# You're doing it wrong..... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 31, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437 "2009-03-31T15:14:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/21 "2009-03-31T17:34:51Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > If you set the treadmill to a reasonable walking speed for your size and age, and exercise that way, you’ll see more of a benefit from your workout in a shorter time, and I won’t have to wait as long for a treadmill to become open. Also wrong. I will be on there for twenty minutes no matter what, so learn to possess your soul in patience, sonny. And don’t interrupt me when I’m working out. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/22 "2009-03-31T18:42:41Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > I typically set it to the time that corresponds to the amount of work I am able to do. for instance, around 2.5 miles is about 25 minutes, and there is no way to tell the treadmill to just go for 2.5 miles, so I set for 20 minutes and off I go. my goal is to make it 2.5 miles. In other words, you workout based on time not on “net benefit”. Since you run at about an 8 minute pace, I’ll assume it safe to say that you are not a world class athlete in peak physical condition and not using a flawless running technique. So you are just a guilty as the guy holding onto the bar of not using the machine in the most efficient manor possible. Also, it probably means you indulge in less than optimal dieting habits once in a while which makes your comment about people and milkshakes hypocritical as well. Get over yourself. > [@](#): > > True, some people might be going for, say, 30 minutes of workout time. fine, I have no problem with that, but I’d like to see them get a better workout for 30 minutes than they are getting by misusing the equipment in that way. Aren’t you just the most thoughtful guy. Worrying yourself silly like that because someone isn’t getting as good a workout as possible. But as others have said, I think you need to worry more about the people that don’t ever step in a gym at all. The ones in the gym, good technique or bad, are the ones you should be cheering on, not castigating. > [@](#): > > I also suppose that a lot of people do it that way because they like looking at the much bigger calories burned number, so they can justify that milkshake after the workout. Pot, meet kettle. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/23 "2009-03-31T18:55:48Z")
> [@cmosdes](#): > > So you are just a guilty as the guy holding onto the bar of not using the machine in the most efficient manor possible. I don’t see what the structure and design of the gym has to do with this. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/24 "2009-03-31T19:06:25Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > I don’t see what the structure and design of the gym has to do with this. 😛 One doesn’t often hear manors described as efficient, though some are described as “stately.” ---
**Author:** ![fubarassociation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@fubarassociation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubarassociation)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/25 "2009-03-31T19:11:37Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > If you do put your treadmill at a high incline and hold on for dear life, why? Why not lower the incline, walk up the hill without holding on, and reap more benefits? Because then it wouldn’t be as much fun! ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/26 "2009-03-31T19:14:45Z")
> [@Spiny\_Norman](#): > > Not that I’m much of a gym rat, preferring a pair of running shoes and the great outdoors for cardiac workouts, but: Isn’t perspiration pretty much linked to the effort exerted? It seems to me that an “efficient” workout is one that gets you sweating profusely. There isn’t a direct correlation between perspiration and heart rate. Using a piece of cardio equipment properly could mean less exertion while for the same heartrate, which means less sweating. Moreover, a large number of people who do use the equipment in the manner in which the OP describes don’t understand how to properly do cardiovascular exercise. Hell, I use to be one of those people who figured that more exertion was always better, but you can easily overdo it, especially if your goal is simply weight loss. That is, if your goal is to burn fat, and you’re sweating profusely, unless you’re so horrendously out of shape that you can’t walk from your couch to your fridge without getting short of breath, you’re probably working out too hard for maximum benefit. That is, for most people, the maximum benefit won’t be achieved at a point where you’re running up a 25% incline at 10MPH holding on for dear life, chances are you can achieve better results in less time at a lower incline and a lower speed without causing excess wear on the equipment, sweating everywhere, or making obnoxious amounts of noise to the point that I can hear you stomping and gasping for air through a partition, over other ambient noise, the music coming over the speakers at the gym, and my own headset, on the other side of the gym 80 ft away. Do I sweat a lot when I do cardio? Absolutely, but I also have very different goals than most people who come to the gym, I’m not using the equipment improperly, and even at my highest exertion, I don’t sweat anywhere near enough to have more than a few stray drops here and there. > [@](#): > > (It also seems that if being around perspiring people is a problem, perhaps a gym isn’t the place to hang out.) Sweating doesn’t bother me. Hell, even sweating a lot doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is people who leave giant puddles of sweat around equipment, where it looks like someone dropped a full glass of water, and don’t make any kind of effort to clean it up. I generally don’t sweat a lot, but when I do leave sweat behind, usually because I have to have direct skin contact with the equipment, I wipe it up. And really, if you’re sweating THAT much that you literally leave a puddle behind, it would seem to me that you should be thinking that you either have a health condition or are doing