A Smart Workout at the Gym is Essential

Every trip to the gym is usually the same. The smell of body odor ventilating through the building, the stressed humming of a treadmill flying beneath the squeaking of a pair of sneakers and the grunts of bodybuilders swinging 150 pounds effortlessly over their heads.

And then there’s always the guy in the crowd about to throw out his back trying to squat way more weight than he can handle.

The gym is like school. There are classes you like and are good at, and classes you don’t spend much time studying for and end up doing poorly in. It’s a learning intensive process, but there is always someone who tries to show off and ends up looking stupid. In a gym, it can get you hurt. Many who go to the gym, whether recreationally or seriously, aren’t aware that there are wrong ways to exercise and most fall victim to overtraining, exhaustion or bad form.

It is important to utilize the physiology of your body in order to maximize your workout, and it starts with knowing the basics.

The human body is built like a machine, full of big and little parts that work together in unison to run. Ashley Morgenstern, a human nutrition, food and exercise specialist, says it is important to remember that your body needs to be fueled like a machine.

The body requires a certain amount of nutrients to function properly, Morgenstern said. If you’re working out, it becomes more important to get the right amount of calories, nutrients and vitamins into your body. She said that without proper nutrition, the body cannot metabolize the right nutrients for your body to utilize your workout.

Morgenstern said that for an average person, a diet of 2500 calories should include about 40 percent carbohydrates, about 30 percent proteins and amino acids, and about 30 percent unsaturated or brown fats. This formula supplies the body with energy, encourages growth of muscle tissue, and stimulates the burning of white fats, she said.

Proper nutrition is not the only hurdle keeping gym goers from reaching their goals. For most, workouts are the product of observation, says personal trainer Robert Hendrick. According to Hendrick, many people learn how to exercise from going to the gym and seeing what other people are doing. The problem is that most people don’t know how to perform certain exercises with proper form just from observation, and if they are learning from someone who isn’t doing the exercise right, that could lead to even more trouble.

It is important to focus solely on form when performing exercises with heavy weights, said Hendrick. Bad form could lead to muscle injuries or negative results. If you perform an exercise with bad form, you could be using the wrong muscles, limiting the effects from that exercise.

Hendrick used the example of a standard bicep curl. When performing a curl, it is important to keep a straight back and a tight core, making sure your shoulders are rolled back and your elbows are drawn in close to your body. “You don’t just lift the weight,” Hendrick said, “but you concentrate on contracting your bicep.” Most people perform curls with poor form, swinging their bodies to get the weight up and using their back and neck muscles excessively in the process.

Hendrick said it’s best to start with low weight until you are comfortable moving the weight through the proper motions. Only then, he continued, is it safe to add on more weight.

Hendrick recommends going to the gym with a partner instead of going alone. “It’s always good to have a spot,” he said, “not only as a safety precaution, but because it encourages you to push yourself beyond what you normally would.”

Focusing on eating right and concentrating on form are the foundation in training your muscles to their full potential and getting the most out of your workout, but there are tricks to the trade that can help you out along the way

Jonathan Kolarski, who has been going to the gym regularly for four years, said that there are several things he does before and after his workout to maximize his results. He said drinking a cup of coffee before a workout makes your heart beat faster, which helps burn calories and increases blood flow into muscle tissue. A hearty protein shake after a workout promotes muscle growth by supplying your body with the nutrients it needs to repair muscle tissue, he added.

It is also important to consider how sore your muscles are. Kolarski said you should never work a muscle group that is still sore, as it leads to overtraining and can damage the fibers in the muscle. Keeping your body’s needs and how it operates in mind is paramount in seeing the best results in the shortest amount of time.

“A good workout is a smart workout,” said Hendrick.