Choosing And Using a Gym

Gyms are often a confusing and intimidating environment for people. Where do you start?

• What is the cost? This is no longer a serious issue. Many gym memberships are $10.00-$20.00/month with few restrictions on cancelling. 
• Is the gym convenient? Is it close to your home or work? Is it a pain in the neck to access the gym? Is it tough to park?
• Who are the current members? Can you coexist with them? Are most of them out of shape, or are there some with the work ethic and physique to motivate you? 
• Is the gym clean?
• Being honest with yourself, will you actually use the gym? Will you actually go? The business model of many gyms focuses on inexpensive membership fees and numerous members, many of whom are rarely, or ever, seen in the facility.

Okay, you have joined a gym determined to get lean, strong and healthy. You are a new member, and everybody is looking at you---- or at least, that is how you feel. Hop on a treadmill, walk at a slow pace and get "the lay of the land". But if you feel that treamill will get you lean, you are badly mistaken. Changes in nutrition will get you lean, and exercise will keep you there. 

So you may ask, "Why the Hell am I here?" The answer is:

• To get moving
• To gain strength
• To get healthier
• To feel better
• To maintain weight loss once it occurs

Strength is relatively easy to attain, even for older individuals. That is where the selectorized (weight stack) strength machines shine. Start there. These machines put you in a stable position that enable you to push and pull progressively heavier loads with minimal risk. There is, however, always a

risk of injury. Use the machine correctly; control your motions; and start with very light weights.

Just don't stay with light weights. Increase weight gradually, and safely, over time

Realize this, however. Your strength should increase rapidly, mainly due to increases in neuromuscular coordination (your brain learning to work with your muscles), but muscle growth will lag significantly behind strength gains. But muscle growth will happen. It takes time and effort.

The important point here is this: Get to know your body!!! Is it damaging pain you are feeling, or is it simply discomfort? Strength training can be an exhausting endeavor, particularly in the early stages. There should be no new injuries from a gym workout. If done correctly, the opposite becomes true. You should become more injury free.

As athletes get older, they lose some athletic ability, but they perform smarter. That is you. There is no reason that, down the road, you can't be performing free weight lifts like the strong, lean youngster working out in front of the mirror. You may not be lifting the same weight or looking quite as athletic, but you will feel great being able to just do it. Just increase the workload slowly and progressively. Avoid exercises that may be potentially causing injury, and try substituting other exercises that work the same muscle group.

What about cardio? Long, steady-state cardio sessions on a treadmill or elliptical do not have the fat burning potential that most people think. They do these sessions; expend much energy; look at the pool of sweat deposited at the base of the machine; and think that they have burned untold calories. No, they have not. It is very frustrating. Brief sessions of interval training (alternating high and low levels of exertion) for 12-15 minutes may be a better option overall. 

This only touched on the subject of gyms. The subject of fat loss (Why don't I say weight loss?) is next.