I've been noticing a trend. There's a spike in the number of memberships during the first weeks of January and when February comes around, you see maybe only 50% of the new members. I don't blame the "dropout" rate, fitness training is arduous. You need tons of discipline. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Next to the library and supermarket, the gym is a place I go to regularly - actually four times a week. When I started out, I was excited and passionate about my workouts. I'm on my 10th year now and my attitude has changed. I wish I didn't have to go.
It's not a question of burning out, it's probably sheer boredom. I used to get up at 4:00 in the mornings to make it to the gym by 5:00 am, and then rush home to get ready for work. I was on this routine for a very long time. Today, I wouldn't dream of getting up at 4 am just to exercise. Been there done that.
But I still go to the gym in the afternoons - grudgingly. I do it because exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle. I find myself wishing though that a clever scientist would find an elixir that we could all drink so we wouldn't have to exercise. Wouldn't it be nice to have an elixir that would take care of the calorie burning, the BMI, the heart rate and the cardio?
My gym days are divided into muscle groups. I do my cardio workouts (alternating between the treadmill, stair master, elliptical and bike) four days a week for 45 minutes. After the cardio workout, I spend another 30 minutes for resistance training. My personal resistance program looks like this: Mondays are the abs and back, Tuesdays are the biceps and chest, Thursdays are the legs and shoulders, and Fridays are the triceps.
Some of my friends divide their resistance training sked into upper body versus lower body muscles. And there are those who alternate days for cardio and resistance training exercises. I think the heart is an important muscle, so I do my cardio 4 times a week.
One muscle group I don't enjoy working out are the legs. The gym that I go to has several leg training equipment, most of them manufactured by Atlantis, a Quebec company. I like their equipment - solid and sturdy.
What do we call those leg machines in French and English? Let's take a look!
FRENCH | ENGLISH |
| jambe développeur (horizontal) | horizontal leg press |
| extenseur des jambes | leg extension |
| fléchisseur des jambes (assis) | seated leg curl |
| appareil pour fessiers | butt machine |
| fléchisseur des jambes (agenouillé) | kneeling leg curl |
| appareil pour adducteurs | adductor |
| appareil adducteurs et abducteurs | adductor/abductor combo |
| appareil pour flexions (incliné) | hack squat |
| appareil pour flexions (debout) | power squat |
| plateforme pour james | leg platform |
| fléchisseur des jambes unilatéral | unilateral lying leg curl |
| support usage multiple | power rack |
| support poliquin | poliquin rack |
During the winter time, dragging myself to the gym feels like I have to tow a truck. When it's snowing outside, I can't even use that as an excuse because the gym is a 10-minute drive and my car has winter tires. But it does make me wish I had a home gym, complete with an elliptical trainer
, stepper
and thigh toner
!
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