Addicted to the gym

MissJazzie14

Your body, I believe, only has a certain 'recovery' capacity and often the recovery is more important than the lifting.
However, if you're using machines, you're probably taxing your body less than doing compound moves that work a lot of muscles at once, so it may need less recovery time.
I'd love to workout every other day, but I'm already stalling on the squat and have been cutting down what I'm doing and increasing calories in.

What sort of machines, how many reps and do you aim to be at failure on your last rep of that machine?

When i do my upper body I will do: dumb bells 10-15 lbs. (I will usually stand and curl or box the air), triceps extension, shoulder butterfly, back butterfly, shoulder press and chest press. My lower body consist of seated leg curl, hip adduction and abduction, seated row, calf extension and leg extension. I do 10 sets of 10 and on my last set I will try to get more than 10 so I aim for 15

MissJazzie14

Don't know where you live Msjazzie, but if you lived here I would be right there with you!!! :bigsmile: I have worked out everyday since October of this year. I joined challenges on MFP and some required some type of movement everyday. Now, it has become habit for me.i have a treadmill at home, so that if I can't get to the gym....it's a treadmill day!! LOVE ZUMBA!! Three days a week I do that at the gym. I also see it as a stress reliever. As a matter of fact, some of by best workouts have been when I was angry with my hubby!! :laugh:

As long as you are listening to your body and making adjustments when needed, I think you are doing GREAT!! :drinker:

Thanks. I have a treadmill at home and she is collecting dust. I am not motivated to workout at homes. I recently got the Zumba dvd and it is not the same as doing it in the gym. I go to the gym when i am upset, happy, stress, PMS'ing lol i just love the gym. I think I need to listen to my body more. I was feeling a little nausea this morning before I went. I know i am not dehydrated because i drink a gallon a water everyday but most of my water intake is usually after i work out so i can replace what I sweat out. I think its the food. I don't think i am eating enough. =( Breakfast is the devil. lol I am not a morning eater but I will drink a protein shake or eat some oatmeal but i think i probably overdid it yesterday at the gym and now my body is paying for it. No more saunas or steam rooms for me =(

allaboutthecake

Keep going, you love it. When ya can't get your gym fix, you're cranky :laugh: I used to be that way with aerobics. :laugh: :bigsmile: Now, I like to bike. So go ahead and get in there....you're rotating your workouts, you'll be fine.

MissJazzie14

Keep going, you love it. When ya can't get your gym fix, you're cranky :laugh: I used to be that way with aerobics. :laugh: :bigsmile: Now, I like to bike. So go ahead and get in there....you're rotating your workouts, you'll be fine.

Thanks

Starfish1125

I think you could have worse addictions than the gym! :laugh: You're getting endorphins, which are nature's happy pills.....nothing wrong with that!:drinker:

MissJazzie14

Thanks Stdogz

I think so too. I just hope i don't get bored anytime soon

Jagreene62

Thanks Stdogz

I think so too. I just hope i don't get bored anytime soon

If/When the boredom comes you will find a new workout routine. Just like your are trying Zumba now, it will be something else knew then!! :drinker:

sm1zzle

geebusuk

What 'results' are you looking to achieve?
Doing 10x10 I would expect is closer to a muscular endurance than strength gain or size gain.

The only '10x10' program I've heard of is 'german strength training' and I believe generally people only do one exercise per body part because it's considered so intense - the rest days are considered quite important and you won't hit the same body part for at least 6 days. So I would suspect you're not pushing as hard as that program would require for the results that it tries to deliver.
Also to be remembered, it's not just your muscles that need to recover, but your 'central nervous system' - I haven't looked in to the working behind this, but this is repeated in most places talking about weight lifting etc.

In the end, if it's not causing you any harm, you enjoy it and don't mind taking up that amount of time, seems fine.
However, there likely are better ways to reach whatever goals you have.

Does your gym do classes?
I'd have a look at 'body pump' if it does? It doesn't sound too far off what you're doing, though may feel a bit more 'intense'. Bet it burns more calories overall. It's doing light weights in time to music which is going to promote muscular endurance - I like the class aspect because it forces you to keep going. Also funny that I when I first went to one, there was a woman in her fifties who was a regular who was using more weight than me - despite my strength certainly being better/

MissJazzie14

What 'results' are you looking to achieve?
Doing 10x10 I would expect is closer to a muscular endurance than strength gain or size gain.

The only '10x10' program I've heard of is 'german strength training' and I believe generally people only do one exercise per body part because it's considered so intense - the rest days are considered quite important and you won't hit the same body part for at least 6 days. So I would suspect you're not pushing as hard as that program would require for the results that it tries to deliver.
Also to be remembered, it's not just your muscles that need to recover, but your 'central nervous system' - I haven't looked in to the working behind this, but this is repeated in most places talking about weight lifting etc.

