I've touched upon this topic before in previous posts, but I felt the need to expand upon it because it's something that is very important. Please excuse the inevitable redundancies.
The problem
The plurality of people I see in the gym operate under the notion that as long as they're doing something, they are using their time to the best extent, and that it doesn't really matter what they do, but rather the fact that they are doing it. It is not unlike the sentiment, "it's the thought that counts." This is foolish and futile.
Not all exercise is equal. There's the too-common phenomenon of people not putting forth enough effort, going through the same motions, and never realizing that they aren't seeing any improvements because they never do what is necessary to make that happen. However, some people do put forth enough effort, but it is misapplied.
Just because an exercise is hard, that doesn't mean it's the best use of your time and energy.
The first thing that comes to mind as an example is sit-ups and countless variants thereof. People like to devote an inordinate portion of their workout to their abdominal muscles (sometimes ONLY working abs), and 9 times out of 10, they never see any appreciable results, and yet, never question why.
There are a few things you should know:
Doing high reps of an isolation exercise is not going to do much for you aesthetically. 20+ is skirting the edge of useful work for hypertrophy; it will hardly matter even if you go to failure if you do many more reps, because higher rep schemes will only improve the endurance of your muscle and will not do much for improving its appearance. "TONING" IS NOT A THING. You can either lose fat or make your muscles bigger; those are the only two options. Nice looking muscles (including abs) are accomplished by having a low bodyfat percentage and at least some amount of hypertrophy; doing a bunch of reps in isolation is not effective at doing either.
If you can do much more than 20 of a given exercise, and/or are able to do different exercises that work the same muscle group back-to-back with little rest, you are not doing it right. You're not doing what is needed for hypertrophy and there are far more efficient ways to burn calories. This applies to almost everything, but unnecessarily high rep schemes are the most common in abdominal exercises.
Some alternatives
While ab exercises are pretty bad for those who want to lose fat, there are a few compound exercises (not ab-centric) in particular that, if you don't screw around, high reps can end up doing you some good in terms of fat loss. The more reps you can do, the more calories you can burn. Since you're working a lot of muscles simultaneously, energy expenditure can really add up fast.
One of the most well-known exercises for this purpose is the pushup. The pushup is a compound bodyweight (calisthenic) exercise that uses a bunch of muscles (including your abs; it's like a moving plank) simultaneously. It doesn't just work the chest muscles. Every person in good shape should be able to do at least 20 of them. If you're interested in getting to be able to do a bunch of pushups at a time, check out DailyDrill.
However, I can't talk about the pushup without mentioning its evil relative, the burpee. The burpee is one of the most intense anaerobic exercises out there that doesn't involve running; few things burn calories as quickly from just your body weight. All it is is a pushup followed by standing up and jumping in repetition, but it is much easier said than done to do something like 20 of them. It uses almost every major muscle group in your body while taxing your cardiovascular system; it really works.
There is also the infamous 20-rep squat. It is unlike any other exercise; they are affectionately also known as widowmakers. The name makes sense once you. These are 20 weighted squats, at a weight that is about half of your one-rep max. Since the squat uses the largest muscles in your body, it requires a tremendous amount of energy and willpower to do 20 of them. For most people, the limiting factor is the sheer cardiovascular demand. This exercise is so much more efficient than anything else it's not even funny.
Other notably efficient exercises are running up stairs, sprints (Tabata for the relentless), jumping rope, and pull-ups. When doing a high-rep exercise, the focus should be on exerting your cardiovascular system rather than just grinding through it and feeling "the burn." When done right, this kind of exercise will be more efficient and effective than even most forms of cardio.
However, it should go without saying that lower repetition, compound resistance exercises are still incredibly important for overall muscular development, which is something that can greatly benefit everyone.
The central issue
To most people who fail to see results from working out, it just boils down to them not really knowing what they are doing, but "exercising" in vain anyway. Some people have put this to a rather harsh, yet accurate, word: fuckarounditis. Read the article and make sure you never fall into that trap. Women are especially susceptible to screwing around in the gym-- I see it all the freaking time. It's the worst on the mats when they do "ab exercises" that just don't work. This does extend into weight training, too, but it is usually confined to flopping around on the weight machines.
Here are some of the major pitfalls of people's exercise habits:
The problem
The plurality of people I see in the gym operate under the notion that as long as they're doing something, they are using their time to the best extent, and that it doesn't really matter what they do, but rather the fact that they are doing it. It is not unlike the sentiment, "it's the thought that counts." This is foolish and futile.
Not all exercise is equal. There's the too-common phenomenon of people not putting forth enough effort, going through the same motions, and never realizing that they aren't seeing any improvements because they never do what is necessary to make that happen. However, some people do put forth enough effort, but it is misapplied.
Just because an exercise is hard, that doesn't mean it's the best use of your time and energy.
