How Do You Get Excited About Exercise?

I’m sure you are aware of the plethora of benefits associated with exercise; you’ll not only look better, but you’ll feel more energetic, boost your self-esteem, prevent the onset of life-threatening disease and vastly improve your quality of life. But, how do you get excited about exercise?

Getting excited about exercise is the key to success. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you would be well aware of the importance I associate with the consistency of adhering to an exercise routine. After all, one exercise session here and there is going to have a negligible effect on your body. It’s the cumulative effect of multiple exercise sessions strung together that yield the most profound benefits.

In order to develop a consistent approach to exercise, it is essential that you actually enjoy the exercise that you are doing. You must actually become excited about exercise – otherwise you can expect an overwhelming sense of disappointment when you inevitably give up on your exercise routine, finding the benefits obtained quickly whither away.

So – the million dollar question – how do you get excited about exercise?

As I’m sure you would agree, there is no one single answer to this question. It will vary amongst individuals. Whilst one person may enjoy going to the gym regularly, another may enjoy a game of tennis a couple of times a week.

The key is to find something that you enjoy.

Let’s begin with the gym. The gym has somewhat of a stigma attached to it that it is a “must” for anyone seeking to get in shape. Well, this is certainly not true. Sure – a typical  gym has all the equipment available, thus being an amazing facility to use, but if you’re never going to use that facility, then what’s the point? Having a membership does not mean that you are actually doing yourself any good – you have to actually use that membership. If you cannot get excited about going to the gym, then stop your membership now and find an alternative.

If you are considering joining the gym (or are already a member), yet see it more as a “torture chamber” and really want to give it a go, here are a few tips to get excited about exercising at the gym:

1. Train with a workout partner – you may actually have fun! Plus, if you’re competitive, this could really spur on some excitement within your workouts.
2. Hire a personal trainer. The personal trainer will make your workout enjoyable yet highly effective. Often a major discouraging factor is walking into a gym and having no clue what to do to achieve your goals.
3. Participate in classes. Most classes can be an effective cardiovascular session. Plus, they provide a great social environment where you can actually forget that you’re “exercising”!
4. Set workout goals. Goals make your training so much more enjoyable by giving yourself direction. Try to lift that additional 5kg, or run that extra 500m. Moving toward a goal gives us the most enjoyment out of life.
5. Ensure that you like the ambiance of the gym. Different gyms attract different people and personalities. If you’re young, you’ll most likely want to go somewhere where other youngsters are around, rather than a gym designed for the elderly. If you dislike the stereotypical “hardcore” gym environment, join a more “fitness” orientated gym.

Ultimately though, there are those of us who don’t enjoy a gym, no matter what you do. So, try some other alternatives such as:

1. Play a sport regularly – team sports can be very enjoyable and give you a great workout.
2. Perform active recreational activities, such as hiking, kayaking, swimming or even just ride your bike for fun.
3. Make an effort to be more active during your day. You may wish to invest into a pedometer so you can set daily exercise targets.

I’d like to finish this article with a bit of a confession. During high school, I hated my physical education classes. I hated running and particularly hated gymnastics. Whilst I quite enjoyed the team sports (and did regularly play tennis that I enjoyed), I was quite unfit and so was never overly enthused when a physical class was coming up. I certainly wasn’t concerned about fitness or health and was quite the computer geek!

That all changed when I joined the gym. The first time I stepped on a treadmill, I really enjoyed the challenge. Setting new goals and accomplishing them became addictive. This then transformed into an immense passion for physical fitness, health and nutrition. Now, health and fitness is a large part of my life and I enjoy every single one of my exercise sessions.

If I can go from one extreme to the other, so can you. But the key is in discovering how you too can become excited about exercise. It may take some trial and error, but once you find that ideal approach, you’ll never look back. Good luck!

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The Best Creatine Supplement to Build Muscle

There are so many creatine supplements available – which one do you choose? How do different creatine products differ? Let’s take a look at some various powders and discuss the best creatine supplement for your muscle building goals.

A quick background on creatine…

Okay, so you’ve decided to take creatine. What exactly does it do? In this brief article, we are not going to discuss the specific chemical pathways that take place, but rather take a very general view. (I have written about creatine in detail previously, so you may wish to search this up). So, here goes:

Creatine does not directly facilitate muscle growth. However, it does saturate muscle cells and thus increases your muscle’s ability to lift more weight. More weight lifted can induce greater trauma leading to further hypertrophy (or muscle growth).

As I said, a very general overview!

So many types of creatine – what is the best form?

With creatine monohydrate, creatine malate, creatine ethyl ester, kre-alkalyn creatine and other creatine’s now available on the market, it’s no wonder that the world of creatine supplementation is a confusing one!

