Healthy Living • YMCA Health and Fitness
How long do I need to work out?
10 December 2018 - by Nicole Meredith
A friend of mine used to have a very intense exercise routine that took about 2 hours to get through. He decided that if he didn’t have the full 2 hours to devote to the regime, he wasn’t going to work out at all. You can probably guess how often he went to the gym.
Doing any kind of physical activity, for any amount of time, is already a good start. But if you’re putting in the time anyway, why not make the most of it? This week, I’ve got 6 ways you can make a better investment in your health using 10 minutes you otherwise would have spent on your same old routine.
Cut your workout short!
The majority of your results happen in the first 30 to 45 minutes of your workout. You aren’t doing damage by exercising for an hour, but don’t torture yourself through those last 15 minutes for nothing. The less enjoyable you find your workout, the more likely you’ll eventually succumb to excuses not to do it.
The next time you go to the gym, skip those last 10 minutes of your regular routine, and invest them in one of these better uses of your time:
These tiny, no-risk investments will help you discover new ways of exercising you might totally love. Shaking things up is 100% necessary if you want to consistently get results out of your workout routine. Over time, your body acclimatizes to the challenges you throw its way. That’s why those 30 minutes on the treadmill feel gruelling at first, but become manageable if you push through them for a few weeks. Your muscles adapt to be able to handle what you tell them to. So, if you keep doing the same workout over and over, your results will stagnate — not to mention, you’ll be bored out of your mind and probably ditch the gym altogether.
In just 10 minutes, you can open your own eyes to some of the dozens of fitness options open to you. Making these small investments now will yield big returns later.
Struggling to maximize your time in the gym? I’m here to help solve your workout woes @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.
Doing any kind of physical activity, for any amount of time, is already a good start. But if you’re putting in the time anyway, why not make the most of it? This week, I’ve got 6 ways you can make a better investment in your health using 10 minutes you otherwise would have spent on your same old routine.
Cut your workout short!
The majority of your results happen in the first 30 to 45 minutes of your workout. You aren’t doing damage by exercising for an hour, but don’t torture yourself through those last 15 minutes for nothing. The less enjoyable you find your workout, the more likely you’ll eventually succumb to excuses not to do it.
The next time you go to the gym, skip those last 10 minutes of your regular routine, and invest them in one of these better uses of your time:
- Watch a group fitness class you’ve always wanted to try. Imagine yourself taking it.
- Plan your workout routines for the week: what days you’re going to visit the gym, what time, and what exercises you’re going to do — including one you’ve never tried before.
- Ask a staff member or volunteer to help you work on your technique, whether it’s for your salsa or your squat.
- Spend 5 minutes imaging yourself leading the group fitness class you just finished. Then spend the remaining five researching how to become a certified instructor!
- Learn how to use a new piece of equipment to do an old favourite exercise.
- Find a friend and play a super-quick game of badminton or one-on-one basketball.
These tiny, no-risk investments will help you discover new ways of exercising you might totally love. Shaking things up is 100% necessary if you want to consistently get results out of your workout routine. Over time, your body acclimatizes to the challenges you throw its way. That’s why those 30 minutes on the treadmill feel gruelling at first, but become manageable if you push through them for a few weeks. Your muscles adapt to be able to handle what you tell them to. So, if you keep doing the same workout over and over, your results will stagnate — not to mention, you’ll be bored out of your mind and probably ditch the gym altogether.
In just 10 minutes, you can open your own eyes to some of the dozens of fitness options open to you. Making these small investments now will yield big returns later.
Struggling to maximize your time in the gym? I’m here to help solve your workout woes @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.
