by EM2WL | Oct 9, 2014 | Cardio, Fat Loss / Cutting
How to Maximize Gym Time
Let’s face it, life is busy. Whether we’re single, married, have ten kids, have no kids, in school, working, you name it- we’re always racing the clock! Although our schedules are hectic, many of us realize the importance of finding time in our day to squeeze in some exercise. When working with a limited slot of time, we want to find ways to optimize that part of our day so we can be efficient, work hard, and get results. There are certain things that we can do to maximize our gym time and get more bang for our buck.
Have a Plan
Unless this is your first time ever reading this blog or hearing from me, you know that my biggest pet-peeve (and with good reason!) is to see (or even HEAR) about people wandering aimlessly about life – well, at least the fitness side of it – with no plan. Ack! I mean, unless you are completely new to working out, or testing out gym equipment is your hobby, get a plan – and work that baby. Not only is following some sort of plan best for maximizing gym time, but it’s best for maximizing RESULTS! In other words, if you want to workout with purpose, having a plan is non-negotiable.
Random workouts – especially once you move past the newbie gain phase – often equal random results. You may ultimately desire to move to a more intuitive style of workouts, but when time is of the essence and you’re not quite familiar with how certain things fit – just stick to the plan.
Trust me, I’ve been there, and I know how easy it is to get sucked into the “atmosphere” and completely lose 2 hours of your day before feeling like you’ve done enough to warrant leaving. I also know that amount of time is completely unnecessary, and is typically a contributing factor to why many of us will totally scrap our workout if we’re running short on time. If you have a plan (preferably created by a professional, unless you are familiar with periodization and putting together effective workout combos) you have an accurate measure of how “done” you are at any given time increments. Let your trainer know that you are time crunched, or search out specifically, workout plans that fit with your goals and available time slots. Don’t follow some random 6-day, 1hour/day, workout split if you only have time to hit the gym 3 days/wk for 30-45 min, tops.
Have a Plan B
Your gym not this big OR empty? Have a Plan B!
This is where the OCD-plan-follower can relax a bit, and the ADD exerciser can rejoice. Yes, an overall, solid, plan is first and foremost, but remind yourself that it’s OK (and often necessary) to be flexible. Why? Because there will be a time that you get to the gym, totally pumped to hit the squat rack. You’ll head in, struttin your stuff with your Converses and new beasty, striped knee-high socks, and bam – all squat racks taken. Argh! This happens a lot in busier gyms during peak times. Don’t rely on one particular piece of equipment for your exercises. Have an idea of what you want to do, but don’t be married to it.
For instance: If it’s leg day – and you’re scheduled to do squats – you’re good no matter what, because you have a backup plan. Full squat racks aren’t stopping you, it’s off to the hack squat machine or an empty area to do squats with dumbbells. Bench day and no rack available? Head for the Smith machine (add extra weight to make up the bar weight difference), or take a set of dumbbells or even the straight curl bar (many gyms have up to 120 lbs) over to the free weight adjustable bench area.
Now this does NOT mean that you should take a professionally written program and chop it up by doing your own take on EVERY move, but you should know how to if you ever truly needed. Take the time on a less busy/off day to get to know alternate pieces of equipment that can generally get the job done (or ask your trainer if you’re working a plan they’ve given you). Often there are pieces of equipment that look completely different, yet perform similar functions (like the seated vs lying leg curl machines)
Superset
Total Body Supersets Workout Plan
When pressed for time, supersets can be a godsend.
Supersets consist of doing two exercises back to back with no rest in between. You can do exercises for either the same or different muscle groups. For example, you can use the rope attachment on a cable machine and do overhead tricep extensions, one set, and then move the rope down a little and do regular tricep extensions, one set, and repeat. Minimizing time between sets not only does the obvious- saves time- but it really adds a burn to the muscles, as it works muscle fibers differently than normal-set weight training.
Tri-sets (three exercises done back to back), and giant sets (four or more exercises done in a row) also fit into this category. With all supersets, you perform the entire set of two or more exercises, then rest as instructed in your program. If no rest period is indicated, typically 30 seconds is appropriate.
Word of caution for the ladies. Many ladies who are drawn to more endurance style workouts will enjoy supersets because they will feel like they are truly “working” – but I would be cautious of falling into the superset trap of thinking that every thing is better when superset. Sometimes longer rests are called for, and necessary, even in shorter workouts – depending on the phase. So if you are always short on time in the gym, be sure to switch up the types of supersets you do (one month superset the same muscle group, the next month group opposing parts, etc), when the supersets are performed in the workout (on every set one month, on every other set the next, etc), and from time to time put supersets aside altogether for an entire phase or two.