In the end, if it's not causing you any harm, you enjoy it and don't mind taking up that amount of time, seems fine.
However, there likely are better ways to reach whatever goals you have.

Does your gym do classes?
I'd have a look at 'body pump' if it does? It doesn't sound too far off what you're doing, though may feel a bit more 'intense'. Bet it burns more calories overall. It's doing light weights in time to music which is going to promote muscular endurance - I like the class aspect because it forces you to keep going. Also funny that I when I first went to one, there was a woman in her fifties who was a regular who was using more weight than me - despite my strength certainly being better/

I am not looking for certain results to be all honest. I am just looking to live better. Now since I am overweight and I mean alot, I was told to do strength training after cardio to help toning. Although I do lift weights and alternate upper and lower body I do not lift heavy at all. For example, on Monday's when I do my upper body, I will lift roughly about 40 lbs doing 10 sets of 10. The next time I do upper body will be Wednesday and then I will lift 10 lbs. I don't want to get bulky (God forbid) but one of the trainers at the gym told me I have to trick my muscles and he told me what I was doing is fine. I have only been in the gym like this for about 2 almost 3 weeks. I started off with a simple goal and I have stuck to it. Next month I will be picking up cardio a lot more. For example, Mondays will be triceps, biceps, and shoulders. Tuesdays will be cardio only such as zumba, stair climber, treadmill for 2 hour. Wednesday will be back, and mid-section, Thursday will be cardio only again. Friday will be lower body, Saturday will be cardio only and Sunday will be rest day. I don't know if this is a good plan but its a goal I set for myself.

I appreciate all feedback and if you know something that will help me please let me know. I am open-minded in trying new things

lgrix

If you like to exercise at the gym ever day, then do it! Every one is different and finding out what works for you is the key to success. Good luck on your journey.

meshashesha2012

i think addictions of any kind is bad, regardless of what the addiction is, because they come from an inability to cope.

it's one thing to go daily because you love it but another to do it because you're escaping your problems.

i would suggest learn some more proactive ways to deal with your problems (i doubt going to the gym will fix those issues) and resolve them head on. for those problems that you cna't fix or that are out of your hands, maybe learn some acceptance .


as for workouts, i really really recommend programs like starting strength and strong lifts. there's no reason to wait until a certain amount of weight loss to start strength training. you would also probably be better served by skipping the little muscles like triceps and biceps and focusing on the compound lifts that work multiple muscles at once like deadlifts, squats, bench press, turkish get ups, pull ups, overhead press, cleans, etc.

no need to worry about getting bulky that would break at least 2 laws of physics if you were able to do that while eating at a calorie deficit. and trust me, i actually have the body type that "easily" bulks and last time i did it on purpose i had to work really really hard (ie eating well over maintenance and lots of powerlifting). so you're not going to get bulky on accident.


also i wouldnt necessarily believe everything trainers tell you. many of them have opinions that arent based on science (ie matter is never created from NOTHING, so there's no way you would be bulking if you are eating at a calorie deficit). i've had a few at my gym warn me against heavy lifting because it will make me bigger. the last time that happened i agreed and was like "yeah, you're right. i got so big from lifting heavy that i increased my pant size from a size 22 to a size 14" :laugh:

dakotababy

There are some weeks where I want to work out every single day. Some weeks, I barely get up off of the couch. Basically - let your rest days come naturally. Those days where you feel sick, tired, just not wanting to do it - then that is the time to give yourself a break then you cant feel so guilty about it!

Sphynxledger

I enjoy working out every day - sometimes 2x daily - however it is best to let your body relax from your usual workout. Try yoga or pilates or just do something different than your usual. If you're focusing on building muscles - do some cardio. Work different muscle groups

MaryJane_8810002

You should give your body at least one rest day or it will really catch up to you.

MissJazzie14

Thanks everyone for the advice and tips. I think I will probably finished the remainder of this year going to the gym every day (4 days left including today) and next month I will give myself a rest day during the week. I will probably take my rest day and relax in the hot tub at the gym. Its really hard to cut a habit that you enjoy. I had a habit of eating ice-cream everyday and that was a hard habit to quit and i personally think that's where majority of my weight came from so leaving that habit to gain a more healthy habit by working out is a blessing to me. I know that me going to the gym everyday is not going to be long term. I don't think any habit is long term, well for me, because i usually don't stick to it. But i agree with some of you about having a rest day to let my muscles calm down. I will try but i can't promise anything.

littleburgy

There are WORSE things to be addicted to the gym is the place where I can take all of my frustrations in life out. I love going to the gym and go 5-6 days a week. I've done exercise off and on for most of my teenage/adult life, but since August I really have been working hard to get into shape to help me deal with life. I always have so much more energy and feel so much better if I've had a workout.

