Everyone is looking for the magic ingredient to attaining their fitness goals. Media messaging can often confuse and mislead consumers to buy certain products that have little to no effect in building their body. With summer rolling around, those in pursuit of fitness need a place to workout to attain their goals. Look no further than going to the gym.

Going to the gym has numerous benefits. Whether it is to gain muscle, remove fat, or simply maintain, the gym provides. Gaining muscle is a difficult task. While everyone’s genetics are different, each individual has a certain number of calories they take in.

 For the purpose of this article, let’s say the calorie intake required to maintain someone’s current body shape is 2,000 a day. In order to gain muscle, or bulk, the amount of calories consumed must be over 2,000 calories, which is known as a surplus, according to Puregym. When gaining muscle, fat will also be gained, but there will be more muscle being gained under a healthy eating lifestyle. Training heavy reps will strengthen muscles that can only be isolated at the gym, requiring the gym to be a necessity in building muscle.  

Cutting is contrary to bulking. While bulking requires a calorie surplus, cutting requires a calorie deficit, according to Puregym. When going on a calorie deficit, cutters will lift lighter weights for less reps to burn fat, or do cardio, which burns calories as long as the cardio exercise lasts. It is true cardio does not have to be done at the gym, but lifting will burn fat over time increments after the lift. Depending on the intensity of the workout, a lifter can potentially burn fat from the first hour after a workout to the next 72 hours even if you are bulking, according to Genesis. This makes lifting more sufficient in attaining fitness goals than cardio.

Sartell Seniors, Hadi Rahal and Blake Bierscheid, give their perspectives on the benefits of lifting and going to the gym. 

Rahal states, “Like muscle gains, increased happiness, pushing yourself to new lengths is a great feeling in working out in the gym.”

Bierscheid states, “Lifting is fun, it’s a good challenge to become the best of yourself, very fulfilling, really shows how far you can push your limits as a person.”

Another benefit of going to the gym is it has long term health benefits. According to Stylist, lifting can increase metabolism, reduce chances of heart disease and type II diabetes, along with increasing mental health in general. For those who go to the gym to achieve their fitness goals, know that the actions taken now will be beneficial to future fitness for life longevity and better happiness. The appeal of working out and achieving workout goals can be attained through hard work and dedication, the change can be made by going to the gym. 

Local Sartell gyms include Sta Fit, Anytime Fitness, and SHS gym if you attend Sartell.