Do High Intensity Interval Training
HIIT is praised mostly for two reasons – one, it is a huge time saver and two – the intensity level leads to quicker results than regular cardio and puts your body in a calorie burning state for hours after. Imagine swapping that twenty minute trek on the dreadmill with a quick eight minute sprint session. Suddenly, you’ve gained twelve minutes that you can use to do strength training, ab exercises, stretching, etc. This means that if you were used to splitting up your strength and cardio work to two separate workouts of an hour or so, you can now condense them both into ONE workout that is an hour or less.
Try adding true HIIT or Tabata finishers to your strength workouts, rather than dedicating an entire day to each. What do I mean by “true?” Well, because HIIT has become all the rage, we are now bombarded with HIIT workouts popping up left and right ranging anywhere from 10-60 minutes. While they may all be hard in their own right, true HIIT brings the intensity like no other. Intensity meaning that if you can do any interval for longer than 30ish seconds, or any workout lasting longer than 20ish minutes (not including any warmup/cooldown)…it’s not hard enough. You need super intense intervals where you are going at a crazy, all-out (RPE 10+) effort for 20-30 seconds (and absolutely can’t go longer even if you wanted), and then resting for another 20-30 before repeating. This type of training is short and to the point, making it perfect to tack on to the end of you workout.
A couple words of warning with HIIT. 1) It’s not for everyone, allow yourself to work up to it if you’re newer to working out (perhaps with one of the HIIT-like workouts with longer duration or intervals mentioned above). 2) If a 20 minute HIIT workout early in the AM leaves you worn out and more sedentary than usual for the rest of the day – you are negating the benefits of the afterburn. You may want to stick to 30-40 min of a different cardio activity that will still allow you to get in normal amounts of daily activity/productivity every day.
Stay Focused
Above all, the most important way to maximize your workout is to have laser beam focus. Don’t stress over having to shorten your gym time for a season. Be fully present, engaged in the workout, giving it your all, and knowing that it’s enough. If you head into a workout feeling obligated, and like you just have to get it done to get it out of the way, you won’t be as efficient as possible. If you practice negative self-talk and feel that working out serves as a form of punishment for bad food choices, you’ll have a hard time finding yourself getting in a good sweat (or being satisfied with a less sweaty workout). Remembering why you choose to be active is important, encouraging part of your journey. While physical benefits (toned muscles, smaller waistlines) are a nice perk of working out, living a healthier and happier life far surpass them all.
Photo Cred: Danilo Rizzuti
by | Oct 7, 2014 | Consistency, Increasing calories, Motivation, Testimonials, Transformations
Hey there!
My name is Jeannetta! I have no idea where to start my transformation story, and I can’t give exact times and dates. What I can tell you is that finding this group on MFP is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. So, I think I’ll start on the topic of MFP.
I’d done MFP haphazardly in my mid 20’s. I’d always had weight issues. At a very young age, I was considered chunky. I was always bigger than my peers. In retrospect, I ate horribly as a child and teenager. The truth is, I didn’t know any better. We ate plenty of junk. Canned foods, fried foods, refined carbs, you name it. I don’t remember a balance of foods. Everything I learned about food and proper eating habits came to me in my early 20’s. At that point in time, I came home from college tipping the scales way over 200 lbs and about a size 22. I had horrible acne. I couldn’t fit into the latest fashions. I was fat, and I was over it.
When I moved home (Chicago) two things changed. I walked a hundred percent more. I took public transpo everywhere. That meant walking to and from the bus/L stops, walking from those stops to wherever I was going. Then back around again. Running to those stops sometimes. I mean, to go up and down L stairs and ramps, just commuting I had to be climbing a minimum of 13 flights of stairs in a day. If I wanted to go to the corner store/ bar/ most restaurants, I walked.
The second thing that changed were my eating habits. I was eating better and didn’t technically realize it until later. I had more variety in my diet because of our food culture in Chicago (fresh foods, etc). One year later, I weighed in out of curiosity one day. My pants were falling off. I’d lost 30 lbs. That’s when I made the connection between activity and food. Soon after the weigh in, I went and got a gym membership. I not only was doing my daily commute walking, I was doing an hour of interval sprints or the elliptical, and weights maybe twice a week. I’d also started dabbling with that 1200 calorie number on MFP. Cleanses, psyllium tablets, senna tablets, and green tea became a huge part of my diet. I ate but was very restrictive. I was one of those, I don’t eat this and that people, but in private would max a pint of Hagen Daz half the fat vanilla ice cream. I would then justify it by the all the activity, and all the chicken, salmon, broccoli, and sweet potatoes one would enjoy. I would feel guilty for eating out with my girls. When I look back, I had an ED like a mug. I’d lost 60+ pounds, but was obsessed with losing more and getting smaller.
