About Steven Aitchison
Making the gym more interesting
weight are excellent motivators for going to the gym
but sometimes it can be very boring. My workout in the mornings are;
treadmill for 12 minutes, abs 3 reps, biceps 3 reps, bench presses 3 reps,
legs 3 reps, bike 10 minutes and rowing machine 1000 meters. I started
looking at my workout when it became a little stale and frankly boring, so
this is what I have come up with to make the gym a little more interesting:
- Close your eyes. I close my eyes on all my exercises,
except for the treadmill. This way I can visualise me being in the
Olympics. When I am on the rowing machine I am sitting in the
boat with Steve Redgrave as my rowing partner and my family are on the bank
of the river cheering me on. I imagine my oars going in and out of
the water and it can be very real when I’m in the zone. When
I am doing my biceps work I close my eyes and imagine that the only way I
can get my family back is to finish the last rep. When I am on
the bike I am in the tour de France and again I see my family on the big
screen cheering me on. This has the added benefit of strengthening
your visualisation acuity. Visualisation is a great way to attain
your goals see
Visualise
your life - Vary your workout routine. If you are the type of
person who does the same thing in the gym all the time, why not try varying
the routine. Try reversing your routine altogether, if you normally
finish with leg curls make this the start of the routine. This simple
little thing allows your mind to wake up a little. I always imagine
peoples brains walking into the gym like Elmer Fudd, shoulders drooping and
saying ‘Same old routine, treadmill, biceps, leg curls, bike, walking
and rowing’ spice old Elmer and get him thinking for a change by
reversing your routine. - Try it with a partner. Someone else suggested this
to me. I am the type to workout alone however I know a lot of people
like a partner as a motivator. I think this is a good idea as it
can be good to have someone cheering you on and just pushing you that little
extra. - Watch the television. Most modern gyms have TV screens
in them; why not switch to your favourite channel and workout to a little
TV. This can help take your mind off the exercise itself. Pretty
soon you’ll have run a mile, burned 150 calories, lost a few grams
and watched Oprah all within the space of 15 minutes. - Listen to your goals. Last month I wrote an article ‘Change
your life with a computer and a headset’ if you tried this
it means you can listen to your goals whilst at the gym. This
is what I do every morning. Sometimes I zone out and don’t
hear them as I am visualising but they are still being heard. I think
this is a great way to focus on your goals whilst getting fit and losing
weight at the same time. - Join a class. This can be an excellent motivator
as you automatically try a little harder when other people are around pushing
you that little bit further. - Push yourself some more. When I first started going
to the gym I was running at the same pace, lifting the same amount of weights,
and rowing at the same pace. Now I tray and add a little every week. I
used to run 5 miles per hour (a 12 minute mile) now I have pushed myself
to run 6.5 miles per hour (just over a 9 minute mile). I have also
managed to row 1000 meters in 4 minutes which was a great achievement for
me. I can lift heavier weights, cycle faster, run faster etc. This
is a great motivator for me as I am the type to push myself all the time
and love competition.
These are only a few suggestions for making the gym
more interesting. Why
not share your gym tips and we can all be gym freaks in no time.
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I found #3 effective. I already did it several times with different friends. Somehow, they keep me talking about something without being aware of the time. How time flies if you like what you’re doing. The only problem is, you sometimes forget the number of reps with so much talking.
Hi Yolanda
I haven’t tried it with a partner but some of my friends swear by it.
I think joining a class will be exciting. I remember how things were, back in school. Competition was alway around. It was embarrassing if you were least in class. Trying to stay in the middle or the top means extra effort.
Love the idea of visualisation when exercising. I was thinking about that earlier on but I’ve never tried doing any exercises with my eyes closed – think I will try that tomorrow!
Another non related idea I’ve been playing with is imagining the muscle you are working taking all the effort required in a particular exercise and handling it easily. I find it intriguing how easy that actually is to do!
Some excellent posts though – I only came across this blog today. Thanks for the advice.
Hi Mark
Thanks for visiting the blog, I am glad you like it.
I hadn’t thought about visualising the muscle, thanks for the tip.
I usually close my eyes and listen to my ipod. And when I want to work real hard, I think of my ex
Hello Steven,
I myself are well into training; particularly strength training, and found some of your tips very useful, particularly the one about closing your eyes… I perform every lift I do with my eyes open, so this is something I may have to try.
Some other tips for improving performance and motivation that I have, are:
- Have a break once in a while; do something else, or just rest. You’ll be surprised at how much more motivated you are, and usually how much stronger.
- Stretch before and after every exercise. This makes every exercise feel so much better, and helps you to stay injury free and improve performance and gains. Recently, I developed a shoulder problem, and, through stretching the pain has subsided, I’ve gained better range of motion, and my strength gains continue to rise!
I’ll certainly be re-visiting your blog – bookmarked! – so keep the good content coming!
I’d also add – Try everything until you find what words for you. Classes work for my friends but not me. I’m a loner on workouts. And I have to workout late at night. A pre-work workout nearly kills me!
I chop and change routines so much that I do not have a routine at all if that makes any sense, I listen to my body, go light most times on weights and full movements and then save the heavy weight session for once a week or a gym session when I am short of time.
I find doing cardio, wether it be rower, cross trainer or bike really boasts the weight session, failing that adding an extra cardio session at the end of a weight session really helps you wind down and get rid of any lactic acid build up.
Finances and being wise, mean I walk to and from the gym at a brisk pace, this too helps keep me supple and with a free mind for my training.
Once a week I try to skip the gym, find a field and do sprints and jogs up and down it for a set time, this really pushes you and smashes any smugness you have build up in a gym, if you put the effort in your will leave the field exhausted regardless of fitness level.
My favourite way of gym training though is,
do you main exercise, for instance bicep curl, do an adequate weight, that is difficult say with a set of 10 or 12, but not that technique suffers,
now after the first set, instead of sitting and waiting to recover, you go do another exercise on another body part say leg press, carry on doing this until u have 3 sets done on each exercise.
The body part recovers but the rest of your body is still training,
no sitting around waiting, an hours training in the gym turns into 1 hours training in the gym.
I find this method a killer, and the best for all over fittness,
I do mini circuits too, and loop them together, lol, I did say I chop and change alot.
If you do the 2 exercise system with a partner, then you really will feel the difference.
enjoy,
Baz