If you want to get fit, lose weight or tone up chances are that you’ve already identified your local gyms. That’s all well and good, but knowing where the local gyms are, or even joining one is only the start. You need to attend, and regularly too.
However in today’s busy world, you are probably already struggling a little to find yourself some free time, and if you’re not careful you’ll soon sacrifice those things that you enjoy the least – which could include the gym! The worst thing you can do is to subscribe to a membership and then never attend, that makes no sense – you’d be paying to not go! So here we’ll try and help by looking at how to make the most of the gym and the time that you are there. You’re more likely to stick at it if you start to see results sooner, and that’s a good thing. So if you’re feeling motivated and intent on making a change, read on to see ways in which you can make that change stick.
Membership
Joining a gym alone is never going to help you achieve your goals. You need to go. At the same time you need to be working hard whilst you are there. For example you may be at the gym for two hours at a time, three or four times a week which sounds great, but if most of that time is stood waiting for others to get off the machines that you want to use, or spent chatting to people, or worse still on social media talking about the workout you should be doing, then you are wasting your time and moreover your membership. Don’t start off by spending lots of money and thereafter regretting it in the short to medium term, the only pounds you’ll be losing are from your pocket! To get the most from your membership, you need to use the gym to your advantage, and here are some ideas on how to do just that…
Right And Wrong
Not all gyms are created equal! There are good gyms and bad gyms, gyms that are suitable for your needs and others that are simply there to relieve you of your hard earned money. Choosing the right gym for you is the first and perhaps most important step to getting the most from it. Don’t be fooled by the hard sell, promotional deals, or something that seems too good to be true. Gyms are businesses and they need to make money. Their primary source of income is the membership subscriptions and so they have become adept at selling them. Think about your own needs, timescales and priorities and always be prepared to walk away. There will always be another gym to train at. If you’re not sure at first, rather than subscribe to a full membership perhaps opt for a pay as you train option letting you try as many gyms as possible before you pick the one you like best. You could even ask for some complimentary day passes on the basis that you are likely to sign up to full membership if the gym is suitable to you. With that potential new member coming on board, many gyms will give you the chance to train for free at least on one occasion.
Sticking to what you always have done is also another potential pitfall. You may be paying an expensive membership but then only using the treadmill. Is that truly worth it, or could you run in the street? Try and get the most out of a gym by using all of the facilities that it has to offer, and if you cannot see the benefit of something then you’ll be paying for someone else to be using it!
To get the most from a gym you need to identify the best gym for you. In order to do this you’ll need to think of these factors?
Goals
What exactly did you consider joining a gym for? If you wanted to lose weight or get fit, then you’ll need a gym with lots of cardiovascular based fitness machines, such as treadmills, bikes, cross-trainers and rowing machines etc. Check out the number of each that is on offer and then see how available they will be at the time that you will be training. If you intend to go after work then before joining visit at that time to see just how busy the gym actually will be. If it looks like you’d have to stand around waiting for a machine to come free, then you are not going to get the most out of your gym!
Location
Is your new gym local, or out of the way? It is widely accepted that the further you have to travel to get to the gym, then the more likely you are to avoid going altogether by making up excuses etc. It is hard to establish new healthy lifestyle habits if you never get round to incorporating them into your routine. You will not gain any benefits from not going to your gym so find one that is convenient to you and your work/home-life.
Try
Like most things in life you’ll never be able to give a fully informed opinion on something until you have given it a try. Not only is this true of the gym itself, but also the classes and equipment within a gym! How do you know that boxing is not for you unless you have tried a class, likewise hitting the weights may seem like a strange plan for losing weight, but muscle mass burns more calories per pound than fat does and so weights should always be included in every person’s plans. You’ll get the most from your gym by using all that it has to offer and then coming to a decision on what best matches your goals. The gym employees themselves should be able to help you too in terms of diet plans, exercise routines and programmes, and if you’re feeling particularly flush then you might even consider a personal trainer – though of course this will involve even more expenditure and again doesn’t guarantee results. Use the gym, the equipment and people in it to your advantage to help you achieve your goals – that should be the basis of any membership plan.
Fear
Everybody has done it. It being entering a gym for the first time. So lose the fear and remember that people will more than likely be concentrating on their own training rather than yours so just get going. Whilst you’re there to train and not make friends, there can be some friendly people there to help if you get stuck – with advice or help etc. Be warned though, most gym goers believe that they are the absolute authorities on most things fitness, so take the advice with a pinch of salt! If you keep at it, pretty soon you’ll be seeing other newbies entering the gym for the first time and smiling to yourself as you remember your journey!
Weights
The benefits of lifting weights are numerous but most people think that they’ll just bulk up. Well if it were that easy we’d all be bodybuilders. It isn’t as you’ll find out, but you should still do resistance training as part of your routine to help you improve your overall physique. It will benefit you in other ways too so don’t ignore it.
You’ve now seen that there is more to getting fit than joining a gym and there is more to working out than just going and repeating the same routines. To get the most from your gym you need to firstly pick the right one for you based on location, equipment and finances etc. Thereafter, look at your goals and how the gym can help you attain the same, taking on board what other people say regarding your training. Finally you need to experiment and try new things from time to time. Not only will this stop your training becoming stale (and therefore more likely to stop) but you may in fact find something new to immerse yourself in that you’d never had tried before joining. It is your health that you are thinking of so whilst the decision to change is a start, you need to implement the change and work hard. You’ll be thankful that you did. Good luck.
