Every individual has their own reason for joining a health club, like to lose a few pounds, tone up and build some muscle, or just keep in position by playing with some basketball or racquetball. Thank you for joining the gym. Now that you’re there, what’s your plan for sticking to your fitness goal?
Did you know that over ⅓ of health club members only go to the gym once or never at all? Many people only join a gym in order to rehab an injury, while others quit because they don’t see any results. There are plenty of reasons why people should exercise but I have been a doctor for over 8 years now, and I have seen new gym members come in with good intentions only to make the same common mistakes that resulted in them not achieving their goals or injuring themselves.
I’m guessing that you want to hear more about our goals for joining the gym, so let me tell you what the CDC says. As many as 250,000 lives are lost every year due to a lack of physical activity or a sedentary lifestyle. Most of the problems I and other doctors are treating such as high blood, arthritis, chronic pain or stiffness, overweight and low energy are related to what we eat. That is 200,000 more than the number of lives lost as a result of car accidents. If chronic problems were solved by the right guidance, many of them could be prevented. If you get proper guidance, however, problems that already exist can also be helped.
I really hope that by sharing what I’ve seen over the years will help you achieve your fitness goals. I have been in physical therapy for over 25 years and I can tell you from experience that most of the time, injury results from these specific reasons:
Mistake #1: It’s important not to start a new exercise program without first seeing an experienced professional.
Every piece of exercise equipment has a similar cautionary statement, and there is a good reason for that. Exercise can be dangerous and it doesn’t matter if you are in shape. How many times have you known of someone suddenly passing back from a heart attack and you say to yourself, he looked so healthy. Schedule a visit with your primary doctor and have your blood pressure, resting pulse rate, and body fat checked. Have your heart and lungs listened to, as well as any injury you incurred. Make sure to get everything tested out before you take on a new sport or activity. If you do not want to schedule an appointment with your doctor, you can have these tests done here for free! This exam is included with your membership.
We want you to have the very best experience and not just any, but a safe one. We don’t think it looks good for our guests to be rolled out to an ambulance parked in front of the gym entrance. We do our best, but sometimes things happen and we need to rely on the expertise of our doctor. You can call us to make an appointment or come by if you are in Phoenix.
Mistake #2: The Initial Baseline Numbers are unknown.
One of the mistakes you could make is not tracking your progress – it would be helpful to know which goal you’re focusing on and how you’re doing so far. For example, if someone’s a little overweight or trying to lower their blood pressure, I think it’s quite important for them to know what their blood pressure is at say every two weeks. How are you going to track your weight loss if you don’t know your percent of body fat? You remember I said “% body fat” and not weight, right? It’s not how much you weigh, but what that weight means in terms of body fat percentage. One person joined the gym and is going to try using the scale to monitor themselves, while another visited our office and received an evaluation with their membership. The information in the evaluation is what will monitor progress, not a scale. At this evaluation we found that the second new member weighed 200lbs. And had a body fat percentage of 40%. This means that 40% of his body is made of fat (80lbs), while the other 120lbs is what his muscle, bones, organs, etc. weigh (everything but fat).
We reached out to the member who received our evaluation and found that they used to be in good shape, but now they’re a few pounds heavier. It seems as though this person might have lost their motivation for going to the gym over time and decided not to go anymore. They’ve tried a number of things, but haven’t been able to lose any weight. We take fitness very seriously and we were happy when this member inquired about how they could achieve their weight loss goals. We set them up with a program suitable for their needs. Now it is a 6 weeks into the program and the new member who knew what their body fat was before starting on our program comes in for his follow up visits to monitor his progress and the first thing he says is, “I’m feeling better but I lost less weight because the scale in the locker says 3 pounds. I feel frustrated.” However, we did observe that he/she has lost 3 pounds and now weighs 197lbs. Despite this, the percentage of body fat dropped from 40% to 36%. This person lost 10lbs of fat. The result is that instead of 80lbs, he/she has 70.
The member who is using the scale seems to have not made progress. Lets say they lost the same amount of weight as the member we just discussed, 3 pounds, after 6 weeks of exercise. There’s always that one person who joins a gym, uses it 3 times a week for 6 weeks, and then gets bored. Do they actually see results or are they just wasting their time? Something to think about.
One of the main goals when people think about joining a gym is often to lose weight, muscle toning, rehabilitating an injury, getting off or reducing all of those medications you may be on, lowering your blood pressure, reducing your stress, increasing your endurance, what ever your reason was. For some people, an alcohol addiction starts with a single drink. Others may be abusing alcohol for years before they realize how their drinking habits are impacting their life. These days, there are all kinds of resources that can help you identify the problem and figure out what to do about it. You don’t have to go it alone. If you decide you want professional help, remember.
Mistake #3 Not on the right program
It’s hard to keep track of the ever-changing trends in exercise and nutrition. One day, carbs are good; the next, they’re bad. One day, fats are indispensable; but now nuts are back in fashion. And so on and so on. I see people trying to lose weight, or fix an injury, every day and they rarely seem to get there. I usually only see them for a couple of weeks before they disappear though. The next step is to find the right individual program for you and your specific goals. The best person to start with would be the doctor who first evaluated you. If you have certain health conditions such as arthritis, a bad back, high blood pressure or are overweight then you should know what exercises to avoid. Exercising in the gym can have tremendous benefits for your health. If done correctly, exercise can lower blood pressure, reduce coronary artery disease, strengthen, improve your mood, help you deal with stress, increase your muscle tone, reduce chronic aches and pains, strengthen an injury, lose weight, if done correctly you can achieve the goals you have for joining the gym. However, the gym can also make your little problem a real big one. I have seen, and treated, many people who have injured themselves working out. I have also seen many people trying to tone up or lose weight who are just simply following a program that is not customized to their individual needs. These people stop coming to the gym, do not meet their goals, and keep paying their monthly membership dues. A word of caution- just because you see someone who looks like they are in shape does not mean they are really training properly. Make sure to find a person who has been trained to put together your tailored workout plan because they will be able to identify the best methods of exercise and set you on the right path. If you’re seeking information on how to work with a personal trainer, this can also be passed on to them so they know what you can and cannot do.
Mistake #4 Working out unsupervised means you can get distracted and not stick to your goals which is never good.
How can you measure your performance if you do not have regular progress evaluations? You should have someone check on your baseline numbers, such as blood pressure and body weight, every regular interval. One specific exercises might cause you some pain, or you may experience clicking sound in your shoulder at specific pose. If this is the case then quitting that exercise is advisable, since it would cause any further injury. You should ask for assistance from a professional to find a more suitable equivalent for the proposed exercise. It’s great to have a designated person to ask for help with your program and guide you through it. They will also be able to advise you on how to meet your goals, which is what we want, right?
When you avoid the 4 mistakes mentioned above, you will be more likely to achieve your goals and it can be a good reason for signing up to join this health club.