You should always push yourself just out of the comfort zone

Ukmedix News has spoken to a lot of people who complain that they go to the gym and workout but it doesn’t seem to have much effect. They say that they get a regular amount of exercise three or four times weekly or even every day but they still don’t lose weight. This is in fact quite a common phenomenon and happens for a number of reasons.

Firstly some people go to the gym and then feel that because they have worked out they have a licence to eat whatever they want and gorge themselves on fatty foods which have more calories than the amount of calories that they burnt off in the gym. Just because you work out doesn’t give you the green light to over eat so make sure you keep your eating levels the same when you go to the gym.

Another problem which we have been made aware of on a number of occasions at Ukmedix News is that some people go to the gym for workout but treat it as a walk in the park. What we mean by this is that it is possible to go to the gym and have a nice leisurely time chatting with your friends and gently warming yourself up on machines but hardly breaking a sweat.

While there are definite benefits to for example walking for half an hour on a treadmill, if you are young and fit and want to build up calorie burning muscle you need to push yourself a little bit harder. You should always push yourself just out of the comfort zone when you exercise to challenge your body as this will help your muscles to become more toned and stronger.

One of the Ukmedix team made an interesting observation which was that when he goes for a ten minute run he doesn’t enjoy it as much as when he pushes himself to 30 or 40 minutes. He explained that the first ten minutes of exercise are often the worst as the body takes time to warm up and the adrenaline has not yet kicked in. However when you push yourself harder the body heats up, you feel better and the adrenaline gives you that motivation to go on, which also continues to make you feel good about yourself even after your workout.

If you are a young person who goes to the gym on a regular basis you should speak to your personal trainer about setting up an exercise plan which will challenge you.  Recently we heard of the case of a man who would go to the gym for two hours a day and do a number of sets on different machines but who was not really making any progress physically.  His personal trainer however gave him a strict plan which he is able to do in a one hour period which gives him a good cardiovascular workout as well as strength training.

Only two months into the program he is noting significant differences and has trouble keeping his trousers up without tightening his belt. Not only that but his posture and overall physique is much more lean. Interestingly he hasn’t lost any weight, as all that has happened is that while the fat has burned off it has just been replaced by muscle.

Another thing is that people who push themselves in the gym find it less boring than people who just trundle along doing gentle exercises. If you are finding the gym an uninspiring place it is probably because you are not challenging yourself and finding your full potential to work out.