something seriously wrong. I see people use cardio equipment at insanely, where there heartrates have to be over 200 bpm judging from their respiration rate, which is much too high for virtually anyone to be healthy, and in the course of 10-minutes, they easily leave at least a pint of sweat all over the equipment and the space around it because using it that intensely means lots of jerky movements. Hell, I’ve even had someone who is 6-8 feet in front of me doing it with so much jerkiness and sweating so much that droplets of his sweat were consistently landing on me, such that I had to stop in the middle of my workout to change machines and avoid it. So yeah, sweating is perfectly fine, and to be expected at the gym, but there’s still a point where it becomes disgusting. And even if you are one of those people who just natually sweats a lot, at least be freaking considerate enough to clean up after yourself. But IME, the vast majority of those profuse sweaters are people using equipment incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/27 "2009-03-31T19:15:23Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Look, i understand the frustration that comes with seeing someone at the gym using equipment in an inefficient or incorrect manner. I have to consciously stop myself from offering advice to such people. But i DO stop myself, because most people who offer such unsolicited advice end up looking like a tool. Which is why I complained about it here, more of an anonymous vent, than actually approaching someone in the gym and being rude to them. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/28 "2009-03-31T19:16:43Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Also wrong. I will be on there for twenty minutes no matter what, so learn to possess your soul in patience, sonny. > > And don’t interrupt me when I’m working out. > > Regards, > Shodan Typical Shodan. Not interested in learning anything, just wants to keep doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/29 "2009-03-31T19:26:54Z")
Blaster, could you please stop posting intelligent shit to my thread? 😉 Look people, there’s a machine set up for folks who want their arms to be part of the workout process when walking…it’s called the elliptical machine, and it’s over there. And you know what? When I decided to start working out, I consulted actual intelligent people who were qualified to discuss health and nutrition and exercise. I have done internet research, etc. Nope, I am not perfect, but there is no rule saying I have to be perfect before I can point out the obvious inefficiencies in somenoe else’s routine based on uneducated use of the equipment. I’m not a perfect golfer, either, but that doesn’t mean I can’t point out the handicap of a wildly improper stance. Produce me a cite that details how using a treadmill on a 12 incline while holding onto the bars is a great, or even a good way to work out, and I promise I will shut up about it. Unlike Shodan, I am willing to be educated. Otherwise, please go hump a garden hose. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/30 "2009-03-31T19:29:30Z")
Sweetcheeks, I was lifting before you figured out how to use the potty all by yourself. And given that pretty much everything you have said so far is completely wrong, I am not all that enamored of the idea that I can learn a whole bunch about exercise from you. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/31 "2009-03-31T19:32:19Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > If using the machine properly gets our hypothetical exerciser’s heart rate up to 130, and using the machine improperly also gets it up to 130, then the cardiovascular benefit to the person is exactly the same. Sure, the muscular benefit to the legs, etc., might be slightly different, but probably in such small measures as to be almost unnoticeable. Yes, regardless of whether using the machine properly or not, if you have the same heartrate you will achieve the same cardiovascular results. The thing is, the manner in which the OP described the behavior, this is unlikely to be the case. Let’s imagine we have an individual who’s fat burning zone is, say, 120-140. If he uses the equipment properly and maintains a 130 HR for 20 minutes, he’ll get decent fat burning results. If instead, he pumps it up to a high incline and high speed and gets his heartrate up to 170 and does that for 30 minutes, he’ll burn a hell of a lot more calories, probably at least twice as many, but he’ll achieve less total fat burning. Thus, if his goal is to lose weight, he’d get better results in less time if he did the former. The same thing holds true with resistance training. Curling 5 lbs 20 times is not the same as 10 lbs 10 times or 20 lbs 5 times or 50 lbs 2 times, even though it’s mathematically the same amount of work. Chances are, unless you have very unusual goals, either of the middle two (adjusting the middle two are around appropriate weights and reps for you) will produce better results in less time than the extremes, since the first probably puts little to no strain on the muscle, and the latter is probably so much weight that you have to either do terrible form or rest a lot between the reps. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/32 "2009-03-31T19:37:12Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Blaster, could you please stop posting intelligent shit to my thread? 😉 Hey, I’m actually just as upset by it as you are, especially since several of the pieces of equipment I like to use probably have more people using them wrong than correctly. I just like to get all detailed. 😛 > [@Shodan](#): > > Also wrong. I will be on there for twenty minutes no matter what, so learn to possess your soul in patience, sonny. Strictly speaking, even if it won’t take less time because you’ll do 20 minutes anyway, you’d still be able to achieve better results in the same amount of time if you use the equipment properly. So, even if the patience part isn’t really a factor, chances are if you’re using it even remotely like described in the OP, you could make changes and see better results. