have no common sense at all.
So for those guys (--and surely, you’re not one of them, right--) here’s one pretty basic/incredibly important rule of thumb.
Wipe the equipment down after using it.
Yeah, you’ve just hit a personal best on your bench press. You’re straddling that half dead/feel like a million bucks line as you writhe your way out from under that barbell; either way, you feel both a little bit stronger, and a little bit lighter.
(You are.)
Because you’ve just left two gallons of sweat all over the bench—the bench you’re now walking away from.
The bench the next guy who wants to hit a personal best on is looking at, disgusted.
To avoid a barbell upside the head (and, subsequently, heading to the Pec Deck only to discover that it, too, is soaked) take a second and wipe the equipment down after finishing your sets.
It sets an example to the other new guys (--the ones without any common sense--) and ensures the next piece of equipment you approach will be similarly sanitized.
(Karma is a bitch.)
It seems simple, sure—and, given the amount of bodies that hold said barbells, or lie across said benches, you would hope it is common practice—and it very well could be.
Just do your part in keeping it that way.
The Benefits of Circuit Training
You’ve heard its benefits praised in the change room of your gym; you’ve peered through the glass in the Personal Training Studio, seen the tolls it has taken on the fittest of the membership.
What the hell is Circuit training, and, more importantly, why the hell would you want to subject yourself to it?
The What
If nothing else, Circuit training is time-efficient. As a conditioning method, it is a resourceful way to combine aerobic fitness and strength training (--admittedly, with less intensity than either modality if performed alone.) A common Circuit may consist of 15 reps or 30 seconds of 10-12 weight exercises, for both the upper and lower body.
The Who
Adopted and perfected by military divisions and sports teams, Circuit training benefits anyone looking to improve body composition (show) or stamina (go.)
The How
Strength
Now, the weights lifted during a circuit are usually 40-50% of a 1RM (one rep-max, remember?) or, literally, about half of what one would normally lift for each exercise. Alternating between upper and lower body exercises (so the arms rest while the legs work) while maintaining a steady heart rate is key.
Traditional strength training uses higher intensity loads and larger rest periods—usually 60-90% 1RM with 1-4 min rest. Studies have shown that blood lactate levels increase dramatically with Circuit training, suggesting a high anaerobic content to training.
Simply put, stamina—and the ability to tolerate elevated lactate levels (the dreaded burn) will improve.
Cardio
On average, one can expect heart rates of about 80% Max, but oxygen levels are only at 40% of maximum training capacity, which puts circuit at the minimum level for aerobic fitness improvement.
Therefore, Circuit training is considered low-to-moderate aerobic training, with benefits substantially smaller than meat-and-potatoes cardio. However, by dropping rest times between circuits, stimulus on VO2 max is accelerated.
For example, if you were to run at 75% of your maximum training heart rate for 20-30 minutes, 3x per week for 8-12 weeks, your average VO2 max would increase by 20%--in circuit, you would be engaging 80% of your Max THR.
Will Circuit Training get me Ripped?
Yes.
Research shows a 2.2-7lb gain in lean body mass (muscle) could be achieved—meaning one could expect a decrease in relative fat mass of 1-3%.
Now, one’s total weigh may remain unchanged; but, let’s be honest—
--when you’re on the beach, no one cares what the scale says.
The Final Word
Circuit training is better suited for toning than losing a ton of weight; for improving endurance and stamina rather than building raw power and strength. When implemented in rotation with weeks of a more sets-and-reps based training style, one will notice a substantial increase in energy reserves and, (--as a result of the activation of perhaps-previously-unengaged stabilizer muscles—) a translation to more power when reverting back to strength training.
Debunking the Myths Surrounding Personal Training (+Training a Meathead!)
Fact: Personal Training is expensive.
Fact: You’ve got misconceptions about just what-the-hell your Personal Trainer does. (Unless, of course, you’ve invested in a Personal Trainer in the past—in which case, you’re probably sitting on a beach somewhere, completely jacked, and fondly remembering the time you weren’t, and you too had misconceptions about just what-the-hell your Personal Trainer does.)
Our industry seems to be the only one whereby one assumes that having a gym membership guarantees us the results we obtained said-gym membership to achieve.
Sadly, paying a forty-dollar-per-month access fee doesn’t mean you can half-ass it three times per week and expect to lose the ten (--okay twenty--) pounds you swore to lose when you signed on the dotted line.
Think of it this way: if I need my engine replaced, would I go to my mechanic and say “Hey bro, I need to fix my engine, but rather than hire you to do it, I’m going to rent that bay over there for an hour, use your tools, and do it my damn self?”
Many trainers spend yeas training themselves, obtaining Kinesiology degrees from world-class Universities, and maintain aggressive yearly certifications—does your fitness know-how really supersede theirs?
No?
Then maybe it’s time to stop dreaming of achieving your goals, and actually start achieving them.
Training a Meathead (Or, Why we bother to become Personal Trainers, at all.)
Fact: If you’re a male, and you’re reading this, and you’ve ever done more than three sets of something in some gym somewhere, then you think you know everything there is to know about fitness.
So, fact, you don’t need a Personal Trainer.
Fact: You’re a fool.
In order to break through plateaus, in order to achieve sport-specific advanced conditioning—hell, in order to be able to play with the grandkids one day—you
