There are two types of exerciser; those who train and those who play at training. A common sight in the gym is the person reading a paper whilst peddling on the recumbent bike. There are even those who catch up with the daily news whilst on the treadmill. In my view this is totally bizarre.
This morning I was chatting with a friend in the gym when he suddenly excused himself to get a paper. I wished him well for the rest of the day and said goodbye. However he promptly returned, exclaiming that he was simply getting some reading material to pass the time whilst on the exercise bike. Sensing my aghast he explained further, "If I read the paper I can do twenty five minutes on the bike, no problem." With the paper tucked neatly under his arm, he marched off adding "Won't have time to read the paper after my workout, I'm a busy man!”
But to my mind, he's got it wrong. His time would be far better spent if he peddled like a man in a rush for five minutes, and then he could use his surplus twenty minutes to relax and read the news when showered and changed. And this is my point; too many people workout at an intensity which is too low to stimulate a physiological adaptation to occur. They falsely believe that time in the gym is what matters most, when in fact the most important element of training is intensity.
So next time you're in the gym, cut your workout time by half, double your efforts, and enjoy a leisurely read of the broadsheets or red tops as your body recovers and repairs into a lean, mean exercising machine.
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