Do You Hate Going to the Gym?
I've been hearing this from some of my friends lately. It's kind of sad.
One of my friends says she goes to the gym 3-4 times a week but hates every single minute of it. Another skips quite often because she doesn't like it.
There have been times when I'm not able to peel myself out of my warm, cozy bed or the idea of another hour of sweet, sweet sleep overrides my going to the gym but I have never not gone because I hate the gym itself.
Granted sometimes it's crowded and the music ALWAYS sucks but hate it? Why would you hate it? I like it because of the variety.
My guess is that it's not the gym that they hate but their routine.
Cardio is boring. Very, very boring and most people only do cardio. I'm not sure why this is. To quote Jim Karas from The Business Plan for the Body
Go to any health club. Walk into the cardiovascular room. What do you see? Dozens, maybe hundreds, of people on treadmills, Stairmasters, bikes, elliptical trainers, or other assorted cardiovascular equipment. Notice that a vast majority of these people are overweight. Many of these people spend hours each week on one of these machines or a combination thereof, desperate to lose weight, and firmly believing that all this cardiovascular exercise will burn hundreds, even thousands, of calories and enable them to achieve their goal, weight loss.
Now, go to the strength and resistance room. What do you see? The majority of individuals doing strength and resistance exercises are in vastly better shape. In which room should you spend the majority of your time?
There are a few parts to this. One; strength training isn't boring. Two; it firms you. Three; the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn.
I typically warm up on the treadmill or elliptical but I only spend a maximum of 20 minutes there. It's just to get my blood flowing and my muscles warmed up. Along with some very aggressive rock music this is a good way to wake up. Then it's on to the weights. Before I started the Stronglifts 5x5 program, I just did a variety of the weight machines with pretty good results. Now I'm making more tangible progress in my strength and that makes it even more fun. I also like to throw in a class like Body-Pump or even kickboxing for some variety.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
You can't go to the gym and do the same thing over and over and expect to see new muscles or gains in performance. Maybe your endurance but that's about it. Shaking up your routine on a regular basis is critical for your physique and your sanity.
Please, look up a new workout routine online or find a buddy and adopt their routine for awhile...load your MP3 with some booty shakin' tunes and try something new. I'm sure the gym will be more fun if you do.
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Hey triple R.
I’m actually not a fan of the gym either. Previously I’d hit the gym late at night when it was less crowded so that my routine wasn’t disturbed by standing around waiting for a machine to be free and cleaned. Now I tend to frequent early mornings with the housewives brigade. I like to focus and enjoy my time outside of the gym to be honest. I’m more aroused by how eating correctly builds muscle and reduces fat than I am sitting on a pec dec and knocking out 3X10. At the gym I’m in and out.
I’ve actually seen this same mentality with Jay Cutler. In some of his Youtube vids he looks morbid frankly. He’ll do his thing and just go. Guess when you have been working out as long as he has and tried every routine under the sun, it becomes monotonous or something?
I'm sure after years and years it can be hard to keep it fresh.
I think the gym is more important when your starting out too. Once you are in shape doing the rep counting thing can be expanded to activities that maintain your fitness.
I've discovered that some people are actually grossed out by the gym and that's understandable too.
I guess my thought is, if you hate the gym, find something else to do. Don't just torture yourself with it.
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