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Consejos De Fitness
Consejos para aprovechar mejor el tiempo en el gimnasio
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El gimnasio es un buen lugar para socializar, conocer gente con una vida activa y compartir aficiones con personas que no conocías, no obstante debes tener claro que si quieres que el tiempo y dinero que gastas en el gimnasio sea efectivo, el tiempo que estés allí debes concentrarte en la actividad física.
Mucha gente cree que pasar mucho tiempo en el gimnasio es sinónimo de alcanzar mejor tus objetivos físicos, pero, aquí viene el primero de los consejos:
En el gimnasio no pierdas el tiempo
De nada sirve estar 2 horas en el gimnasio si el tiempo real de actividad física se reduce a 30 minutos. Cuanto más concentrado esté el ejercicio físico que hagamos, más eficaz será, por ello nos conviene más estar 45 minutos intensos en el gimnasio, que 2 horas dando vueltas.
Un buen consejo para evitar estar perder el tiempo es llevarte planeado que vas a hacer de antemano. Así no gastas tiempo pensando qué puedes hacer.
¿Cuántos días debo ir?
Los días que debemos ir al gimnasio dependerán de cuál es nuestro objetivo principal. Así, si vamos al gimnasio para mantener nuestro buen estado de forma y mantener un estilo de vida saludable, con tres días a la semana será suficiente. A medida que nuestro objetivo se intensifica, por ejemplo si tienes un objetivo muy ambicioso de pérdida de peso o de ganar musculatura o te estás preparando alguna prueba física intensa, tendremos que aumentar los días a 4 o incluso 5 semanales.
No obstante, con un estilo de vida activo y saludable, 3 días de ejercicio semanal es suficiente para mantenerte en forma.
¿Cuál es el mejor momento del día?
Se habla mucho de cuál es el mejor momento del día para ir al gimnasio. Desde luego el mejor momento es en el que tengas tiempo. Dicen que por la mañana puede ser más efectivo porque ayuda a consumir más calorías durante el día, no obstante dado que solemos llevar un estilo de vida muy ajetreado, si eres capaz de sacar un rato del día para ir al gimnasio es más que suficiente.
Si es cierto que es aconsejable no ir al gimnasio después de comer con el estómago lleno o tras muchas horas en ayuno. Los expertos en la medicina del sueño tampoco recomiendan hacer ejercicio poco tiempo antes de dormir pues podría retrasarnos las horas de sueño.
Gimnasio + Alimentación = Vida saludable
Es muy importante tener en cuenta que si queremos que el gimnasio de sus frutos, debemos acompañarlo de una dieta variada y equilibrada además de una vida activa. ¿Qué queremos decir con una vida activa? Pues básicamente no conformarnos con ir al gimnasio, y tratar de llevar una vida lo menos sedentaria posible, por ejemplo ir andando a los sitios cuando puedas hacerlo, organizar planes alternativos que impliquen cierta actividad física tales como ir a dar un paseo o montar en bici.
En cuanto a la dieta saludable, no debemos obsesionarnos con las ingestas de calorías, grasas u otros nutrientes. Con dieta sana y equilibrada nos referimos a una dieta normal, como solían preparan nuestras abuelas, alternando platos de carne y pescado (o alternativos si se opta por una dieta vegetariana o vegana), con legumbres, lácteos, verduras, hortalizas y frutas. Y agua, beber mucha agua debe ser la base de cualquier dieta que se diga saludable, especialmente ahora que proliferan las bebidas y refrescos alternativos. Debes tener claro que ninguna es tan saludable como un vaso de agua.
¿Por dónde empiezo?
Dependiendo del objetivo que te marques en el gimnasio, será más conveniente que empieces por uno u otros ejercicios. Por ejemplo, si tu objetivo principal es gastar calorías, será mejor que empieces con ejercicios de cardio, pues en los primeros ejercicios es cuanta más energía consumimos. En cambio, si tu prioridad es aumentar musculatura, pues te recomendamos que tras un breve calentamiento, comiences con los ejercicios de fortalecimiento de músculos para no agotar energía en ejercicios previos que te hagan perder eficacia en tu prioridad.
¿Mejor solo o acompañado?
Ir solo o acompañado al gimnasio dependerá de cómo sea la compañía que tengas. Si con las otras personas consigues motivarte y rendir más en el tiempo que estás allí, será muy buena idea ir acompañado, sin embargo si tus compañías te hacen perder el tiempo y dedicar más tiempo a hablar que a hacer ejercicio, empieza a ir solo y motívate tú mismo. La música suele ser muy buen estimulador. Prepárate una lista de canciones que te motiven antes de ir al gimnasio, y dale al play en cuanto pongas un pie en el gimnasio.
