If you’re going to the gym with a specific goal in mind, it’s important to tailor your training to focus your efforts on this target. When that specific goal is to lose weight, guessing your way through a workout regime is unlikely to yield the desired results you envisioned. Fortunately, with modern gyms offering the latest technology in health and fitness, it’s never been easier to lose weight and track your progress using these facilities. Here are three things to keep in mind when looking to burn fat in the gym.
Join a class
Most gym memberships will give you access to free weekly classes led by qualified trainers. Working out in a social environment can help to boost motivation to help you reach your weight loss goals. Plus, you can receive expert advice while you’re exercising, to ensure you’re maintaining proper form when completing different movements.
There are lots of different types of classes you can join. For weight loss, some of the most effective and popular are HIIT (high-intensity interval training), spin classes, circuit training and boxercise. If you don’t know whether your gym offers these classes, or are unsure when they take place, you’ll generally find the information on their website or app, or you can enquire with a member of staff on your next visit.
Lift weights
If your primary goal is to lose weight, you’ll likely focus more of your attention on the cardio corner of your gym, favoring the treadmills and cross trainers over free weights and resistance machines. However, weightlifting is a great way to burn excess calories. It isn’t just the process of lifting weights that helps you burn body fat; when your muscles are recovering and repairing themselves, they will be using up more calories beyond the session.
When using weights to lose body fat, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, it’s important to vary your sessions and the sorts of exercises you perform. After doing the same things at the same intensity for a prolonged period, your body will start to adjust and become more comfortable with these movements, meaning you’ll notice a slowdown in progress. Shock your body by changing the reps, weight, or range of motion for each exercise, as well as using different types of weights to train your body in a range of ways. Another technique is to reduce your recovery time between sets; this will force your body to work harder and help you to burn more calories in the process.
Be consistent
Whatever exercises you do and whatever your desired outcome from going to the gym, the importance of being consistent can’t be overstated. It’s all about yielding more sustainable results that make a long-term difference, rather than focusing on short-term gains that come and go. Staying consistent is easier said than done. Particularly if you aren’t seeing results as quickly as you might’ve hoped, you may start to feel discouraged and lose that drive to go to the gym.
However, there are lots of tips and tricks to help you stay on track. One of the most effective ways to stay motivated is to set small, achievable goals that you can monitor as you go. Ticking off the little wins along the way will make the eventual target seem more achievable. As we mentioned earlier, another way to stay consistent is to train socially. This doesn’t have to be in a class – training with a friend can be just as effective. Not only is this a great way to hold each other accountable, but you will also be providing each other with encouragement to go that extra mile when performing an exercise.
Your journey to better health
It’s often said that ‘muscles are made in the kitchen, not the gym’ – and this rings true when it comes to weight loss, too. However hard you work in the gym, to achieve sustainable results, it’s just as important to address your diet and other lifestyle factors. Taking a multi-faceted approach to weight management is the best way to yield life-changing results.