If you head to the gym after January 1st on every given year, you will find it filled to the rafters with well meaning “resolutioners” hell bent on burning the Christmas pounds put on over the festive season. I give this example because this is where people who have never been in a gym before, wander in and apart from a brief and basic induction by an instructor, are left to their own devices.
Now, I don’t have an issue with this, I mean, any activity is good right?
Well…
If we are thinking activity is the case of walking and moving in general, then yes! But when you get into the gym, you have all sorts of different machines, free weights and other equipment that, if used incorrectly, can cause in the best case scenario, stunted results and frustration and in the worse case scenario injury, muscle imbalances and even death.
You only have one body, so, why take a chance with it? Invest in a qualified professional that will a) ensure that you engage in a programme that is specific to your goals and b) ensure to the best of their ability and control that you avoid the injuries etc.
Case in point: Client of mine, came to me because he had plateaued. He had lost 3 stone on his own and had now stopped losing weight and was suffering hamstring and shoulder injuries, also, more worryingly, his blood pressure was back up. On closer observation of his training programme, I noticed that he was not applying overload to his training sessions meaning that he was staying in his comfort zone and not pushing through the boundaries which would account for why he was not progressing, he was performing incorrect technique on bicep curls, lifting too much weight and over compensating with his shoulder. I regards to his blood pressure, he was engaging in the “plank” and other isometric abdominal exercises which can make blood pressure go up. I re- organised his training plan to reflect this and rectified the issues so that he continued to lose weight, redressed his injuries and kept his blood pressure in check.
My argument – people join gyms and do what they see other people do around them without knowing why that person is doing what they are doing. I liken it to trying to light a lighter with no gas, you keep flicking and flicking with no results and sooner or later, you give up. Same thing with exercise, if you keep working on it and you don’t get the results you want, sooner or later you give up. Then you’ve wasted time, energy and money
Solution: Invest in a personal trainer, get educated, get motivated and get the results you want as safely as possible
Rich Lucas is a Personal Trainer, martial arts instructor and weight management consultant operating in Bristol UK, head to [http://www.rl-personaltrainer.co.uk] and download your free ebook “Bristol Better Body Challenge”.