Compite contigo mismo
No te compares con los demás en el gimnasio. Recuerda que cada uno tiene sus objetivos diferentes y el único con el que debes compararte es contigo mismo. Cada cuerpo es diferente por lo que no debemos imitar lo que hacen los demás. Si no estás seguro de cuáles son los ejercicios que debes hacer en el gym, lo más conveniente es que preguntes al personal del gimnasio que seguro están encantados de ayudarte con una rutina específica adecuada a tus necesidades y propósitos.
La mejor constancia de que estás haciéndolo bien en el gimnasio, es que cada día te de menos pereza ir. Empezar a ir al gimnasio es como empezar a montar en bici, las primeras pedaladas serán las más complicadas, pero si las superas ¡luego todo irá rodando!
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In the UK, men on average die four to six years earlier than women. They also have a life expectancy of 79.1 years, are significantly less likely to attend routine health screenings, are more likely to delay seeking medical attention for concerning symptoms, and face higher rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and suicide.
The dietary patterns, movement habits, sleep, stress management, and relationship with healthcare that men establish can have a profound influence on health outcomes across the lifespan.
Cardiovascular Health
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of premature death in men in the UK, and men develop it on average ten years earlier than women. The protective effect of oestrogen that delays cardiovascular disease in premenopausal women does not apply to men, meaning that risk accumulates from earlier in adulthood.
The key modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease include:
high blood pressure
elevated LDL cholesterol
high triglycerides,
insulin resistance,
smoking
excess visceral adiposity
physical inactivity
chronic stress
poor sleep
alcohol use and diet quality
Most of these can be influenced by nutrition and lifestyle, meaning that the everyday choices men make have a significant and compounding effect on their long-term cardiovascular risk.
Dietary patterns most strongly associated with reduced cardiovascular risk include:
Mediterranean diet
diets rich in vegetables and fruit
wholegrains
legumes
olive oil
nuts
oily fish
Focus should fall on predominantly whole food dietary patterns that are balanced, high in fibre and low in saturated fats.
Specific nutrients with the strongest cardiovascular evidence include omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce triglycerides and inflammation, soluble fibre from oats, barley, chia seeds, legumes, certain vegetables and fruit, which reduces LDL cholesterol, potassium from vegetables and fruit, which supports healthy blood pressure, and extra virgin olive oil for its anti-inflammatory properties.
In the UK, men are encouraged to have regular blood pressure and cholesterol screenings from their forties onward, and earlier for those with a family history of cardiovascular disease. Many men have elevated cardiovascular risk markers like LDL cholesterol for years before any symptoms arise, making regular monitoring genuinely important rather than optional.
Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Health
Men are at higher risk of type 2 diabetes than women at equivalent body weights, partly due to the tendency of men to accumulate visceral fat (fat around the internal organs) rather than subcutaneous fat (fat beneath the skin).
Visceral adiposity is metabolically active and drives insulin resistance, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk in ways that subcutaneous fat does not to the same degree.
Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable and in its early stages often reversible through dietary and lifestyle change. The evidence for dietary approaches to improving insulin sensitivity and metabolic health consistently points toward reducing refined carbohydrate and added sugar intake, increasing dietary fibre, eating regular meals with adequate protein, fibre and fat to moderate blood glucose response, and regular physical activity.
Waist circumference is a more informative marker of metabolic risk than body weight or BMI alone. A waist circumference above 94cm in men is associated with increased metabolic risk, and above 102cm with substantially elevated risk.
This is worth knowing not as a point of shame, but as a practical piece of health information that is easy to measure and track.
Dietary quality improvements, increased physical activity, and better sleep can all improve insulin sensitivity and reduce visceral fat independently of changes in overall body weight.
Prostate Health
According to Cancer Research, 1 in 6 men in the UK will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. When detected early, it is one of the most survivable cancers and so regular screening is particularly important for men over 50 and men with a family history of prostate cancer or with Black African or Caribbean heritage.
In epidemiological research, those who consume diets rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, pink grapefruit and watermelon their red pigment, has been linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer, though evidence is mixed.
Lycopene is significantly more bioavailable from cooked or processed tomatoes than raw, with tomato paste, passata, and canned tomatoes providing more absorbable lycopene than fresh tomatoes.
The overall dietary pattern matters more than any single nutrient. Higher vegetable, fruit and wholegrains intake, adequate zinc, and a predominantly whole food dietary pattern are associated with better prostate health outcomes. Diets high in processed meat and very high in saturated fat are associated with modestly increased risk in large prospective studies.
