15 Gym Tips and Taboos – My Opinion 100%
My time at the gym, when my dog dentally destroyed Ipod fails to work, is occupied with people watching, and here are some comments I have made into thin air (or my hubby) that I would like to share. Some can be used as tips to get more from your workout, some are courtesy issues, and others just observations from a sarcastic and opinionated gym goer :
- If the lord or the surgeon blessed you and you are top heavy – get some good support for those puppies, seriously it will help your form, help your back and ease your pain.
- If you want 100% out of your time at the gym, get off the phone. I know multitasking is in, but you get out what you put in, your form will be better if you aren’t squeezing your shoulder to your ear while you desperately hang onto cardio equipment.
- Put the paper down, this goes along with #2. Unless you are a bobble head and used to reading with your head bouncing, I am pretty sure you aren’t working as hard as you can if you are still reading the paper or that romance novel – try music, the cadence helps inspire you and keep you moving.
- Take off the hat. We lose 20-40% of our heat through our head – wearing a hat to workout, especially indoors, is just plain ridiculous unless your goal is to overheat and tax your system.
- Wash the darn hat – if you must wear a hat, please wash it, that Roquefort cheese smell is not appealing.
- Wipe down the machine, especially if you just spent 60 minutes at high speed and have left puddles on the sides of the treads, it takes seconds and they provide wipes.
- If you run, the momentum is a forward motion, don’t swing your elbows and arms side to side like you are trying to take someone out on your left and right (which I heard from an ex of mine is what female Xcountry runners do on purpose when passing each other).
- If you are running, don’t run on your toes – you need the whole foot to bear weight (think heel-toe, heel-toe).
- If you don’t have an MP3 player/CD- please don’t put your crappy cell phone on to play ring tones while you workout out.
- Spend more time working out instead of posing, on the cell phone or sitting on your butt talking to friends on the equipment – this pertains mainly to the pieces I want to workout on that you are just wasting space in front of – and if you are taking a break between sets fine – but 20 minutes without lifting anything is just pointless.
- The handrails on the cardio equipment are there for support and safety, they aren’t made for you to death grip as you hunch over like Quasimodo — you need to take it down a notch and watch your form.
- Weights and machines are great to build and tone muscles on – try and work the intended muscle groups – using your whole body to gain momentum and swing the weights around really isn’t effective or efficient and in the end you may hurt yourself or someone else.
- The weight bench is NOT a plyometric box – the gym has them, and adjustable steps – try using those instead of doing step-ups on a piece of equipment that has padding and seams that may rip and 5 people waiting to use it.
- This is just a public service message to women – that hot guy that is all over you, the one who leaves the area and when you aren’t looking is taking photos of your rear with his cell phone as you do bent over one arm rows – yeah, I see him at the club all hours, and last night making out with a blonde with 2 kids. You may want to vary the times you come to the "meat market" and see for yourself.
- Shower, shower, shower. I can’t say it enough, or use a stronger deodorant – please.
