Lessons from the YMCA

We spent this past weekend house-sitting for my in-laws while they were out of town.

While we were there, I managed to get up early Sunday morning to head out to the local YMCA for a workout. I didn't think there would be a lot of people there, but boy was I wrong. The cardio machines and weight machines were packed! What was odd to me, though, was that there were only 2 people in the weight area for a good chunk of time. More on that later, but for now, here's what I did...

1) Front Squat (5 x 185, 4 x 205, 3 x 225)

2a) DB Row (8 x 80, 85, 90)
2b) BB Reverse Lunges (3 x 10 x 135)

3a) Dips (3 x 15, 12, 8)
3b) DB Curls (3 x 8 x 35)

OK, so back to my story...With all the research out now provine that resistance training with free weights is more effective for fat burning than cardio and machine training, you'd think that there'd be more people lifting weights. That wasn't the case yesterday morning.

Here are some other observations that I found a little odd...

• A trainer came up to me and told me to stop squatting below parallel because (I'm paraphrasing) my knee caps would pop off and hit the mirror in front of the squat rack and there'd be shattered glass everywhere!

THE TRUTH: Squatting is as primal a movement as walking. Humans learn to squat from the ground up even before they take their first step. Don't believe me? Watch this video of my 1-year-old...

• Every guy that came to weight area...EVERY guy...started his workout by doing bicep curls. After that, they'd proceed to do some type of exercise for their chest.

THE TRUTH: If you want to get huge arms or huge in general, stop focusing on bodyparts and doing single joint exercises like bicep curls. Instead, do big multi-joint movements like squats, deadlifts (yes they work your upper body too), chin-ups, dips, presses or rows. Also, don't neglect the muscles in your back. If you've noticed my programs lately, there are minimal if any pressing exercises. The front of our bodies get worked enough (we do everything in front of our bodies). Why do more and make our already tight chest and shoulders tighter?

• There were an alarming number of skinny teenage guys on elliptical machines or running on treadmills.

THE TRUTH: Just my humble opinion, but if you're a skinny teenage boy with raging hormones and you're trying the attract the opposite sex, making yourself skinnier by doing cardio isn't going to help your situation. IN FACT, if YOUR teenager is an athlete that participates in any sport that requires power (which is almost every highschool sport, except for cross-country), then he or she may be hindering their progress as an athlete if they're doing cardio!

I'll elaborate on that in tomorrow's post...

CL
The FitAndBusyDad

P.S. Click HERE for the most effective fat burning system for Busy Dads.