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The treadmills and stair steppers are busy. That's my reason anyways.
I'm always disappointed with the massive amount of real estate most gyms devote to weight training while giving so little to the cardio equipment that people stay on for hours at a time.
Oh, I am not into tracking calories burned at all. I go for performance 100% of the time, not calories burned. By concentrating on performance based exercises and routines, not only does my vehicle (my body) become faster, stronger, better, etc. the byproduct is always LOTS of fat burned.
The average guy may only burn 125 calories running a mile (women 105) and this really isnt all the big in the scheme of things when it comes to watching caloric intake and calorie output. So I figure, "how can I get MORE out of just one mile?". Simple answer - run it as FAST as I possibly can EACH AND EVERY TIME OUT. This way, my fitness level will improve faster, and by blasting through the mile at HIGHEST possible rate, I probably burn close to 200 calories or more. Not to mention that it will be less time taken to do this. Also, the motivating factor of being aware of my previous times and trying to beat it, makes it super fun as well.
You make a good point. This is why I do Interval training when I run... which is to walk or light jog for a minute, and then sprint as fast as I can for a minute, doing 8 sets of intervals, along with a 3 minute warm-up, and a 3 minute warm-down. In under 25 minutes, I do what most joggers can do in 50-60 minutes!
The treadmills and stair steppers are busy. That's my reason anyways.
I'm always disappointed with the massive amount of real estate most gyms devote to weight training while giving so little to the cardio equipment that people stay on for hours at a time.
That probably varies by gym. There are a ton of cardio machines at my gym even though maybe 3/4 of all equipment there is weight related. However I've never seen a time that all the cardio machines were full. Hardly ever is anyone on the stair steppers so it almost seems a waste that they have several of them. They have some machines no one seems to know how to use. There's one that feels more like an amusement park ride once you get going on it and I don't feel it really is working anything in the body. So some cardio equipment may be more gimic than exercise.
I'm always disappointed with the massive amount of real estate most gyms devote to weight training while giving so little to the cardio equipment that people stay on for hours at a time.
My gym has about a 50/50 ratio of areas devoted to cardio vs weight training. Which is a bit lame in my opinion, because there's never a need for that much cardio equipment. Cardio exercise can be done anywhere, without equipment. Circuit training with weights will keep your heartrate up, while the weight training will more-efficiently burn calories and tear down muscles. Jumping rope requires very little space, and no need for electronic equipment. Squat thrusts will give your cardio system a workout faster than running ever could. However, the gym I go to only has 1 squat rack. Sure, I can never get to the squat rack to get in a good workout, but at least I could sit on one of the many empty stationary bikes and at least bide some time before I get fat, lol.
My gym has about a 50/50 ratio of areas devoted to cardio vs weight training. Which is a bit lame in my opinion, because there's never a need for that much cardio equipment. Cardio exercise can be done anywhere, without equipment. Circuit training with weights will keep your heartrate up, while the weight training will more-efficiently burn calories and tear down muscles. Jumping rope requires very little space, and no need for electronic equipment. Squat thrusts will give your cardio system a workout faster than running ever could. However, the gym I go to only has 1 squat rack. Sure, I can never get to the squat rack to get in a good workout, but at least I could sit on one of the many empty stationary bikes and at least bide some time before I get fat, lol.
I think that type of gym environment you speak of 50/50, and some gyms offer even less weight training areas. It seems cardio is the main focus of todays gym. I think these type gyms came about when these big box type gym chains took over. Bally's, LA Fitness, 24 hour fitness. Golds still has a decent amount of weight training areas in many locations.
These gym chains put so many locally owned what I call neighborhood Mom & Pop type gyms out of business. The locally owned gyms didn't have all the fancy weight machines and cardio machines that todays gyms have. They had or usually had ample weight lifting equipment and lesser cardio equip. I definitely use cardio equip but I miss those neighborhood gyms of yesteday. Im stuck with 24 hour fitness and I know what you mean about all the cardio equipment vs weight training areas..
Also depends on the neighborhood and clientele they are trying to attract. For instance the enormous NFC gym in our town that has 2 floors caters to the wealthy professionals type and is mostly lame tension machines and cardio. They have indoor running track, larger pool and a basketball court. I got a visit there for a couple weeks and never saw the strong, muscly type guys or anything but very anorexic looking women. But the other gym, the one I ended up signing up with, attracts more middle class and is full of hardcore muscular guys and a good dozen or so extremely muscular women. Two men and three women from our gym just won the state bodybuilders championship. Nobody from NFC even competed. NFC has a quiet, hospital-like decor and atmosphere. Our gym is lively, more youthful and there is constantly sweat covering the floor. They seem to have a lot of cardio compared to other gyms yet are still 3/4 weights, every thing from cable, freemotion, nautilus machines to hammer strength and tons of free weights and 3 squat racks. Its a national gym not mom and pop local gym.