It became harder and harder to maintain. Even though I was doing all the “right” things. The moment I would take a break from working out, I swear 10 lbs would show up so quick!!!!! Even still, I maintained the weight loss, give or take the ten lbs, for almost four years. When I look back, my actions were crazy. I’d started eating more fresh foods, and less prepared/processed foods, which was great, but that all came with binges.
Here I am, covering myself with my children’s bodies.
Fast Forward.
I got pregnant, and had two babies between 2008 and 2010. Yeah I know, my lifestyle changed. I began driving everywhere because I didn’t want to be on public transpo with two kids under two. I ate when I could. I had very little time to work out. The weight piiiiiiled on. I cried and cried. I was miserable. I didn’t want to take pictures. I didn’t want to be intimate with my husband. I was tired all the time. Depressed. Ashamed. I became the mom who let herself go. I’d promised myself I’d never be overweight again, and there I was, fat and ashamed with no self-love —constantly feeling sorry for myself.
My husband, he got me right together one day. He said to me, “I love you no matter how big or small you are, but I am soooo tired of you crying about it. If you want to change it, I’ll take the kids to school so you can get up and work out”. I started working out at home in the basement with a friend of mine to a Beach Body program that was sooooo fun! I was burning like 7-800 cals a session. But, I was also following a 1200 calorie schedule. I wasn’t losing a lb! I did feel better cardiovascular wise, but I was Hangry and I wasn’t losing any weight! That was the day I decided to utilize MFP to its fullest potential. I was going to go through profiles, see who was the fittest in their pictures and friend them.
That’s how I found Lucia. Call it luck or whatever, but I really believe I found her by the grace and mercy of The Lord. I’d started down the supplement trail again. I was doing the BB shake, protein shakes, green tea extract, enzymes, etc! I really, I mean in my gut knew I was not supposed to be taking all this crap. I was desperate again. Upon stumbling on her profile, I remember admiring her gun show. I remember doing a double read of her “About Me”. I remember reading she ate over 2500 calories a day. I remember looking back at her picture and thinking WTF? She is LYING!!! I remember going to her diary and reading her log, and my mouth dropping open. I remember being confused. So I friended her, I started going through her friends list and noticing all the EM2WL peeps, and I went on to friend others. I remember sending her the most desperate message. All I remember from that reply was metabolism reset, and Scooby’s Calculator. That’s when the research began. I felt bamboozled. All these years of starvation and excess cardio???? Even though I thought these ideas were crazy, you know, like the idea of EATING. I done everything else crazy, so I took my cals up from 1200 to 2500 in one day. By the end of the week, I’d lost 9lbs. It wasn’t a great 2500 calories. I ate whatever I wanted for about six months. I leveled out at about a 15 lb loss over the next year and a half.
I was still doing a massive amount of cardio and very little lifting. I’d eased up on the supps. Our family moved to Georgia. I didn’t work for 6 months. I worked out an hour a day, but was sedentary the rest of the day. I was still eating 2500 or more cals, not making adjustments for my activity levels. I gained 30 lbs.
I followed a few other eating more groups and found that weight lifting, building your metabolism, moderation, and eating for your individual activity levels were all these groups had in common. By this time though, I’d started feeling really crummy. I was tired all the time, depressed/anxious, low libido, bloating, constipation, rapid stomach fat gain etc. I had a laundry list of things going on. I’d started cutting cals slowly, cutting some of my cardio and replacing with weight training like I’d learned from the groups, and eating moderately, but even still, I wasn’t losing, and I wasn’t physically feeling well. I went to the doctor. I found out I was insulin resistant. Yep, I was on my way to having diabetes. I sigh even typing this. I never thought I’d be here. I had a cry fest for a couple of days, mostly because my doctor prescribed me the Atkins or South Beach DIET. I was so over diets at this point. I’d been on a diet my whole adult life. I did not want to go on a DIET. I was tired of restricting. I was at a place where I’d started to accept my body for the way it was, and appreciate what it could do. And now, the doctor wants me to go on another restrictive diet. A diet I knew I would fail miserably at, again. I’d already been on both previously and hated every minute of it.
But I’m a resourceful old bird. I am. I wasn’t going to be defeated by this. I refused the negative thoughts and started to claim my victory. I headed straight to the diabetes association website. This is where I learned the words glycemic index. I learned how foods effect your insulin, and how insulin contributes to fat loss and gain. I’d already won just by having this information. I was ready. After studying for a few days, I’d found that the damage had already been done to my cells, and while I could become less resistant, there was no science to prove you could reverse the damage to your cells. There was overwhelming science that backed the fact that you could control your insulin levels and keep them normal by the foods you eat. Those foods are medium to low glycemic index foods. The best part, was that I could still have carbs. What? Even carbs high on the glycemic index could be eaten sparingly.