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/33 "2009-03-31T19:38:17Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Produce me a cite that details how using a treadmill on a 12 incline while holding onto the bars is a great, or even a good way to work out, and I promise I will shut up about it. I suppose it depends on how one holds the bars. I tend to hold onto the heart monitor the entire time, not only to monitor my heart but also to keep myself from shooting off of the machine like a pebble out of a slingshot. What I don’t do is put any weight on the bars. My legs do 100% of the work. Is there something wrong with that? ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/34 "2009-03-31T19:39:28Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > There isn’t a direct correlation between perspiration and heart rate. Using a piece of cardio equipment properly could mean less exertion while for the same heartrate, which means less sweating. I really have no dog in this fight, but isn’t that the point for many people? I want my body to function as inefficiently as it can at the gym, so it burns as many calories as possible while doing as little as possible. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/35 "2009-03-31T19:57:01Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > I want my body to function as inefficiently as it can at the gym, so it burns as many calories as possible while doing as little as possible. No way, using your body inefficiently causes injury! Sure you’ll sweat more, because it takes more effort to move it in ways it’s not accustomed to, but the next day you will be paying for it, or worse. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/36 "2009-03-31T19:59:41Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Let’s imagine we have an individual who’s fat burning zone is, say, 120-140. If he uses the equipment properly and maintains a 130 HR for 20 minutes, he’ll get decent fat burning results. If instead, he pumps it up to a high incline and high speed and gets his heartrate up to 170 and does that for 30 minutes, he’ll burn a hell of a lot more calories, probably at least twice as many, but he’ll achieve less total fat burning. Thus, if his goal is to lose weight, he’d get better results in less time if he did the former. Sure. But the only person presuming to know what his goal is, is the OP. What if he’s after cardio-vascular fitness more than fat/weight loss? The cardio zone is a higher heart rate than the fat-burning zone (although 170 is probably a bit high even for that). ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/37 "2009-03-31T20:06:13Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I suppose it depends on how one holds the bars. I tend to hold onto the heart monitor the entire time, not only to monitor my heart but also to keep myself from shooting off of the machine like a pebble out of a slingshot. What I don’t do is put any weight on the bars. My legs do 100% of the work. > > Is there something wrong with that? If you fear for shooting off the end of the treadmill without holding onto the bars, then you are definitely putting weight on them. If you’re holding them just to help a bit with balanace and maintain an even pace (ie, arms loosely bent, minimal tension on elbows/biceps/triceps, etc) then I don’t think you’ve got big problems. If your legs are really doing 100% of the work, you don’t need to use your hands to keep you from shooting off the machine. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/38 "2009-03-31T20:07:46Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Sweetcheeks, I was lifting before you figured out how to use the potty all by yourself. And given that pretty much everything you have said so far is completely wrong, I am not all that enamored of the idea that I can learn a whole bunch about exercise from you. > > Regards, > Shodan Typical Shodan, telling someone they’re wrong without providing any proof. Everything I have said in this thread is not completely wrong, so there. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/39 "2009-03-31T20:10:21Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Nope, I am not perfect, but there is no rule saying I have to be perfect before I can point out the obvious inefficiencies in somenoe else’s routine based on uneducated use of the equipment. I’m not a perfect golfer, either, but that doesn’t mean I can’t point out the handicap of a wildly improper stance. You said you are upset because the inefficient method used by others means they spend more time on the machine and therefore limit its availability to you. If you are going to make that complaint, then yes, you do need to be perfect. Your inefficiencies are, in turn, causing extra time in your workout which means someone else doesn’t get to use the machine. All this assumes people would get off the machines quicker if they were more efficient, which is highly unlikely. > [@](#): > > Produce me a cite that details how using a treadmill on a 12 incline while holding onto the bars is a great, or even a good way to work out, and I promise I will shut up about it. Unlike Shodan, I am willing to be educated. Otherwise, please go hump a garden hose. You need a cite to show that raising your heart rate for 20 to 30 minutes is a good workout? Exactly what were the credentials of the qualified people you spoke with? And you may want to recheck your internet sources, too. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437/40 "2009-03-31T20:15:24Z")
> [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](#): > > I really have no dog in this fight, but isn’t that the point for many people? I want my body to function as inefficiently as it can at the gym, so it burns as many calories as possible while doing as little as possible. I can sort of see your point here. You want to work as hard as you can at staying in the same place (ie on the center of a treadmill) as is possible. However, your real goal is probably not to work as hard as you can, but to get your body burning fat or building muscle in the most efficient way possible. Getting the heart rate into certain zones is the best way to accomplish that, and equipment was designed with certain standards of use in mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-doing-it-wrong/491437.md?page=3)