Also depends on the neighborhood and clientele they are trying to attract. For instance the enormous NFC gym in our town that has 2 floors caters to the wealthy professionals type and is mostly lame tension machines and cardio. They have indoor running track, larger pool and a basketball court. I got a visit there for a couple weeks and never saw the strong, muscly type guys or anything but very anorexic looking women. But the other gym, the one I ended up signing up with, attracts more middle class and is full of hardcore muscular guys and a good dozen or so extremely muscular women. Two men and three women from our gym just won the state bodybuilders championship. Nobody from NFC even competed. NFC has a quiet, hospital-like decor and atmosphere. Our gym is lively, more youthful and there is constantly sweat covering the floor. They seem to have a lot of cardio compared to other gyms yet are still 3/4 weights, every thing from cable, freemotion, nautilus machines to hammer strength and tons of free weights and 3 squat racks. Its a national gym not mom and pop local gym.
That sounds like a good gym. I wish it was here in Portland but 24 hour fitness dominates this area, and took over all of our Golds gyms. Any other gyms like you mentioned are long gone at least in this area of the country. Im not sure if that dominance will take over the whole country, but it definitely has on the west coast.
You make a good point. This is why I do Interval training when I run... which is to walk or light jog for a minute, and then sprint as fast as I can for a minute, doing 8 sets of intervals, along with a 3 minute warm-up, and a 3 minute warm-down. In under 25 minutes, I do what most joggers can do in 50-60 minutes!
Actually there have been studies that show the amount of work performed during a short interval session isn't any greater than a steady-state cardio session of the same duration. The reason is that during the "light jog" periods between the higher intensity periods, you're actually going slower than what you would be doing if you were just running at a consistent pace. I've experienced this myself. In 30 minutes, I might run at a consistent pace, one that's moderate in intensity. But later, I might do another 30 minute session. Only this time I do a 5 minute warmup, sprint for 20 seconds, jog for 40, repeat this 19 more times, and then finish with a 5 minute cool down. In terms of distance, both 30 minute sessions come out the same. And I know that the pace I'm going at during those 40-second "rest" periods is slower than what my non-HIIT cardio pace is. How could it not be since I just sprinted for 20 seconds? If you're still able to jog at the same pace for your "rest" periods as you would for your regular steady-state cardio sessions, then chances are your high-intensity periods aren't intense enough. Whenever I do an all-out sprint, I'm ready to collapse and it takes a good 20 seconds just to get my pace back up. So don't perform HIIT thinking that you're compressing more work into a shorter period. The real value of HIIT is the post-exercise effects. Whereas with traditional cardio you're burning calories during the exercise session, after an HIIT session, your metabolism is still running high and burning calories.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AuburnAL
I'm always disappointed with the massive amount of real estate most gyms devote to weight training while giving so little to the cardio equipment that people stay on for hours at a time.
Keep in mind that what your gym offers is really a function of customer demands, cost, and space considerations. I've seen gyms where it was wall-to-wall treadmills and ellipticals and very little weight lifting equipment. Why? Because more people go to the gym to do cardio and gyms probably get better deals on cardio machines than weight lifting equipment.
My gym has about a 50/50 ratio of areas devoted to cardio vs weight training. Which is a bit lame in my opinion, because there's never a need for that much cardio equipment. Cardio exercise can be done anywhere, without equipment. Circuit training with weights will keep your heartrate up, while the weight training will more-efficiently burn calories and tear down muscles. Jumping rope requires very little space, and no need for electronic equipment. Squat thrusts will give your cardio system a workout faster than running ever could. However, the gym I go to only has 1 squat rack. Sure, I can never get to the squat rack to get in a good workout, but at least I could sit on one of the many empty stationary bikes and at least bide some time before I get fat, lol.
My gym is the same way. There's always plenty of cardio equipment to use but heaven help you if you need to use the power cage in the early evening.
That sounds like a good gym. I wish it was here in Portland but 24 hour fitness dominates this area, and took over all of our Golds gyms. Any other gyms like you mentioned are long gone at least in this area of the country. Im not sure if that dominance will take over the whole country, but it definitely has on the west coast.
Don't give up hope. This gym called The Rush is actually rapidly expanding or so the trainers there have told me and showed maps where new gyms are planned. I don't know if they are on the west coast or not. I tried to count the cardio equipment the other day, there's so many its difficult to but somewhere between 75-100 machines. There are 3 long rows that take up most of the width of the gym so its hard to say for sure without counting one by one and I think that would draw way more attention than I'd want too. lol This is one of their smaller gyms as they have gyms in nearby larger cities that are even bigger.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DennyCrane
Keep in mind that what your gym offers is really a function of customer demands, cost, and space considerations.
That's very true especially with demand and also what kind of clientele they have. We may have a lot of equipment at our gym, but one thing we don't have is good classes. The trainers say they have mostly baby boomer clientele, though honestly that's not who I see in the gym. But they only offer Step Aerobics & pilates classes now because they said that is what the older baby boomer women demand. In another nearby city they say their clientele is younger so they offer things like kick boxing. I wasn't interested in Zumba, but they did away with that and the Power 90 programs too.
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