For those who do not partake in a sport but like to keep fit and active, the gym is the best place to go and with 5.2 million adults having a membership to a private gym in the UK, it is clear that it is a very popular way to keep fit and one that should not be overlooked.
The best thing about using a gym to keep fit is that you can tailor build your work out regime to suit you and you can get out of it exactly what you want. As with different sports there are many different types of exercise and benefits to the body when working out at a gym and they are all dependant on what you want to achieve for yourself, here we cover some different forms of exercise and how to build a gym session around each, we also recommend different supplements to help aid and support your sessions, giving you the best chance to succeed.
Cardiovascular Fitness
As most of us are probably aware, cardio vascular fitness is the fitness of the heart and lungs. The more training we do to increase our CO fitness, the better our bodies are able to deliver oxygen to our muscles, which our muscles then use for energy and movement. The more exercise you do, the more efficient your heart becomes at pumping oxygenated blood around your body and the more efficient your muscles become at using it. Good CO fitness has many health benefits too.
Exercises / Equipment to use in your work out session to help you improve your cardiovascular fitness:
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Treadmill
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Cross Trainer
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Rowing Machine
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Bike
All of these pieces of gym equipment can be used at varying speeds and inclines depending on your level of fitness. Becasue this type of exercise requires big groups of muscles to move quickly, your heart is therefore expected to pump out more oxgenated blood to your mucles for them to be able to do so. Therefore, gradually increasing your speed and incline will gradually increase your cardio fitness levels.
One of the main advantages about using this quipement is that they all you to train in a low impact way so your joints, particaulary your knees are not suffering the way they would if running on the pavement.
Anaerobic Exercise
Anaerobic exercise means ‘without oxygen.’ It is used by athletes in high endurance sports who rely more on strength, power and size. The performance for people using this kind of exercise usually only needs to be sustained for a short time but at a high intensity. Therefore, the types of exercises and ways of training to achieve this are different from cardiovascular fitness.
Exercises/Equipment to use in your work out session to help you improve your anaerobic fitness:
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Resistance Training
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Weight Training
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Rowing Machine
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Bike
Anaerobic training is harder to achieve in a gym but there are ways to maximise the equipment available in the best way. For example, set the weights/inclines on equipment such as rowing machines and bikes to a higher level than usual and exert yourself as much as possible but only for a short time – a couple of minutes maximum. This is the best way to build your anaerobic fitness levels which includes building your strength and power at the same time.
Weight Training
Most people who use the gym, use the weights. Usually this is either to tone up or bulk up! Weight training is linked somewhat to cardiovascular training because by the very principle of CO fitness, the better able your heart is at pumping more oxygenated blood to your muscles and the better able your muscles are at using that achieve better results for you. As weight training is about muscle building, it helps to have a good level of CO fitness as well.
Exercises / Equipment to use in your work out session to help you to tone up and/or bulk up:
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Weights, Dumbbells and Bars
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Benches
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Chest Press
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Bicep Curl
General speaking, it is said that to tone up your should use a lower weight and do a high number of reps (repetitions), this is because it teaches your body to burn it’s fat as an energy source which help to tone the muscle. To increase a bit of bulk in your muscle you need to add a higher intensity to the session so therefore a heavier weight, this actually also helps to tone your muscles at the same time, the more you increase this over time, the bigger you can build your muscles so if you do not want to achieve a lot a bulk, keep to a lighter weight, but it is important to make sure it is heavy enough to be some resistance!
We have top quality products that can support and enhance your gym sessions. Have a look in the 'Your Goals' section of the site to see what you want to achieve and which products can help you to do this!
Keri
Keri Filtness has worked in the Nutrition Industry for 19 years. She is regularly called upon for her professional comments on health and nutrition related news. Her opinions have been featured by BBC3, Prima, Vitality, The Mirror, Woman’s Own and Cycling Weekly, amongst others. She has also worked one to one with journalists, analysing their diets and health concerns and recommending changes and additions, where appropriate.
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