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Get the most from your gym!
Are you getting the most from your gym and training? Who better to ask on the subject than some of the leading experts in the country? We asked Tony Montalbano, owner of the Body Flex gym in St Albans, top personal trainer Christian Finn, and our own sports nutrition expert, Simon Jurkiw to share some of their insider secrets.
Q - What are the worst mistakes you see people making at the gym?
CF: Not having clearly defined goals. When people ask me for advice, the first thing I ask them is, “where are you now in relation to your goal?” Most people can’t tell me the answer because a) they don’t have a clear goal in the first place and b) they’re not doing anything to measure their rate of progress. The other problem is to have too many goals. I know this sounds a little odd, given what I just said. But the problem is that if you have too many goals, such as training to run a marathon, losing 20 pounds of fat and gaining 20 pounds of muscle, you can’t achieve them all - not at the same time anyway. If you don’t narrow them down and prioritise them, you run the risk of achieving nothing.
TM: Not eating correctly and over training. Some people will do set after set for arms for example, thinking the more they do the bigger they will become. They don’t realise training actually breaks down muscle tissue and the more they do the harder it gets to recover and grow. And on the nutritional side, not feeding their muscles with the right food (such as quality protein).
SJ: Ego lifting. I often see people trying to lift significantly more weight than they can handle. Often spotters are involved for every single rep. If the spotter needs to lift every single rep for you then it’s too heavy.
Q - What essential tips can you pass on for getting the most out of a gym?
CF: When it comes to packing on muscle, most people are aware of the importance of post-exercise nutrition — that so-called "golden window" of opportunity where protein and carbohydrate aid muscle growth to a greater extent than if they're consumed at other times. But there's a growing body of research to show that both pre-exercise (before a workout) and intra-exercise (to sip on during a workout) nutrition are just as important if you want to maximise your muscle-building efforts in the gym.
If you're trying to gain weight and build muscle, a mixture of carbohydrate and protein taken before, during and/or after your workout will help to speed up gains in muscle size and strength.
SJ: Focus on yourself. Try not to worry what other people are doing or how much weight they are lifting.
Q - Q If you were limited to 3 exercises, what would they be and why?
CF: The Clean and Jerk (which incorporates the squat, deadlift and overhead press), Chin-Ups and the Bench Press. These movements work most of the major muscles in the body, and will give you a great workout.
TM: Squat – a great exercise for building overall strength, and developing most body parts. Dumbell chest press – I find this gives me a better squeeze than the standard bench press. Chins - brilliant for developing the back and arms.
SJ: Clean and Press, Squat (on tip toes at top), Incline Bench Press. I’ve chosen multi-joint exercises so that I could work as many muscle groups as possible. I went with the incline bench press as I personally find flat bench press very uncomfortable for my shoulder whereas incline is fine.
Q - What’s the most over-rated exercise?
CF: A lot of the exercises that are supposed to develop “functional” or “core” strength. I was in the gym the other day and saw this guy trying to do an overhead press while kneeling on a Swiss Ball. When I asked him why he was doing them on a Swiss Ball instead of on the floor, he said that doing them in an "unstable environment" made them "more functional for his core," and suggested that I do the same. Because he was working so hard just to stay balanced, he was using a tiny weight, and wasn't really working his shoulders to any significant degree. In the end I just feel that the whole concept of functional training has gotten to be a bit ridiculous. I understand that you may want to try something different but ask yourself, “will this actually help me achieve my goals?”
SJ: Wrist Curls: I see a lot of people doing lots of direct forearm exercises but rarely doing exercises such as deadlifts, bent over rows, one arm rows, hammer curls, etc. Typically, they still have small forearms.
Q - And the most under-valued exercise?
CF: One of the most valuable and result producing “exercises” you’ll ever do is the simple act of picking up a pen and notebook and recording your workouts — otherwise known as keeping a training diary. With a training diary, you can see instantly if the time you're investing in the gym is delivering results. It will also make it very clear if you're doing nothing more than simply repeating the same workout over and over again... going nowhere... slowly.
TM: Deadlifts – such a good exercise for overall body development.
SJ: If I had to choose one then I would say Good Mornings. The reason is because a lot of people don’t train their legs. Of the people that do train legs very few will put much focus on their hamstrings. In my opinion Good Mornings are a great exercise for your hamstrings as well as for your lower back. For those of you unsure what a ‘Good Morning’ is: Place a barbell on your shoulders. Keep your head up and your back completely straight. Bend at your waist with your legs locked, until your upper body is parallel to the floor. Return slowly to the upper position. Start with a very light weight and always maintain strict form.
