Men’s Night At The Gym

Is your partner the only one at home who can open a pickle jar? If that’s true, maybe it’s time to buff up. For many men, though, the transition from couch to conditioning is not easy. Some of us just have a natural tendency toward an unfit lifestyle.

We set up limitless barriers on the road to fitness:

denial (“I’m in better shape now than I was in high school”)
lack of motivation (“I don’t know how to get fit” or “I set goals that are impossible to reach and set me up for failure”)
lack of role models (“All my friends remain attached to the couch umbilicus”)
I got into shape by getting angry with myself. During a softball game, a foul tip broke my nose. If I had been stronger and faster, I might have avoided frightening my team with all that blood. That night, I found a promotional flyer for a local gym in my mailbox. I was so mad about my sorry physical shape that I joined a week later. Within two years I was one of their instructors.

What about you? What happened to that New Year’s resolution to get in shape? You paid for a gym membership, now it’s time to use it. To help you begin your own fitness program, here are five tips to get you off the couch and into the gym.

1. Find a Fitness Buddy

There is truth to the adage that misery loves company. So why not go to the gym with a buddy? If you don’t have a buddy, go to the gym and ask questions or offer to help spot someone.

2. Set Goals

You may think you can bench press an Oldsmobile on your first day, but you can’t–at least without doing some serious tissue damage. Instead, set some SMART goals. A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time-bound. Start with Mini Coopers and work your way up to the larger North American models.

3. Lift Heavy

One way to stick to a fitness program is to see successful results. Lifting heavy weights will help you see results quickly. Begin by selecting a weight that is so heavy that you can barely do one repetition of the exercise. Lift only 60 percent to 80 percent of that weight for three sets of 12 repetitions. In a month, check your maximum weight again. If you have trained properly, it should be heavier.

4. Play a Sport

About 30 years ago, I noticed that my co-workers spent altogether too much time in the pub, so I started Friday Night Broomball. Every Friday we rent an elementary school gym and run around like lunatics chasing a volleyball with brooms. We evaluate our fitness goals by our scoring ability and by the fact that we made it through a two-hour session without injury. Many community centres have similar programs, offering everything from pre-ski classes, running and triathlon clinics, to fitness for curlers.

5. Have Fun

Fitness is like travelling: all the fun is getting there. Making it a habit will be easier if you enjoy your training. Have fun and you’ll become a willing participant in your own health.

Follow these five steps to increase your fitness and strength. Maybe you’ll even master that pickle jar.

By: Mike Broderick

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Mike Broderick is a BCRPA registered fitness instructor and freelance writer who lives in Port Coquitlam, BC by night. By day he is the employment specialist for the Neil Squire Society where he finds work for people with physical disabilities. His book, Awakening the Hunk Within is available at michael_broderick@telus.net. He is a regular contributor to alive magazine. Visit alive.com for related articles.