Sometimes things you don’t realize will help you make faster progress are the most important things. At Iron Fit in San Antonio, TX, we emphasize consistency, which includes not only scheduling workouts at the same time, but also timing the workouts. Having a consistent time for your workout is a bit easier to understand. It helps you develop a habit and when you schedule it like an appointment, improves the chances of you making it to the gym. However, timing the workout is often overlooked.
Unless you have commitments after your workout, it’s too easy to waste time.
One important reason for timing is to ensure you have just enough time to workout, but not so much time that you waste it. It’s simply too easy to walk around visiting or push your workout far longer than it needs be by doing things that have nothing to do with exercise. Even taking too much time between exercises can be a negative and not burn as many calories as you should for the time spent.
You may have heard people talk about how many hours they spend at the gym.
Everyone has “that friend” who thinks they are “bigger than life.” No matter what you’re talking about, they have a bigger story, do more or can top what you say. They probably also tell you they spend hours in the gym every day, but they certainly don’t show it. What’s happening? Maybe they are spending hours, but they aren’t exercising. If they are exercising, they don’t push themselves to do any high intensity workouts or pick up the speed.
Maybe “that friend” is really working hard the entire time and not showing results.
Your friend may be working out too much. There is such a thing. More is not always better. In fact, when you’re working out, sometimes less is more. It’s about including both intensity and a chance for your body to rest and heal. If you’re working out long hours, particularly at high intensity, you may be counterproductive. If you’ve done a tough strength training workout, your muscles have small tears. Those heal and as they do, build the muscle bigger and/or stronger. Not taking a break doesn’t offer that time for healing. Working out too long at high intensity can place too much strain on the muscles, causing injury. Aim for about150 minutes of high intensity workout a week or 150 to 300 minutes of moderate.
- Judge the intensity by your heart rate or your ability to talk while working out. The higher the intensity, the harder it is to talk. If you can just gasp a few words, it’s high intensity and you don’t need as much time working out.
- Watch for signs you’re overworking your body. While exercise burns off the hormones of stress, it also causes stress. If you’re not making progress, getting sick more often or even have mood changes, you might be overworking.
- Never do strength training on the same muscles on consecutive days. Let the muscles rest between 48 and 72 hours, especially if your workout was intense. Focus on other muscle groups or other type of training.
- Count the minutes you’re actually working out and consider the type of workout you’re doing and adjust your time. A HIIT workout—high intensity interval training—will take less time but be far more intense.
For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio