Are your workouts efficient? – observations from the gym

I worked out in a gym yesterday – for the first time in approx 4 years.

I really enjoyed it, and it was great to have access to a great choice of equipment. (However, I suspect that when I’m a member and start to go more regularly, I will use a mere fraction of the equipment available – but that’s another story for another time.)

What has not changed during my time away from gyms is the approach many people take to ‘working out’ – i.e. a strange approach that prescribes isolation of relatively small muscle groups, with relatively long rests between sets.

I will give you an example by describing something I observed yesterday, as follows:

I had just completed 3 sets of deadlifts (a great way to get all the major muscles twitching!), when a guy walks up to the cable machine and proceeds to work his triceps with some ‘push-downs’.

I re-set my barbell with some lower-weight discs and also place a 20 inch wooden box next to me, ready to perform 3 rounds of power cleans & box jump supersets against the clock – completed this in 5 minutes & 50 seconds, and was doubled over out of breath!

I quickly gathered my breath, took a few gulps from the water fountain, and hopped onto the Concept 2 Rower for a quick 500 metre sprint – clocked a time of 2 minutes & 5 seconds.

That was me done – great workout for my whole body, which covered strength, muscle endurance, power, balance, co-ordination, jumping, etc. I certainly felt it, I was well out of breath, my muscles were ‘pumped’ in all areas of my body, and I had a big sweat on!

I looked over to the cable machine, and ‘triceps man’ was still there doing his ‘push-downs’ – I’m not sure what he was trying to achieve. He certainly wasn’t a body-builder (I could tell by his physique and the fact that a serious body-builder would not take such long breaks between sets on a small muscle group). Whatever his exercise philosophy is, it’s not one I subscribe to these days, but sadly I think it is one that many people do subscribe to (and, I admit,  years ago I too was guilty of this type of approach to working-out – hence why my results from gym attendance have previously been very limited).

So, remember, be efficient in the gym.

Keep the bulk of your workouts as intense as your current ability will allow.

I suppose the message is: notch up the intensity, spend less time in the gym, see your results accelerate.

Workout 22/10/09 – gym workout

1) Deadlifts – 3 sets (2 minutes rest between sets)

Result: 70kg – 5 reps, 5 reps, 5 reps

2) For time, 3 rounds of:

Power Cleans – 40kg (8 reps); Box Jumps – 20 inches (20 reps)

Result: 5 min’s, 50 sec’s

3) Concept 2 Rower – time to row 500 metres

Result: 2 min’s, 5 sec’s