Healthy Living • YMCA Health and Fitness
Are you wasting your time at the gym?
03 December 2018 - by Nicole Meredith
Is your idea of a workout routine 30-minute treadmill sessions, 3 times a week?
Have you been a regular in the same class all year?
Are you a weight-room wanderer — a plan-less soul who aimlessly floats between equipment that happens to be free?
These things take up your time. And I’m willing to bet they’re not getting you the results you want.
I’m not going to try to tell you “the best way to exercise,” or “the most optimal way to eat.” As far as I’m concerned, those don’t exist. Sure, we have some general guidelines, but there are no “quick fix” tricks that work for everyone. So instead of spending your time on the latest cleanse or fad bootcamp, you should be investing it.
Here’s what I mean:
You spend time exercising, but perhaps you don’t invest time making sure you’re benefiting from it.
You spend time grocery shopping, not investing time to ensure you’re making the best choices.
You spend time with the same people in your weekly TRX class, but not investing in building relationships that could help you in the long term.
We spend time because it’s easier than investing time.
I know what you’re thinking: isn’t it good enough that you’re going to that CycleFit class 3 times a week? Yes…and no.
Doing something is better than doing nothing. But without a real investment, you risk:
Just like investing money, investing time can pay off. It might be harder in the short term, but it’s better in the long term.
So how do you stop spending and start investing? Here are 3 steps to get you on track:
Decide what you want out of your investment. Are you looking to learn something new? Change an old habit? Build a new one? Make a list of things you want to improve or change and pick one.
To invest your time in something new, you might have to sacrifice time usually spent on something else. Accept that you’re taking a risk and take comfort in knowing that it will pay off in the long run.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some great investments you can make in exercise, eating, and social habits — ones that will actually get you the results you want.
In the meantime, let me know what you want to change on Twitter @casmeysamantha.
Sam has an honours BSc in kinesiology from the University of Waterloo and is a YMCA Canada Trainer Educator. She’s currently the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s Manager of Health & Fitness Adult Programs. In the 20 years she’s been working at the Y, Sam’s taught thousands of fitness classes and trained hundreds of volunteers to teach classes including Arriba, MuscleFit, Bootcamp, and many more. She’s currently spending her time on Sudoku and cryptic crosswords, but investing in reading books on habits and behaviour change.
Have you been a regular in the same class all year?
Are you a weight-room wanderer — a plan-less soul who aimlessly floats between equipment that happens to be free?
These things take up your time. And I’m willing to bet they’re not getting you the results you want.
I’m not going to try to tell you “the best way to exercise,” or “the most optimal way to eat.” As far as I’m concerned, those don’t exist. Sure, we have some general guidelines, but there are no “quick fix” tricks that work for everyone. So instead of spending your time on the latest cleanse or fad bootcamp, you should be investing it.
Here’s what I mean:
You spend time exercising, but perhaps you don’t invest time making sure you’re benefiting from it.
You spend time grocery shopping, not investing time to ensure you’re making the best choices.
You spend time with the same people in your weekly TRX class, but not investing in building relationships that could help you in the long term.
We spend time because it’s easier than investing time.
I know what you’re thinking: isn’t it good enough that you’re going to that CycleFit class 3 times a week? Yes…and no.
Doing something is better than doing nothing. But without a real investment, you risk:
- Falling into a workout rut and losing your motivation
- Not being able to adapt to changes — for example, if your schedule shifts and you suddenly can’t make that CycleFit class anymore
- Hitting a wall and watching your results plateau
Just like investing money, investing time can pay off. It might be harder in the short term, but it’s better in the long term.
So how do you stop spending and start investing? Here are 3 steps to get you on track:
- Make up your mind
Decide what you want out of your investment. Are you looking to learn something new? Change an old habit? Build a new one? Make a list of things you want to improve or change and pick one.
- Be brave
To invest your time in something new, you might have to sacrifice time usually spent on something else. Accept that you’re taking a risk and take comfort in knowing that it will pay off in the long run.
- Stay tuned
Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some great investments you can make in exercise, eating, and social habits — ones that will actually get you the results you want.
In the meantime, let me know what you want to change on Twitter @casmeysamantha.
Sam has an honours BSc in kinesiology from the University of Waterloo and is a YMCA Canada Trainer Educator. She’s currently the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s Manager of Health & Fitness Adult Programs. In the 20 years she’s been working at the Y, Sam’s taught thousands of fitness classes and trained hundreds of volunteers to teach classes including Arriba, MuscleFit, Bootcamp, and many more. She’s currently spending her time on Sudoku and cryptic crosswords, but investing in reading books on habits and behaviour change.
