The Gym Challenge the world does not want to do …

I really like going to the gym. The gym I currently go to is Avenue Tennis Club in Gillingham Kent. It’s a superb gym. Clean – exceptionally clean. Safe, with controlled access. A restaurant and numerous social scenes laid on on throughout the year. It has  as you would imagine a very unique Tennis Club attached. It is a great club.

Yet as I write this blog, the concept of gym sport remains as bleak to this club as it does to the Industry that has always had the infrastructure to support its own sport.

I know it sounds like a broken record, but I still can’t understand the reluctance of gyms to create a sport from their training programs they provide to their members.

I can only say that its worked pretty well for CrossFit – they have nailed the concept of their own sport and are now seeking Olympic participation through the event programs that are happening currently.

So as I train in the gym most days I have to conclude yet again that the division between performance sports in gyms and that of CrossFit is as wide as the Grand Canyon and for several years the experience that is so relished and loved by CrossFit members will still it seems take an age to come trough to the gym side of life.

But make no mistake on this, the level of fitness that CrossFit athletes compete is insanely higher than that of your average gym member. These guys and ladies and freakishly fit and take their training to the absolute limits of physical and mental endurance in their environment. And that is the Ultimate statement – their environment , the training, they do , the weights they do and the day to exercise programs they carry out. They are masters of their sport and rightly so.

But that does not mean it can’t happen in a gym. Forget copying the style of CrossFit that is just pointless. You can’t. It’s their domain. But what you can do is create the concept of Gym Sport . Its a starting program into pushing boundaries of your own training and then some. It’s getting a taste of performance. It’s starting to accept that your body has limitations and that you can be defeated by age or lack of experience, but also experience and age can be factors into being a formidable athlete too.

The concept of a gym challenge in your gym is still a million miles away in reality. Gym members as a whole are just not fit enough to engage at the highest level , but as with all good sports they are ready to be trained and take on being pushed if given the chance.

How do you create a sport in your gyms ?

Simply put you can’t. There are a million apps out there that allow to go online and do something that will give a taste of training but as a whole the app scene is not a sport. The raw element of actually training cannot be replicated on your mobile device – the pain you experience can not be translated into a phone. Your hour or so in the gym is the most precious time you can have, this is where you break sweat and push your self and after , when you are warming down, stretching or just taking some deep breaths, it is not the phone that got you trough it , but you. An app is a great accessory but it cannot replicate the intensity of the workout.

The workout is where the sport factor comes in , when you ask yourself what are you actually training for ? Think about it , when was the last time you walked into a gym and trained for something specific. I’m not talking about rowing the Thames over a week , or cycling 1000 miles over a period of time, but something you had to actually train for? If like me you still have yet to find a gym that will put this on the cards, then you can only do what you can yourself. But that in no way fills the void in comparative fitness, where you need to know the levels of fitness that can be achieved. That is not ego or bragging – that is not saying look at me. Look at what I can do . It’s taking the time to study and reflect on what is possible. It’s  about finding someone of equal fitness , a potential training partner a friendly rival to compete against. It’s about looking forward to an event where the entire gym set on structured levels of fitness can take part and revel in the joy of competing and looking at their own levels of fitness and where they can improve. This is what gym sport does and for some reason. Something I have yet to fathom out. This is what is denied the average gym member and you have to ask yourself why in an Industry that is worth billions $ in the US, Europe and Asia .

Can we ever expect to see a sport for gyms?

Yes , certainly we can. I’m not too sure when. But the fitness world is catching up and seeing the benefits of the consumer experience in a gym. Something that was once mundane and boring is yesterdays market. The new energetic phase is slowly filtering through , and surely there will be a day , that a gym member will walk through a gym door and look at a sport they he or she can take part in. It’s not today , but it will happen – I just don’t know when.

March Gym Challenge

The WGC March Gym Challenge has been created and is in your f0lders now (Monthly Gym Challenge)

Taking on the Rower, Treadmill and Chest to floor Burpees.

The 1 minute recovery serves two purposes. One , it is a recovery between the rower and the treadmill, and Two, the recovery acts also as a transition between the rower and the treadmill for those who may have a small distance to travel.

Also with these three challenges all three can be attempted by any level of Gym Athlete.

Gym Challenges

Gym Challenges are notoriously variable in their construction yet share the same trait as  this simple formula Exercise X Time / Athlete < that is it.

The Exercise can be variable in its duration, repetition, weight, distance or function. But once it’s been created only the Athlete is there to determine its finality of time.

In this we see the evidence of just how your training is going in a gym environment.

Yet the modern gym seems to function in a different entity and for some reason will not not adapt to a challenge that is based on performance.

An example of Gym Challenges in gyms today

A recent gym challenge for members was to see how many classes they can attend in a month. Different classes, biking classes, pilates, HIIT etc , do as many classes as you can within a month, and by the amount you attend , will determine the winner , with various prizes offered by the gym for the winner.

Another type of challenge is to see how many kilometres  you can cycle with a 14 day period.

Performance vs Routine Challenges

I struggle constantly to be amazed at just how lacking the ingenuity of creating performance based challenges for gym members is, and how gyms refuse to implicate them.

But then again do gyms have a point ?

Is the member of a gym ready for gym challenges that are performance based? And the answer is no.

Sport Relief 2018

Last year during Sport Relief 2018, I tried to initiate some simple gym challenges at the gym I trained at with about a weeks notification to members and here we find the perfect combination of a heavily publicised media related Day (Sport Relief) a common cause and some good short sharp challenges over two days.

The gym management and all personal trainers at the gym were too busy to get involved and where their objectives rely on revenue for their salary and profit , then its easy to understand why they didn’t.

