like anything else, and requires both efficiency and moderation. If you are spending hours on exercise every day, then you need to ask yourself: “why?”. The purpose of exercise is to make you feel healthy, to have more energy and to look better. Unless you are training for a movie role, or need to lose weight quickly due to blood pressure, you may well be wasting a large portion of your day at the gym. Please don’t misunderstand me, I think going to the gym for 2 hours is better than not going at all, but if your workouts are taking longer than an hour, perhaps you are not using that time efficiently.
A close friend told me once that he spends 2.5 to 3 hours at the gym on the weekend. This is just crazy. The body begins to fatigue after approximately 45 minutes and any intense exercise beyond this point can cause muscle damage. It is easy to believe that more is better, but this is really not the case. Your best bet is small but regular training sessions.
Spending your life in the gym hurts you in two ways:
- You are working overtime for a body that you will never be able to maintain with age.
- You are using time that could otherwise be spent more productively.
By all means, schedule a workout everyday. But keep your training efficient and squeeze as much into 45 minutes as possible. Rather than walking around the gym for 3 minutes after each set, work out another part of your body. If you have ever paid a qualified personal trainer who makes good use of his or her time, they will almost always have the trainee working out another part of their body rather than sitting around.
Here are some tips to save time at the gym:
- Have a schedule.
Plan exactly which exercises you will do ahead of time. Preferably, have this written on paper as a reminder - especially if you are just starting out.
- Do not wait for equipment to become available
The same muscle group can almost always be exercised by using different equipment. Do not stand around waiting for equipment. If all of the bench presses are busy, grab some dumbbells and improvise. If the treadmills are busy, skip rope. Your time is too valuable to spend time standing around.
- Do not rest entirely. Instead, pad your resistance training with cardio.
This will increase the intensity of your training and save you time. While training my legs with weights, I would often bring my boxing gloves to the gym with me to punch the bag for 3 minutes in between sets. Another alternative to mixing cardio with resistance training is to train another muscle group while one is resting. So if you’re training your arms and you need to rest, switch immediately to training legs. A bit of caution though, if you exercise individual muscle groups on separate days, you are better off with doing cardio during your rest periods.
- Train alone.
I know that this counters the usual advice of having a training buddy. Though keep your goal in mind. If your aim is to have a high intensity and efficient training session, then you need to be focussed and uninterrupted. I am all for social interaction, but you are better off having an intense training session and having more time with your friends outside of the gym.
- Fill your portable music player with high tempo music.
Music can be like a drug. Have you noticed how much easier it is to accidentally go over the speed limit when you have a fast song playing in your car radio. Use the power of strong music to psych you up, push hard and run fast.
Popular gyms now play their own music on their speakers. However, if you want a strong fast-paced workout, I suggest you bring your own music. Gyms will never play Megadeth - yet this may be exactly what you need to kick your efficiency to the next level.
- Bring a water bottle
Every time you need to walk away from your exercise to a water fountain, you are wasting time. Instead fill up your bottle ahead of time. This will give you no excuse but to have a quick sip and get right back into another exercise.
- Change and shower at home (if possible)
If you go to the gym on your way to work, then this will not apply in your situation. However, if you can change at home beforehand and shower at home after your workout you will definitely save time here. At home, everything is in its place. Your shampoo and shower gel are ready, you know exactly how to get the water at the right temperature, your clothes are ready, and most importantly, you don’t have to worry about locking things up for security.
Use these tips to trim your 2 hour training sessions down to under an hour. You will be surprised how effective your training will be. Remember the results you get from fitness training are a result of intensity and exercise choices rather than “training for a long time”. There are more important things in life than wasting your valuable time sitting around in a gym. Now get out there and grab an intense workout! (Don’t forget your water bottle).
Great article! I am a personal trainer in New Zealand and have seen so much time wasting in gyms. Long and ineffective training sessions also hold up the training equipment for the rest of us.
Good advice, but what if someone enjoys being at the gym? As long as they aren’t hurting their bodies and enjoy the time there, I say stay as long as you wish.
“The body begins to fatigue after approximately 45 minutes and any intense exercise beyond this point can cause muscle damage.”
While this is a good article with a good point (that you may be more efficiant in your time) the above statement is a load of….. lies.
Sprint for 200m and you get fatigue. Walk for an hour, and you might still be able to go on. There is no book or study anywhere what says 45 mins, then stop. I think this is a case of common sense. I am training as a physio, and I have to learn alot about exercise. If you want to train endurance, try keeping a heart rate about 160. That should tire you in about 40 mins. But to train beyond this is not neccearily dangerous.
Of course, muscle damage is possible. Just as it is possible under 45 mins. You may be referring to the fact that your muscles tear during exercise. However, these tears are microscopic and are a vital part of improving you fitness.
This sounds quite rude but I dont know how else to state it.
I would ask you not to give out advice like the quote above. People believe what they read. And I think people should talk to a trained individual when it comes to processes of the body. Otherwise it can be dangerous. This is just something I believe in, as I have seen many people go by word of mouth advice (or internet advice) and can damage themselves quite effectivly.
Good point, though. Reminds me of the old Cheaper by the Dozen movie.