The first thing that comes to mind as an example is sit-ups and countless variants thereof. People like to devote an inordinate portion of their workout to their abdominal muscles (sometimes ONLY working abs), and 9 times out of 10, they never see any appreciable results, and yet, never question why.
There are a few things you should know:
- Spot reduction is not a thing. You're not going to directly burn belly fat by working your abs.
- You should train your abs just like every other muscle in your body-- a difficult 8-15 rep scheme for a 3 or 4 sets is not a bad plan.
- Isometric exercises (e.g. planks) don't accomplish a whole lot more than pain.
- You don't need 10 different ab exercises to work them sufficiently. One or two is sufficient, given they are good exercises. You don't do 10 different leg exercises, do you? There is no benefit to redundantly working a muscle in isolation with different movements. There are some exceptions, but almost all of them only apply to bodybuilders. I'd even argue that novices should stay away from almost all isolation exercises, including ab work. There are plenty of compound movements that sufficiently work your abdominal muscles. But if you are working abs in isolation, you ought to be working many other things in isolation, too.
- Nice looking muscles (including abs) are accomplished by having a low bodyfat percentage and at least some amount of hypertrophy.
 |
If you can do much more than 20 of a given exercise, and/or are able to do different exercises that work the same muscle group back-to-back with little rest, you are not doing it right. You're not doing what is needed for hypertrophy and there are far more efficient ways to burn calories. This applies to almost everything, but unnecessarily high rep schemes are the most common in abdominal exercises.
 |
| Stay away from the swiss balls, and stay away from the crunches. They accomplish almost nothing, unless your abs are really, really weak. |
While ab exercises are pretty bad for those who want to lose fat, there are a few compound exercises (not ab-centric) in particular that, if you don't screw around, high reps can end up doing you some good in terms of fat loss. The more reps you can do, the more calories you can burn. Since you're working a lot of muscles simultaneously, energy expenditure can really add up fast.
One of the most well-known exercises for this purpose is the pushup. The pushup is a compound bodyweight (calisthenic) exercise that uses a bunch of muscles (including your abs; it's like a moving plank) simultaneously. It doesn't just work the chest muscles. Every person in good shape should be able to do at least 20 of them. If you're interested in getting to be able to do a bunch of pushups at a time, check out DailyDrill.
However, I can't talk about the pushup without mentioning its evil relative, the burpee. The burpee is one of the most intense anaerobic exercises out there that doesn't involve running; few things burn calories as quickly from just your body weight. All it is is a pushup followed by standing up and jumping in repetition, but it is much easier said than done to do something like 20 of them. It uses almost every major muscle group in your body while taxing your cardiovascular system; it really works.
There is also the infamous 20-rep squat. It is unlike any other exercise; they are affectionately also known as widowmakers. The name makes sense once you. These are 20 weighted squats, at a weight that is about half of your one-rep max. Since the squat uses the largest muscles in your body, it requires a tremendous amount of energy and willpower to do 20 of them. For most people, the limiting factor is the sheer cardiovascular demand. This exercise is so much more efficient than anything else it's not even funny.
Other notably efficient exercises are running up stairs, sprints (Tabata for the relentless), jumping rope, and pull-ups. When doing a high-rep exercise, the focus should be on exerting your cardiovascular system rather than just grinding through it and feeling "the burn." When done right, this kind of exercise will be more efficient and effective than even most forms of cardio.
However, it should go without saying that lower repetition, compound resistance exercises are still incredibly important for overall muscular development, which is something that can greatly benefit everyone.
The central issue
To most people who fail to see results from working out, it just boils down to them not really knowing what they are doing, but "exercising" in vain anyway. Some people have put this to a rather harsh, yet accurate, word: fuckarounditis. Read the article and make sure you never fall into that trap. Women are especially susceptible to screwing around in the gym-- I see it all the freaking time. It's the worst on the mats when they do "ab exercises" that just don't work. This does extend into weight training, too, but it is usually confined to flopping around on the weight machines.
 |
| Do yourself a favor and never touch this machine, or its counterpart, and do barbell squats instead. |
Here are some of the major pitfalls of people's exercise habits:
- Workouts and/or individual exercises are simply not intense or difficult enough
- Cardio is overemphasized; some people don't even lift weights
- Rep range is too high under the pretense of "toning" and spot reduction
- Resistance training is devoid of legitimate effort
- Over-reliance on weight machines
- Doing too many isolation exercises and not enough compound exercises
- Workouts are made up on the fly instead of sticking to a planned regimen or program
- Failure to set realistic goals and work to meet them
- Failure to recognize a lack of progress or a plateau adapt accordingly
- Failure to push one's limits and leave one's comfort zone
Every single thing you do in the gym should leave no doubt in your mind that what you just did will force your body to improve in some way. Don't be intimidated by trying new things, and don't be afraid of effort.
