The Red and Black

April 6th, 2008

Gym Etiquette…and More

Here’s quick list of Do’s when attending the gym:

DO:

1. Return the Weights when you Leave: No one likes hunting for a misplaced dumbbell, especially in-between sets.

2. Ask for a Spot: Don’t be shy! That’s what your fellow gym-members are for. At the worst, you’ll get a no.

3. Check the Diagram, Adjust the Seat: Especially with machines, seats and pads often have to be placed in a specific region for the exercise to be performed correctly. Each machine should have a diagram showing where each pad should rest on your body, like mid-chest, etc. Unless the gym’s filled with identically-sized people, the seat/pad probably need to be adjusted.

4. Wear Headphones: A recent study conducted showed that the average lifter actually trains better when listening to music. Take advantage of these results and crank up the tunes.

5. Wash your Hands Post-Lift: Not to sound like your parent, but the gym is a nasty place. Sweat and thousands of hands touching the same machines and dumbbells. Don’t even think about eating afterwards without washing your hands (seriously). It’s a germ nightmare.

6. Talk Less, Lift More: Your rest-periods should ideally be timed, and chatting in-between sets will oftentimes cause you to lose your focus, rest upwards of 4-5 minutes in-between sets without even realizing it, and lead to an overall less-effective workout.

7. Find a Routine: Whether it’s listening to the same group of songs just in the gym and no where else, or it’s eating the same meal directly before you workout, or exercising at a specific time of day, or all of the above, finding a routine will help you attain a higher-level of focus and intensity.

8. Have a Goal, Have a Plan: Set numerical goals for yourself, attack it with a specific plan, gauge your progress intermittently, and adjust accordingly. Repeat.

9. Train According to Your Fitness Level: Everyone’s different, period. We all know what it’s like to be discouraged by watching someone else, and trying to mimic their training methods and/or weights. You’ll make the most progress by being honest with yourself and lifting accordingly; when you train smart, the results will come.

10. Enjoy It: At the risk of sounding corny, you really should enjoy your training. Results are more likely to come when you’re enjoying what you’re doing, rather than hating it. So don’t think of it like a chore; think of it as a chance to blow off steam, to relax, and to stay healthy.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2008 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Fitness Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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