Why your workout isn't working

I’m a little different from most gym-goers. I couldn’t care less if you sweat all over the equipment. And if grunting gets you an extra rep, then do it and do it loud. If anger, abuse and looks of pure unmitigated hatred are what’s needed to motivate you, be my guest.

But what really winds me up are the ego-driven, soon-to-bebadly injured morons who pile on the weight for a given exercise and then proceed to do half movements. Then, they drop the weights with a thud and jump up, flexing and preening to see who has witnessed their feat.

Ask the MH guy… Q. I've been told not to eat late, but I'm starving when I get home from work, sometimes close to 11 p.m. What should I do? Kaushik Doshi, Bangalore A. “Your body isn’t on a 24-hour clock,” say MH weight-loss experts Dr Muffazal Lakdawala and Dr Aditi Govitrikar. “What matters is that you burn more calories than you ingest by the end of the day.” First, try to eat a meal at work around your usual dinner time, say 8 p.m. If you’re still hungry later, snack on fruit, some nuts, milk, yogurt or cheese. Just watch the portion size.

If this is you, then stop—now! For besides being an obnoxious muscle head, you’re seriously curtailing the results you’re after.

Instead, make it work: pick a weight that you can handle safely for the prescribed repetitions and watch your timings—four second negative with an explosive positive (push.) That means: if you’re doing bicep curls, you should be able to take four seconds to lower the weight.

Go on and read some more reasons why your workout may not be working:

1. You’re refuelling way too much
Whosoever advised you that you need to tank up on sugary energy drinks and/or a heavy-duty preworkout lunch lest you faint, didn’t lose any weight himself. Make it work: Munch on an apple, or have a couple of bananas if you’re hungry before your workout. Sip on water while you exercise. And indulge yourself by having your heaviest, protein-rich meal of the day within 60 mins of finishing the last rep.

2. You’re not pushing yourself enough
Our muscles are intelligent workers. They get used to lifting a certain amount of weight even before we know it. So every few days, it’s essential to up the ante. Make it work: If you’re scared of injury, do strip sets. For example, if your heaviest shoulder press weight is 25 pounds in each hand, start with 30 for the first four reps. Do the next four with 20 and the final four with 15 without rest in between.

3. You’re tired

Contrary to popular belief, muscles aren’t manufactured in the gym. They grow while we’re at rest, most often when we’re asleep. So if you’re pushing yourself six times a week, take it easy. Make it work: Plan a four-day workout schedule and ensure the rest days are evenly spread out. 4. You’re a Gym Wanderer If you go to the gym to socialize, use Wi-Fi, preen at the women/men or yourself in the mirror, note: you belong to the species that’s almost as annoying as the specimen in the second para.

Make it work: If the gym environment is not motivating you enough, set a goal outside the gym. For instance, if you want to lose 10 kgs, start running in the local park for the next five weeks, eat right, and shed 5 kgs before you rejoin your gym. Alternately, find a chin up bar and aim at doing 12 reps without rest before heading to the gym. You’ll have a more urgent sense of achieving your target, and you’ll be so much less of a bother!

Jamal Shaikh is Editor, Men’s Health.

You may write in to him at jamal.shaikh@intoday.com

Caveat: The physical exercises described in Treadmill are not recommendations. Readers should exercise caution and consult a physician before attempting to follow any of these.