Train Smarter, Not Harder

Are you spending endless hours in the gym sweating buckets and working yourself to exhaustion, desperately trying to reach your fitness goals, but something just isn't working? You’re not alone! It seems like a common sense that by exercising more, you’d naturally see results faster. In actuality, overdoing it in the gym can often hold you back, rather than help.

These are our top tips for training smarter rather than harder. These pointers have helped many of our clients with the same mentality maximise their results with less time and effort than they’re ever given before!


Go In With A Plan And Stick To It

Knowing exactly what exercises, sets and reps you’ll be doing when you enter the gym will provide you with focus and an endpoint. Aimlessly using every machine is sight until you’re exhausted won’t get you very far - following a well-designed training program by a professional will.

Having a workout plan ahead of time also lets you be efficient in the gym. Whether you want to have your workout plan on your phone or make a mental note, have a clear idea of what machines you require and how many reps and sets are required. If leg day is on the agenda, having the squat rack first on the list will help you avoid wasted time deciding what exercise to begin with first.


Keep It Quick And Intense

Intensity is key - make sure you’re giving 100% of your focus and energy to your workouts and pushing yourself. For example, if you’re weight training, the last few reps of each set should be a real struggle! If you’re truly giving your all, you won’t need to or have the energy to spend more than 30-45 minutes training.


Too Much Stress Isn't Smart

When we exercise, we put our bodies under stress, which causes an increase in the hormone cortisol. This is the body’s natural response and is completely normal. However, if you’re consistently over-training, chronic levels of cortisol can be reached, which can have a negative impact. Too much cortisol inhibits your body’s ability to burn fat and can even encourage fat storage, especially around the abdomen.


HIIT It Up

You can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which also increases your metabolic rate for up to 24hours after you finish. One of our favourite forms of HIIT is treadmill sprints. Try doing 15-20 minutes of 20 seconds at maximum intensity (as hard and as fast as possible) followed by a brisk walk for 1 minute to recover. This workout only needs to be done one to three times a week to avoid over -stressing your system.


Try Something New

If you're an experienced gym-goer, chances are you know your way around the gym floor pretty well. Instead look to group exercise classes to mix it up. Variety will help you stay motivated and use muscles that haven't been recruited in a while.

Well-acquainted with the squat rack or bench press? Why not try pilates? Improving posture, strength and flexibility, pilates focuses on stretching and strengthening the entire body. Incorporating elements of yoga, martial arts and other forms of exercise, no doubt you'll leave sorer than leg day!

Want to better your exercise regime? Try speaking to one of our expert personal trainers.

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