Myths About The Gym Workout

Exercise Workout Myths
by Rex Lee Reynolds
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Do we really want to meddle in other people's lives? It's their business, their body, their health. But for those of us who see things that just don't seem quite right, it seems we just want to say something about it.

A year or so ago I did the unthinkable and started going to the gym, something I thought I would never do, since my attitude for many years was, "I don't like the gym because I don't like the smell of sweat, especially someone else's sweat. But when you get to a certain age and see a photo or video of yourself, your eyes pop open and you tell yourself, "it's time."

And being an engineering scientific kinda guy, I'm the type that doesn't just go to the gym, workout and forget it. I tend to keep records to mark my progress, and even take on the task of writing a book about many things I've used to stay healthy throughout the years. And being that scientific type I tend to pay attention to what other people are doing as well, some of which doesn't seem to add up or make sense to me.

When at the gym I notice people working out hard and developing very attractive bodies, which is all well and good, nothing wrong with it at all, but at the same time I'm aware that the most important thing is being in good health by doing certain things. Being healthy and feeling good is much more important than looking good, at least for me.

In my estimation of it all one of the most important parts of staying healthy is detoxification, or ridding the body of toxins, which I've found can be done with good results through the process of sweating. I notice people in a steam sauna but the dry sauna looks to me a better and more efficient way to go. For one thing, it's easier to see how much you are sweating in a dry sauna (and the smell isn't nearly as bad!).

In my exercise routine that consists of 3 or 4 time per week, I workout for a while, get the circulation going, then spend some time in the dry sauna and do some serious sweating. Interestingly enough, with a gym that has maybe 200 people working out, I notice a relatively small percentage of them who use the sauna. Sure, they can do some sweating during the workouts on the machines, but not nearly as much as the sauna will provide.

And if your excuse for not going into the sauna is being afraid of getting so dried out and looking like a prune, try again. Part of the sweating experience should be taking the correct food supplements, minerals and a little salt prior to sweating. You're body produces its own oils but if you still fear drying up like a prune, a little olive oil in some salad can help a lot.

While in the sauna I notice some interesting things. People put a wet cloth over their head, apparently to keep their head cool while sitting in a room where the temperature is around 175 to 180 degrees. But it seems to me that the wet cloth is defeating the purpose, since it cools the person's head and would actually prevent sweating.

Outside the dry sauna room there is a small pool with a sign that says, "Cold Dip." People go from the very hot sauna into the cold dip to cool off, the theory being that the cold water closes and tightens the pores of the skin. Why would anyone want to tighten their pores when they are in the process of sweating, maybe a beautification thing? This is a myth that doesn't make any sense to me, other than people getting stimulated by the cold water, which seems more like a shock to the body rather than anything that is actually beneficial.

Another bogus pipedream came from a guy that was part of a group of people I observed one day at the gym. He was telling a lady that people should spend a while in the dry sauna, then spend some time in the steam sauna, the reason being that the dry sauna dehydrates a person and the steam sauna hydrates them, or puts water back into the body. Well, when God handed out brains this guy was definitely out to lunch, and had obviously never heard of the idea of drinking liquids.

Just imagine some fool spending some time in the dry sauna, jumping into the cold dip, then going into the steam sauna with his tight pores and expecting the steam to hydrate his body, but I guess some people do that. What a waste of time. It's much better to use the dry-heat sauna only, come out and rest for a bit when the heat gets to be too much, then go in again for a while to get maximum sweating benefits.

Taking a little extra salt before sweating can be good. Doctors tell us not to eat a lot of salt but that's for people who don't do a lot of sweating. If you get tired from sweating it's because of salt depletion.

And how much sweating is enough? 10 or 15 minutes per day is enough for me, but that's me. It can vary from person to person. You have to be the judge. If you feel great after 30 minutes then that's fine. Enough sweating to get rid of a lot of toxins but not so much that you get heatstroke is probably a good rule.

I attribute about 85% of the benefit of the gym workout to the detoxification activity of sweating in the sauna. However, the exercise is not to be discounted. One needs to keep the blood moving along with the sweating. A personal trainer can be a big help to someone new who needs some encouragement, and wants to get a lot of good tips. But if you don't use a trainer a little socializing with the other members can be helpful.

Since I get in a lot of walking outside the gym, I was focusing mostly on the upper body exercises when at the gym. When trying one of the cardio cycling machines that you use while standing up, I easily tired and realized I could use a little work in the legs and hips areas. I remembered a minor accident I had some years earlier that left some weakness in one of my legs, and decided it was time for some rehab on that. I could get a cane like some do and put less pressure on the leg, but let's face it, that is going backwards. If you want to fully heal an injury and get stronger, the thing to do is gradually work the muscles therapeutically in order to achieve the end results of stronger muscles. When telling a friend about it, who was working out next to me, she pointed out some similar machines across the way that would be easier to use for someone like me with a bit of a disability. So I use the cardio machines she pointed out daily to get a gradual improvement.

And of course with any workout routine we always want to check with our physician beforehand, with a physical checkup to make sure we are in good enough condition for the activity we intend to embark upon.

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