Testosterone and Hormonal Health
Testosterone levels in men decline gradually from the mid-thirties onward, with research suggesting an average decline of around 1 to 2% per year after age 40. This is a normal part of aging, but the trajectory and rate of decline are influenced by lifestyle factors, meaning that the choices men make in their thirties and forties meaningfully affect their hormonal health in their fifties and beyond.
Several nutritional and lifestyle factors are associated with better testosterone status. Adequate zinc intake is directly relevant: zinc is essential for testosterone synthesis, and deficiency is associated with reduced testosterone levels.
Good sources include shellfish, pumpkin seeds, and legumes. Adequate dietary fat intake, particularly from monounsaturated and saturated fat sources in moderate amounts, supports testosterone production, as testosterone is synthesised from cholesterol.
Vitamin D deficiency, which is widespread in the UK, is associated with lower testosterone levels so correcting any deficiency may improve testosterone status. Maintaining adequate vitamin D year-round through blood work to assess levels and supplementation when needed can therefore be relevant to hormonal health.
Chronic stress elevates cortisol, which directly suppresses testosterone production. This is one of several reasons why stress management is not separate from men's hormonal health but integral to it.
Sleep is equally relevant: testosterone is primarily produced during sleep, and research has found that even one week of sleeping five hours per night reduces testosterone levels by approximately 10 to 15% in young men, a reduction equivalent to ageing ten to fifteen years.
Sleep and Sleep Apnoea
Sleep affects testosterone, cardiovascular health, metabolic function, immune resilience, cognitive performance, emotional regulation, and physical recovery.
Sleep apnoea, a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, is significantly more common in men than in women, and is associated with fatigue, poor cognitive function, elevated cardiovascular risk, and reduced testosterone. It is frequently undiagnosed because the primary symptom is snoring combined with daytime sleepiness, which many men normalise. If you or your partner have noticed loud or irregular snoring combined with daytime fatigue, discussing this with a GP is worthwhile.
Seven to nine hours of quality sleep per night is the evidence-supported range for most adults. Consistent sleep and wake times, a cool dark bedroom, limiting alcohol, avoiding caffeine after midday, and managing stress are the most consistently evidence-supported sleep hygiene strategies.
Alcohol
Men in the UK drink more alcohol on average than women and are more likely to drink at hazardous or harmful levels. The NHS guidelines recommend no more than 14 units of alcohol per week spread across at least three days, with alcohol-free days each week.
Alcohol at higher intake levels is associated with liver disease, several cancers including colorectal and liver cancer, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, depression, cognitive decline, impaired sleep, reduced testosterone, and reduced fertility.
The relationship between alcohol and health is not linear, and while low-level drinking has historically been associated with some cardiovascular benefits, more recent research applying Mendelian randomisation methods suggests that even moderate drinking carries some increased risk.
This is not about prohibition. It is about honest awareness that alcohol is one of the most significant modifiable risk factors for serious health conditions in men, and that staying within recommended guidelines meaningfully reduces long-term risk.
Engaging With Healthcare
One of the most impactful things men can do for their long-term health is engage proactively with healthcare rather than reactively. This means attending NHS health checks when invited (available to those aged 40 to 74), discussing blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose screening with a GP, being aware of bowel cancer screening (offered to those over 60 in the UK), having conversations about prostate health from the mid-forties onward for those with risk factors, and not dismissing symptoms or delaying seeking help when something feels wrong.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 49 afd is highly treatable when caught early. Regular self-examination and prompt reporting of any lumps or changes to a GP are important habits. Skin cancer rates are higher in men partly due to lower rates of sun protection, and regular skin checks for changing moles or lesions are worthwhile.
Mental Health
Men are less likely to seek help for depression and anxiety, less likely to discuss emotional difficulties with friends or family, and more likely to manage distress through avoidance, alcohol, or other external coping strategies rather than directly addressing the underlying issue. These patterns can have devastating consequences when unaddressed, and they are deeply connected to social norms around masculinity that equate emotional expression with weakness.
The most important message regarding men's mental health is to reach out. To your GP, to a therapist, to a trusted friend, to a helpline and to engage in psychological therapies like CBT and ACT for mental health support.
Closing Thoughts
Men's health is shaped by the accumulation of daily choices across decades: what is eaten, how much movement happens, how sleep is prioritised, how stress is managed, how much alcohol is consumed, and whether medical or mental health care is sought when needed.
None of these are binary or all-or-nothing. Small, consistent improvements in multiple areas compound meaningfully over time.
This article is for educational purposes only and does not replace the advice of a qualified healthcare or nutrition professional. If you're experiencing persistent or severe symptoms, please consult your healthcare provider.
Sources:
https://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(23)00385-X/fulltexthttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6906176/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11958419/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960076021000716?via%3Dihubhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8743653/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949789225000881https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9566.13257
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