I don't have time to train...

I don't have time to train.  I have heard it all before...  I would like to lose 10kg, I would like to increase my strength or muscle size, I would just like to have more energy.  Unfortunately, I don't have time to train.  I am a mother of two kids, I work a 60 hour week, I have too many things going on in my life.

Sure, it is easy for these Commonwealth Games athletes to achieve their goals.  They don't need to work.  They can dedicate their life to sports and fitness.  They are just lucky...

Wrong.  There is no luck involved.  Yes, some of the top athletes, the Hamish Carter's, the Sarah Ulmer's and the Bevan Docherty's do have the luxury of dedicating themselves to training for their chosen event.  They make enough money from their sport to ensure they can travel to events and take advantage of the best training facilities.  But for every one athlete who has this luxury, there are probably 20 more that work fulltime and juggle up to 20 hours of training per week on top of their workload.  Do they lack time to train?

The answer... No.  And neither do you.  If you are unable to achieve your fitness, weight loss or strength goals there is probably one of 3 reasons.

1.  It is not really a priority for you.
You have time to go out to bbq's, to drink with friends, to watch the news, or to watch the rugby, but can't find time to train.  Obviously these activities are a higher priority to you.  Perhaps you need to spend some time assessing what really are the priorities in your life?  Is a drink with friends after work 3 days a week more important that achieving your weight loss target?  If so, then don't complain about your weight and just be happy with it.  If not, get yourself out the door training before you indulge in the evening festivities!

2.  You do not know how to manage your time.
In a full week there are 10,080 minutes available to you to train.  Of these minutes you might work 3000, sleep 3360, eat 840.  Which still leaves 2880 minutes or 48 hours available for training.  You probably only need 4 or 5 of these each week to achieve your goals ... so you have quite a few left for doing the other things that you find important.  Learn to plan your training in advance and you will have time for it.

3.  You really just cannot be bothered!!
See number 1!!  Training and achieving your goals is not a priority for you... don't complain and enjoy your current shape or fitness level!

Get out and start training NOW.  You can have the body you have always dreamed of.

Are you looking for a gym to join this month?  Search Gyms.co.nz Quick Search for details of gyms in your area.  Alternatively, sign up for a free trial of a gym in your area via our website so your can try before you buy.

 

Division of the sexes

Division of the sexes is an article written for New Zealand Fitness magazine by Gyms.co.nz.  Check it out in the latest issue of NZ Fitness.

Kate Sheppard.  A source of inspiration to suffragist and campaigners for equality between the sexes, both in New Zealand and throughout the world.  We applauded when the suffragette movement resulted in achieving the vote for women.  We beamed with the reflected glory bestowed upon us as the first OECD country in the world to achieve such parity.  We supported the women’s liberation movement and their push for equal pay for equal work.  We have developed as a nation to the point where there has been a succession of women leading our country, women regularly holding high profile positions in some of our leading companies and it can probably be stated that we are verging on true equality within our country and in our lifetime.

But what cost do us males endure as a result of this?  It seems that every shopping mall, nay every corner now has a women’s only fitness club on it!  Sorry boys, no entry… find yourself another place to train.  No testosterone in here thanks! 

Even before the boom that is women’s only clubs, we had women’s only areas in established centres.  Every effort it seemed was being undertaken to avoid over zealous males scaring off our female counterparts. 

Traditionally, women have enjoyed the privilege of single sex training, away from the prying eyes of ogling males, away from the muscle building weight lifters, avoiding the trendy lycra clad body beautiful.  These clubs are a place where every shape and size of female, as well as all experience levels (from beginner to skilful fitness enthusiasts) can train in a friendly atmosphere free from intimidation, without fear of damaging their self respect or image.

We already have a raft of women’s chains well established in NZ. 

Contours is probably the most well established of the women’s gyms.  Many Contours clubs feature not only women’s fitness centres but a range of other services such as beauty therapy, hair care, and more, and there is a Contours chain in almost every large city throughout NZ. 

However, in the past 5 years a couple of new chains have arrived from overseas with a view to challenging Contours’ market share and the apparent monopoly that they had achieved.  Configure Express comprises small women’s only clubs with a focus on “fitness and lifestyle programmes that maximise the amount of time you have to spend on your body in our busy lives”.  Their aim is to “work out your entire body, efficiently and effectively in just 30 minutes”. 

A noted fitness professional once told me that a new Curves gym was popping up worldwide every 4 minutes and that it was the fastest growing fitness franchise.  While I may agree with the latter, I find the former a little difficult to digest!  Despite this, Curves arrived in NZ in 2003 and has already established themselves throughout NZ with facilities from Whangarei to Christchurch.  While offering a similar service to Configure Express, time conscious training, Curves is a smaller club again and is subsequently ideal for less populated towns and perhaps has a greater reach than its competitors.

Since the advent of these gyms, there have been others scrambling to grab hold of the lucrative women’s only market.  Club Physical is one that springs to mind, although I am sure that there will be many others in the future.

Kate, you have done fabulous things for the female gender, although at the time I am sure you had no idea that you would be responsible, in a round about way, for depriving men of access to fitness facilities throughout the country!  Well fellas … it is time to take back some of what we have lost!

Men’s only fitness has arrived on our shores. 

Men of our decade have been following women in their quest to be more fashionable and more ‘beautiful’.  Enter the metro sexual male.  He who follows fashion tips, worries about his hair and isn’t afraid of the odd bit of moisturiser.  Is the metro sexual also afraid of what others, including women, think of him in the gym too?  Surely not?

If the truth be told, he probably always has been.  There certainly is no written rule that males cannot be self conscious about their weight, or worried about self image.  In fact beyond that confident outward appearance I am sure many males, not necessarily even the metro sexual ones, are worried about their condition and would prefer a men’s only environment to train in.

ActiveLifestyle is a new fitness facility on Carlton Gore Rd in Newmarket.  It offers a similar time conscious solution to many other clubs.  They believe “you don’t have to work out for an hour a day to get the results you want”.  The focus is on improving your fitness and health “in just 30 minutes, three times a week”.  What makes ActiveLifestyle different?  It offers a female only AND a male only environment.  It’s division of the sexes all over again … and what’s more it is popular!   ActiveLifestyle comprises Active Men and Active Women, two private and exclusive clubs under the one roof, including separate men’s and women’s facilities, a system that is effective and easy to follow, as well as a limited membership to ensure that “you won’t be confused, intimidated or bored”.

There have been attempts at a similar sort of environment in the past.  Hillside Fitness Centre on the North Shore had an arrangement where men and women could both train in the same gym… however they were confined to different training times for the differing sexes.    

The trend has been started, now will the big fitness industry players follow the lead.  Do we really want them to anyway?  Why can’t we both get along?  It seems that this new development of dividing the sexes may be here to stay.  Women’s single sex centres continue to spring up rapidly and are well frequented.  The question on everyone’s lips however is … will the stubborn old male follow suit?