Over the holidays it's been cut to about 3 days because of closures and I'm annoyed (but I understand).

I could walk or bike but it's too cold!

MissJazzie14

There are WORSE things to be addicted to the gym is the place where I can take all of my frustrations in life out. I love going to the gym and go 5-6 days a week. I've done exercise off and on for most of my teenage/adult life, but since August I really have been working hard to get into shape to help me deal with life. I always have so much more energy and feel so much better if I've had a workout.

Over the holidays it's been cut to about 3 days because of closures and I'm annoyed (but I understand).

I could walk or bike but it's too cold!

I feel the same way. It seems like my day goes better when i work out. I have been working extremely hard in the last 2 weeks and only missed one day (Christmas) due to gym being closed but Thursday morning i started back again. I just have to deal with another day of it being closed which is New Years =( but I will let that be my rest day so I can have some fun that evening.

skinnyinnotime

Wow, is that 2 hrs everyday? That's really too much for your body and unnecessary.

I used to work out 6-7 days a week, I came to realise I was overdoing it lol and I have better results now!

Good luck with it all :flowerforyou:

geebusuk

First off, not sure if you mean do cardio, then when you've finished your cardio session do weights - if so, it's generally considered better the other way around.
I was just reading up on this again today for myself (in this case seeing how long it was recommended to do cardio before you have to worry about it harming the weights you had previously done.)

As before, if you enjoy it and you're not getting injured, then it may well be best to keep at it, but you could likely get the same results quicker.

The concept of 'toning' is often thrown around, but I'm afraid it's a rather misused - if you wanted to get 'toned' or to get 'bulky' you would do EXACTLY the same things - you would just stop sooner for the 'tone' when the muscles are the size you want.
'Tone' is merely being able to see some muscles, which means low fat and some muscle - for some men they may more get away with a bit more fat and more muscle, but... In reality most women find it very hard to get 'bulky' - that really needs good amounts of testosterone - so most women weight lifting actually just end up 'toned'.

For 'lfiting heavy', this is an example I like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ5aL7dvF5g
I wouldn't call her 'bulky' exactly. She weighs 132lb and has 300lb on her back.
Now, I can squat a bit more than that, but nowhere near enough relative to my weight, even if I was at the weight I should be at.

So, lifting heavy weights, you're going to have to get a good lot over lifting 300lb before yo worry about being 'bulky' .
And just to reiterate - she's doing a squat with the equivalent of two more people her size sitting on her shoulders, both holding some heavy shopping bags themselves .

As far as body image and weight loss goes, cardio merely 'buys calories' - if you burn 400 calories doing cardio and you have a 750 calorie deficit, you've got another 400 calories to eat that day over not having them. However, for the same weight loss results, you could also not do the cardio and not eat the 400 calories.
There are other reasons to do carido however - it improves your cardiovascular health - which is useful for things that I like doing, such as off-road motorcycle racing. It can also improve weight lifting a bit too. It may have other positive aspects to your general health too.

Weight training specifically because it helps keep and for new people with a fair bit of weight to lose, possibly even improve muscle size as well as certainly improving strength for many in that situation.

As far as improving muscle size goes, I was recently also reading more in depth in to how strength (pure lifting heavy stuff) vs hypertrophy (aiming for biggest size) works. It would seem when going for strength you are specifically increasing the muscle fibres, while when aiming for size, it is also the surrounding cells and, fluid retention and so forth.
The former tends to be 'longer lasting' than the latter.
As an idea, when training for strength, people will go for around 5 reps, while somewhere around 10 reps for size.

I would GUESS one of the reasons I see a significantly increased BMR (the amount your body burns just existing, without any movement etc) the day after a heavy weights session is the body repairing it's self. This general calorie burn that can last for two days or so without you doing anything extra is one of the reasons so many recommend heavy weights.

I would suspect that using light weight for 10 x 10 on a machine you'll probably not be stressing your muscles to require nearly as significant repair as doing things like the squat in the video above with heavy weights (heavy for you; always start light and move up, too).

If I wanted to be going to the gym most days, I would be doing 'starting strength' for weight lifting (google for it, or look on here, there's loads of info), considering some cardio after that if I wanted more gym time and cardio on the 'rest' days from the weights. I'd probably try and have some protein after weights before cardio.