You may be very happy to know that creatine monohydrate is the most comprehensively researched creatine product available on the market. Other forms have minimal (and sometimes no) objective scientific backing to confirm that your investment will pay off.

You may have heard of kre-alkalyn, which gained a lot of popularity a couple of years ago. In mid 2007, the ISSN conference in the United States concluded:

Kre-alkalyn supplementation has no beneficial effect on creatine-to-creatinine conversion rates.

This compared Kre-alkalyn to standard creatine monohydrate. The additional investment was a complete waste, according to these findings.

Consequently, we do not sell kre-alkalyn supplements in our store.

Considering that creatine monohydrate has been so well researched and practically proven to be effective for the majority of the population, this would be a great investment. Other forms of creatine may have been shown to be effective, but not to the same extent.

Creatine – mixed or pure powder?

So the question becomes whether to invest in a pure creatine monohydrate powder, or spend the additional money on a pre-mixed product.

A creatine monohydrate powder, such as the Dymatize Creatine is a very popular product because:

• It is highly cost effective
• It has solid scientific evidence backing up it’s effectiveness
• It’s a great product

However, if you do intend on supplementing with creatine monohydrate from a pure powder, you should consider consuming it with a high glycemic index carbohydrate, such as dextrose or glucose. This causes an insulin spike that enhances creatine uptake.

A pre-mixed creatine supplement is also a very popular choice because:

• Most taste great
• Many contain high GI carbs and other ingredients to enhance uptake
• They are more convenient than standard creatine monohydrate powder

One of our best sellers, BSN NO-Xplode does contain creatine (along with many other ingredients). Gaspari SizeOn is also a very popular creatine product.

Other creatine notes

Creatine won’t always work for everyone, so it may be worthwhile giving this supplement a go and seeing how it works for you.

Initially, you may experience some minor stomach discomfort, which is quite common.

You may experience weight gain after supplementing with creatine after a few days. This is normal and is due to a greater amount of water being retained within muscle cells. Be sure to drink plenty of water when supplementing with creatine!

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Bench Press Shoulder Pain & How to Avoid Shoulder Injury

Bench press shoulder pain is a common occurrence. Let’s discuss why shoulder pain on the bench press is so common and how to alleviate and prevent your discomfort by implementing a safe and effective approach to overcoming shoulder injury.

So, why is shoulder pain on the bench press so common? A few primary reasons:

1. Many people lift far too much weight than they are capable of on this exercise
2. Technique is not always optimal on the flat bench press (often to lift more weight)
3. A muscular imbalance
4. The shoulder is an extremely unstable joint

Let’s briefly discuss each of these.

1. Too much weight on the bench press can lead to shoulder injury

Especially within male social circles, the bench press is a common way of measuring one’s success in the gym. Whilst this is not true for all trainers, it is undeniably common. It is also common to incorrectly assume that more weight necessarily means better results.  So naturally, it is tempting for many people to increase the total mass being lifted to an unsafe level.

Too much weight being lifted on the bench press can therefore place the shoulders under undue stress. The actual muscles and connective tissues supporting the shoulder joint may not be equipped to handle this load and thus result in injury.

2. Poor technique can lead to shoulder pain on the bench press

It is common to sacrifice safe correct bench press execution to lift more weight. This practice significantly increases the risk of injury to the shoulder joint. Some common examples include:

• Not keeping the bar horizontal
• Speeding up repetitions unnecessarily
• Twisting your body as you are pushing
• Pushing the bar forward or backward instead of vertically

3. A muscular imbalance can lead to shoulder pain on the bench press

If you have a dominant side, then this side will have a tendency to take more load than your less dominant side. In a barbell based exercise, this can spell disaster, as your weaker side can be placed under excessive stress that it is not strong enough to handle. This can commonly lead to an injury in your less dominant side’s shoulder.

4. The instability of your shoulder joint can lead to shoulder injury

The shoulder is an extremely unstable ball and socket joint. In fact, it has been likened to a ball balancing on a seals nose. The muscles and connective tissues hold this joint in place, but do so in a rather ineffective manner relative to other joints.

Even if your exercise technique is textbook, you aren’t lifting excess weight and you don’t have a major imbalance between your right and left sides, you can still sustain a shoulder injury from the bench press exercise.

I have shoulder pain on the bench press…what do I do?

So, assuming that you experience shoulder pain on the bench press, what do you do about it?

First and foremost, do not continue performing the bench press! If your shoulder hurts, quite possibly one of the worst things you can do is aggravate this injury more by continuing to exercise it in this manner.

This reigns true for any exercise that hurts your shoulder – not only the bench press.

