FIT IN THE CITY
Don’t waste your time at the gym
THERE are certain traps to avoid when investing your precious time on the gym floor. Here they are.
AVOID DOING ENDLESS REPS
Research has shown that any more than 15-20 reps and you’re wasting your time (not including endurance-based classes such as BodyPump and circuits obviously). Make sure that come that 15th rep, you’re struggling to lift the weight.
KEEP SOCIALISING TO A MINIMUM.
It may be a good motivational boost to go to the gym with a mate but it’s probably best to go your own separate ways once you get there. Chat during warm-ups and cool-downs if you must, but make sure you’re working hard in the in-between bits.
STICK TO BIG MOVES
Isolation moves such as bicep curls are not a good use of time. Squeezing in separate exercises for your biceps, deltoids and lats when you have just 30 minutes isn’t time-effective. Instead, pick compound exercises like squats and press-ups to target more than one muscle group at a time.
DON’T GET WAYLAID BY THE TV
Focusing too much on other things means your workout’s likely to suffer. If you want to kick back and relax during your workout, break your session up into intervals. That way you can take it a bit easy during the rest periods and crank up the pace in between.
WATCH YOUR FORM
“Don’t just do the exercise – do it right” is a little mantra you can adopt in the free weights area. Improper exercise technique causes injury and if your form’s bad while you’re working one muscle, you could be stressing another.
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