3 Ways to get the most out of your time at the gym

How many times have you been to the gym to see people talking on the phone, chatting to fellow gym goers, ogling at the females on the treadmill or generally just lazing about? I’ll tell you right now, in a year from now these people will look and act exactly the same. They won’t get anywhere with an attitude like that. When you make up your mind to totally recompose your body – it takes on a whole new level of seriousness that does not allow that sort of behaviour.

Why do you go to the gym? You go to the gym to workout, not to socialise and certainly not to have a rest and a laugh about. So if you’re serious about your gym work, have a look at this article to figure out how to squeeze every drop out of your routine.

1) When you walk into the gym, think of getting things done and getting out as soon as possible – Research has proven that the most effective workouts last only 45 minutes. The next time you hear someone say they spent 3 hours at the gym you should have a good hearty laugh. More than 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise does not affect your physical fitness in any way – so why go for a 40 minute treadmill run when it won’t affect your body positively?

Thinking this way will put you on a timeline. It’s best to set a stopwatch as soon as you walk in and having periodic looks at the watch to gauge how much time you’ve been in and how much more time you’re allowed to spend in the gym. Ideally the maximal time you should be in the gym should be an hour. You’re on a deadline and everything is against you, so get moving.

2) Plan everything in advance – How many times have you gone into the gym wondering what you should do? Should you hop on the crosstrainer? Should you hit the peck-deck? Maybe you should just think about it first (and waste precious time?)

To avoid this way of thinking, plan your entire weeks workout well in advance of when you perform them. Meticulously plan your workouts, goals, performance in the gym. It may seem pedantic in the start but in the long run you will definitely see the benefits. You can just walk into the gym and know exactly what you’re going to do, reducing the time you’re in the gym and decreasing the mental load you have on you.
The other benefit of this logging ritual is that you can tell exactly how much you’ve progressed in a certain amount of time. Did you decrease your time on a 3k meter treadmill run by a minute? Amazing.
Without this you’re just a leaf in the wind. You don’t know what’s going on and you never will. This point is absolutely vital.

3) Get a gym partner who is equally serious about his or her workouts as you – This can be a huge huge benefit. When you have someone with you you’re pressured into taking action and so are they. You both are under the mutual understanding that you and them both have goals to meet. You push them when they’re losing momentum and they do the same in return.

Get a friend on board, and set goals for both of yourselves. You’ll realise how much this helps you in the gym once you get it done.
As a final note – Get serious. That’s as simple as I can put it. There’s no shortcuts, no easy ways out. You have to do it. Get moving!