Secondly, see a physiotherapist for a diagnosis and a rehabilitation plan. Unless you are properly qualified, do not self-diagnose the issue and attempt to fix your shoulder injury yourself. This could make matters worse and leave you with a long-term, chronic and acute shoulder injury, preventing you from an array of movements; not just a bench press.

A professional personal trainer can also assist you in implementing a safe and effective rehabilitation approach to your shoulder injury.

Preventing a bench press shoulder injury

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that are highly prone to injury and are responsible for the stability of the shoulder joint. These muscles include:

• Subscapularis
• Infraspinatus
• Teres Minor
• Supraspinatus

The infraspinatus is the most commonly injured rotator cuff muscle on the bench press exercise.

There are two distinct movements to assist in strengthening the infraspinatus:

1. Rowing motions
2. External rotation

So, be sure to:

1. Not skip your back exercises!
2. Perform regular external rotation exercises as part of your weight lifting regime

Don’t risk a shoulder injury

Whilst it may seem unnecessary to perform external rotations, because you won’t see any physical benefits, can you really risk hurting your shoulder? Think about how many major muscle groups could be affected:

• Biceps
• Triceps
• Back
• Traps
• Chest

All of these major muscle groups connect to the shoulder joint and can be affected by a severe shoulder injury. Furthermore, lower body exercises can also be greatly affected, particularly if you are required to hold onto a weight (such as a barbell squat, a lunge or a deadlift).

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Should I Lift Weights at Home or the Gym?

It is common to contemplate joining the gym, even if you have adequate weight lifting equipment at home. Obviously a gym membership costs money, but is it worth spending the additional money if you’re going to get more value from your exercise sessions?

I personally fall into this category, as I have plenty of weight lifting equipment at home, including a cable machine. Yet I have rarely ever used it (with the exception of public holidays when the gym is closed). Personally, I really enjoy the ambiance of the gym which makes for a great lifting atmosphere. But of course, there are many more advantages to joining the gym.

Let’s take a look at the pro’s and con’s of joining the gym, assuming you have adequate weight lifting equipment at home:

The Positive Aspects to Joining the Gym to Lift Weights

As soon as you walk into the gym, a workout practically becomes automatic. You look around and everyone else is training, so you will be compelled to train also. This is great for motivational levels because we are social creatures and will naturally feed off each other (even if you don’t necessarily talk to anyone during your training session). Once you step foot into the gym, you are almost obligated to train – it’s much harder to make excuses!

Whilst on the social topic, the social nature of the gym is certainly appealing to many people. Your weight lifting regime can be so much more enjoyable if you train with other people at the gym, or know others there. Just being around other people that you know is greatly motivating.

The gym has more weights equipment. While you may have some dumbbells, barbells and cable pulleys at home, the gym is going to have an incline leg press, a calf raise machine, a smith machine and a squat rack. Unless you have a well equipped home gym (most of us don’t), the additional weight lifting facilities at the gym will make it possible for you to:

• Add variety into your workouts
• Exercise in a more effective manner
• Increase the intensity of your sessions (as a result of the variety of equipment available)

The gym also typically has plenty of mirrors available. This is particularly advantageous to assess your exercise technique, which can be very difficult to do from home.

Your typical gymnasium also requires you to sign a contract with a recurring membership fee. This is a great way to create a financial obligation to ensure that you do train regularly.

Another great thing is the fact that you get out of your house, to a place that you associate with training. The gym can be seen as a “haven” – some place you go to spend time working on yourself. It’s a great tool to use to de-stress and feel great about yourself.

The Drawbacks to Joining the Gym to Lift Weights

Of course, there is the money factor. If you have a home gym, then why spend the additional $20 a week on a gym membership? You could see this as an investment into your training sessions (and ultimately yourself), or it could stretch the budget just that little too far.

A gym may be less convenient for you. At home, you don’t need to travel because the gym is there. But if you have to travel to another location to perform a workout, you may lose precious time in doing so (unless of course you see this time as a worthwhile investment into your workouts).

If you feel intimidated within a gym environment, then it may be a big step for you to take to join the gym. So, this is something that you have to consider in your decision making process. Are the advantages going to outweigh the degree to which you may feel intimidated? Will you actually use your gym membership, or make excuses not to train? Furthermore, will these excuses be justified by the fact that you’re doing something positive about your body by owning a gym membership? This may sound harsh, but having a gym membership means nothing if you don’t use it.

Training during peak times at the gym can be a major disadvantage, so this is something that you will have to consider. Peak times in the weights room can be packed (often after 4pm in the afternoon on weekdays). A 30 minute workout can easily last over an hour, so be sure to consider if this is going to be a burden and discourage you from training.

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I’ve just touched on this topic, so if you do have any other advantages or disadvantages about joining the gym instead of lifting weight at home, please post up a comment as part of the discussion!

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