Yet the ability to encourage participation was where the fault expanded from.

The risk of taking risks

If you ask a member of a gym to take part in a performance related challenge in a gym, this it seems goes totally against their understanding of physical fitness and you are almost challenging their own beliefs into their own level of fitness and they do not have the confidence to perform as they are unsure of just how fit they are , and they feel they will be either intimidated by others or embarrassed by their result.

You see, this is why  gyms do not allow for the performance factor based on results. Why try to maybe intimidate a member by asking them perform on something they cannot do because they do not have the mindset to attempt it in the first place. So I get it . I understand the logic in not setting gym challenges which are performance based , its too much hassle , too much time, and the gym member will hardly ever commit to the level of training required to perform. And thats not to mention , the disruption caused during its set up and the need to recruit other members in the set up of recording results , judging or running with admin duties.

Do a gym challenge based on Performance not routine and see how it affects those who take part.

But … And there is always a but. On more then one occasion I have witnessed just what happened when these barriers are taken on and a successful gym challenge happens and the members who take part just experience (many for the first time) a real sense of achieving great results based on the the training they are currently doing. And the overriding reaction has always been , when is the next one?

For clarification – This post does not refer to any Performance Based Gym Sport, such as CrossFit®.

Developing Consistency 

The most important part in any challenge is belief in what you can do. As soon as the mind thinks you can’t do it, then the body normally follows. This is relevant to any gym challenge, only it differs slightly. Firstly you have to have the mindset that you want to do it. Secondly you have to train for it. Thirdly you have to complete it. So in effect it is a three stage Challenge . On completion you will have a sense of pride that you completed the challenge and you also completed the training for it . But what is more important is that you are creating a habit. You are developing the mind set to engage in being challenged so that in the end you will need to see progress and development. Once that has been achieved a certain sense of pride within yourself for completing all the stages there is to a gym challenge allows the mind and body to prepare for the next one. This is probably why I have remained a member of a gym for over 25 years – the need to challenge myself. Ideally it would be better set for me to challenge somebody of equal fitness to me, but currently the gyms are just not ready for this.

Swiss Ball Press Ups 

Allows you to have some support for the core but also makes you engage the core as you progress the numbers. I have found that reaching 20 is just about the right number as muscle fatigue in the later stages builds up at around 15 reps. So I am pushing through the final reps with a mindset of competing them all without resting the body. Even if it means remaining in the upright position for added core work.

2 km Bike  

Technogym Bike , with a rpm of between 95 – 105 in a consistent format. Finishing in a time of around 3.45 is suitable . The heart rate will remain relatively constant at around 137 bpm at this tempo , which should mean that you are in a strong position to continue on to the further stages without tiring and needing rest.

Conclusion

Today’s Circuit was completed with the intention to complete 10 rounds, but I found 8 I had had enough and listened to a sense of caution as my splits were slowing down. And I was reaching mental and physical fatigue – or was I ? In reality I probably could have carried on at around the same tempo under pressure in a race format , but the thought of having done enough for the day , was enough for me to quit training. After all , there is always tomorrow .

There was a slight watch malfunction on this challenge which has been accounted for in the splits.

Looking for consistency

During this month’s challenge you should be looking for consistent splits to achieve your best time. You will notice that at the beginning of the month, the splits I was producing were quite variable and my mindset was filled with self doubt because I was uncertain of just how far I could push myself. Remember there is nobody in my Gym prepared to take on the monthly challenges , so this is all self propelled. I have a heart rate monitor to keep an eye on my heart rate and the feeling of previous attempts to keep me on track and thats it.

Rowing

Always going to be where some good time can be made up , however for me, I think effort and actual time will decrease my time overall,. Rowing fast and hard if you are not fit enough will definitely increase fatigue for the later stages, so for me a relative pace would be more beneficial.  Im looking for an even flow at around 30 spm with a 500m split of around 2.05 / 2.15 .

Bike 

Again its consistency with a level 8 (30% of max level Technogym Bike) , so rpms are quick at around 95 to 100 , which brings me in around the 3.50 – 3.55  mark.

Press Ups 

To engage the core more I have been using the smallest Swiss Ball in the gym to give me an uneven surface to keep my core engaged throughout the press up. My  shins (nearest my feet rested on top of the Swiss Ball) On top of this my chest has been hitting the floor to go for a more consistent and uniformed press up. I think they are easier to perform , yet they still give you a certain confidence to perform the press ups in one go , which helps with the mind set when attempting the challenge at a later date .

Treadmill 

Having the confidence to maintain the speed at what you know you can do without the heart rate spiking and forcing you to slow down. The actual time of the treadmill after set up process is around 4.28 at 11 kph. So as a mind set you know that you have around a 4.30 run, yet can you increase that speed ?12 kph would I reckon be my max out pace. But it may tip me over the edge also.

Sunday 20th Dec January Gym Challenge finishing time 46.01

As you can see with consistent attempts the end result time has decreased. It remains to be seen if the Swiss Ball feet has been too much of an advantage with normal press ups . But I am currently heading for a quicker time of 4.49 from my first attempt.

This is not to say that that time wasn’t possible from the start date –  but what it is to say that building up your mindset in this process of training over the month will allow you to make decisions during your workout that allow you to perform better.

27th Dec Heart Rate Graph finishing 50:50

What remains to be seen is if the 12 kph (800m) run can be maintained on the final day of this challenge. As this is where the time will be made up and if that will drain the performance of the press ups?

Sean Blyth

Intermediate Gym Athlete taking on the World Gym Challenge January Gym Challenge .