I made the commitment to a total lifestyle change. Well really I didn’t have a choice, I could choose to change or live with a disease I didn’t want. So, I incorporated more foods low to medium on the index, weight training five days, and cardio 2-3 days for no more than 30 minutes. I also try not to be so sedentary during the day. I don’t count calories anymore. I eat when I’m hungry and when I’m full I stop. I drink plenty of water, and get my rest. The glycemic index has been the way for me to get my insulin levels under control. I was able to get my numbers back into normal range without the use of diabetes meds. What’s even crazier is that, the moment I got my insulin under control, the weight started flying off. And guess what? I’m not starving anymore.
I’m nowhere near done, but I am on my way. As of four weeks ago I was down 14 lbs, I’m due to go to the doctor this week. I’m averaging about 5-6 lbs a month as far as loss. I’m getting stronger with every lifting session, and I increase my weight every two weeks. I super set a lot, and lift with intensity.
Hang in there! Listen to your body. If you need help, see a physician. But most of all, don’t give up on yourself. Be your biggest cheerleader and your biggest competition. If I can overcome, I know you can too! I hope this helps someone. My story is a “to be continued”.
by | Oct 2, 2014 | Building Muscle, TDEE/BMR, Troubleshooting
Experienced lifters know the importance of rest between sets, which can be anywhere from 30-90 seconds, depending on how quickly you recover. They also know that rest days from weight lifting — even during the week — are important, and structure their sessions so they can train one body part while the others are getting a rest. But, did you know that it is even more important to take an entire week off from strength training?
Some refer to rest weeks as de-load or recovery weeks. Whatever you prefer to call them, they are necessary. This is an opportunity to give your entire body rest from lifting heavy weights, and even from high intensity cardiovascular workouts that put a strain on the body and the mind.
Rest weeks are unfortunately over looked by many weightlifters — especially newbies — because they think the few days during the week that they rest (if they rest) is enough. They have the “no pain, no gain” mentality. They feel that the more they do, the better and stronger they will get and the quicker they will reach their goal. Actually, failing to take longer breaks will affect your progress in a negative way.
This magic of building muscle does not happen while you are actually lifting the weights. Instead, it happens while you rest. Surprised? Yes, I was too! When you lift weights to build muscle, you are tearing the small muscle fibers. Quick science lesson…After you workout, your body begins to repair damaged muscle fibers through a cellular process where it pulls the fibers together to form new muscle protein strands, or myofibrils. These repaired myofibrils increase in thickness and number to create muscle growth. Muscle growth occurs whenever the rate of muscle protein synthesis is greater than the rate of muscle protein breakdown. All of this happens while you are not working out! This machine — called the body — is truly amazing!!
I know a whole week away from the iron may put some into withdrawal! But you can make it an active rest week where you’re engaged in your favorite sport or in low intensity cardio like walking, yoga, or your favorite aerobic DVD a couple of days during the week. But, no lifting or HIIT! And, don’t forget to continue to eat balanced meals of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. It’s important to continue to feed those muscles while they are repairing. This simply means DO NOT restrict or lower your calories because you are not working out as much! In fact, it may be a good idea to eat at your TDEE along with making good food choices during this rest period. If you are cutting during your recovery, you may want to decrease your deficit from 10% to 5%. You want to make sure any losses that week are not muscle. Remember, the whole point of recovery week is for your muscles to have a chance to repair. So, don’t plan to run a marathon during this time!!
If you’ve been lifting weights and/or doing high intensity workouts and have not taken a rest week, you are well overdue for a much needed break. It’s a good idea to plan a rest week every 4 to 5 weeks to let that muscle rest, repair, and grow. Then the weeks following your rest, you will feel refreshed, energized and ready to take your performance to the next level.
Photo credit: stockimages, naypong
Unless this is your first time ever reading this blog or hearing from me, you know that my biggest pet-peeve (and with good reason!) is to see (or even HEAR) about people wandering aimlessly about life – well, at least the fitness side of it – with no plan. Ack! I mean, unless you are completely new to working out, or testing out gym equipment is your hobby, get a plan – and work that baby. Not only is following some sort of plan best for maximizing gym time, but it’s best for maximizing RESULTS! In other words, if you want to workout with purpose, having a plan is non-negotiable.
Above all, the most important way to maximize your workout is to have laser beam focus. Don’t stress over having to shorten your gym time for a season. Be fully present, engaged in the workout, giving it your all, and knowing that it’s enough. If you head into a workout feeling obligated, and like you just have to get it done to get it out of the way, you won’t be as efficient as possible. If you practice negative self-talk and feel that working out serves as a form of punishment for bad food choices, you’ll have a hard time finding yourself getting in a good sweat (or being satisfied with a less sweaty workout). Remembering why you choose to be active is important, encouraging part of your journey. While physical benefits (toned muscles, smaller waistlines) are a nice perk of working out, living a healthier and happier life far surpass them all.
Recent Comments