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Are YOU Really Working Out? Are YOU Really Working Out?
Don't be Like That Guy!
By: MuscleSports.net
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This about the people you see every time you go to the gym year after year and they always look the same.

It amazes us here how many continually go into their gym or health club jump on the treadmill or exercise bike and then talk more than train, then have the nerve to say they workout but can't seem to make any progress. You need to step back and ask yourself a question - Are You Really Working Out?

Guy on his phone not working out bu twasting time.A few days ago I arrived at the gym to begin my regular workout. I signed in and went to the dressing room to get into my gear. I was about halfway suited up when in walked a friend of mine named Ed (not his real name).

“How you doing?” Ed asked. I told him I was fine and asked how he was.

“Great,” he answered, then asked, “What are you working today?”

“Chest, shoulders, and triceps,” I replied.

What had only been small talk suddenly turned to a more serious subject. Seeming a little unsure of himself, Ed asked, “What are you taking?”

Not being sure exactly what he was getting at, but having a hunch, I asked, “What do you mean, what types of vitamins, protein or what?”

“No,” he replied, “You know what I’m talking about. I mean what kind of juice are you on, you know, roids.”

“I don’t take any,” I replied.

“Awe, that’s bull. Come on, admit it. I know you’re on the stuff. You’re a lot bigger than I am and we’ve been training the same length of time.”

“Are you sure you’re eating right?” I asked.

“I eat good and I take all the right vitamins and protein and everything.”

“How about your training program, are you sure you’re working out right?”

“I’m hitting the weights harder and heavier than ever, I mean, I’m training with total intensity.”

“Well,” I declared, “I’m not on anything stronger than liver tablets and protein powder.” With that I left the dressing room, insisting that I had to begin my workout.

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My first exercise of the day was the bench press. I started light to warm up, but was soon doing sets of five with 320 pounds. After three hard sets of that, I went to a back off set of ten reps with 280 pounds.

Meanwhile, what was Ed doing? He was at the front desk talking to the guy who ran the gym, as well as with any girl that happened to walk by.

My next exercise was the dumbbell fly. For this one I picked a pair of sixty pounders and did three sets of twelve reps. The weights felt lighter than ever and I decided that I was going to have to add weight the next time. Never the less, I was finished with my chest work for the day and I had quite a pump.

How about Ed? For his first exercise he had chosen the pec dec. I never do these as I feel they are more of a shaper than a mass builder. Any way, I prefer to use free weights rather than machines in my training.

I moved on to shoulder work, beginning with the behind neck press. For this one, I did sets of eight, ranging from 135 to 175 pounds in ten pound jumps, that’s a total of five sets. My shoulders were actually burning. I tried to locate Ed. Where was he at? I finally spotted him at the water fountain, replenishing lost body fluids I suppose.

My next, and last, shoulder exercise was one for the frontal deltoids, I might add that this exercise is great for the bench press, the William’s front raise with dumbbell. I use a single dumbbell and raise it forward, up and over my head with both hands. I keep the elbows almost straight, but not quite, to relieve any elbow pain. I began with a thirty pounder but was soon using a seventy pounder, taking ten pound jumps.

Ed, meanwhile, was doing what I think was lateral raises, but he looked more like an injured bird trying to fly. He was using very light dumbbells also.

For triceps I did only one exercise, the triceps pushdown on the pulley. A lot of people do not like this exercise and some say it is not a mass builder. All I can say is that! like it and it feels right for me. I think that if an exercise feels right, you will do it more willingly and therefore put more into it and as a result get better results. As always, I began light and worked up to a heavy weight. Since it is my only exercise for the triceps, I do from eight to ten sets and work very heavy as well as very light in the same workout.

Eddie was telling the latest joke to a couple of guys at the soda machine. They seemed to be enjoying it a lot because they were all laughing pretty hard.

My workout was almost over now. I went to the incline sit-up board and did two sets of ten reps with a 25 pound plate behind my head, followed by two sets of fifty reps with no weight. After this it was hard for me to even get up. Ed was finally back working out. This time he was on the 1at pulldown machine. He was pulling the bar down to the top of his head and then letting it fly back up. As before, he was using an amazingly light weight. No self respecting grandmother would use that little weight on that exercise.

Well, my workout being over, I hit the shower. As I showered, I could really feel the muscles aching from my workout. I had a great feeling.

As I was heading for the door Ed called out, “You leaving so soon?”

“Yeah,” I answered, “I’m through with my workout.”

“Boy, that wasn’t a very long one. I still have another hour to go,” he hollered as I walked out the door.

There you have Ed. The classic example of a man who thinks he works out regularly and diligently but feels that he just isn’t making any progress. What type of trainee are you? Do you work when you go to the gym, or do you merely go through the motions and socialize while you are at the gym?

First you have to decide what you want from your workout. Do you just want to have fun at the gym and see your friends, or do you want to be massive and powerful? It you are just there for fun, go ahead, that’s your business, but if you want to make progress and grow in size and strength, then you have to decide whether your workout is sufficient. If it’s not, then quit kidding yourself.

If you want to change your workout to a more productive one, there are a few simple rules you must follow.

The first rule is to go to the gym to work out. Not to socialize or anything else, just to work out.

The second rule is to stick to the basic exercises and short workouts as described here on the MuscleSports.net. I used to pride myself on working out seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. I didn’t even miss Christmas. I never grew either. When I started working out three or tour days a week and cutting the workouts down, I began to grow.

The third rule is to eat right. Don’t eat junk food, don’t miss meals, take vitamins, minerals, and protein. If you want to gain weight, eat a lot, if you want to lose weight, eat less. But either way, diet is very important.

The fourth and last rule is to get enough rest. The body rebuilds itself during times of rest. That means you need a lot of sleep each night and you need three or four days each week with no workout whatsoever.

Don’t waste precious time in the gym, though. Before diet, rest, or anything else can make you grow in mass and strength, you must work out hard, but sensibly. Only you know whether you’re working out hard enough or not. Are you really working out? It’s up to you, YOU know.

Tags: Bodybuilding Life

DL
Train Smart & Train Hard!
DL

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