What are 3 things that YOU, Leonado DaVinci, and Steve Jobs have in common.
- You were born at a young age
- You have 10 toes…. AND
- You have 24hrs in a day
Yet, we’ll all commonly complain of ‘not having enough time’. Time to exercise, time to eat healthily, time to move.
Getting time to make the gym is a luxury for most. So why is it that SO MANY people WASTE TIME whilst in the weight room?
Here are your TOP 3 habits to AVOID if you’re looking to MAXIMIZE your gym training and in turn, RESULTS!
- Engaging on your smart phone while training – Whether it’s work, home or the gym, we’re currently within a society that spends its time with others who aren’t even actively with us. Whether its texting, taking 400 selfies with perfect lighting for instagram, ‘snapping’ their workout, or searching which hashtag scores them more likes on their booty pic, people need to bring some FOCUS back into the gym.
If you’re on your smart phone while training, you’re leaving #gainz on the table! Maintaining focus during a session is key for long term safety and progression. The research is super clear here. In a 2017 review (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5403814/) the researchers stated, ‘Once attention has been shifted to the smartphone for one purpose users often then engage in a chain of subsequent task-unrelated acts on the smartphone, thereby extending the period of disruption.’ Throw two or three of these extended rest intervals to your session, and you’ve just turned a 1hr workout, into a 90min marathon!
What’s the fix? Easy, either switch that thing to flight mode (that way you’ve still got access to your tunes while training) or leave it in the locker. The picture your friend just put up of their cat will be there when you’re done!
- Not timing rest intervals – Many will argue that you can simply use ‘how you feel’ to gauge rest intervals in a training session, but I believe that’s way too simplistic. Your feelings have no place on the gym floor (save them for when you’re at home watching the notebook).
Making sure that your rest intervals are timed and appropriate for your workout is not only productive, but also a very underrated key for results. The length of your rest intervals should vary depending on your training experience, goals, and workout type. This will play a huge role in the success or failure of your training plan.
Best approach here, get yourself a plan put together by a professional, purchase a stopwatch and get timing!
- Not having a training plan – The last thing you want to do once you hit the gym floor without a plan. So much time is wasted in this situation. Whether it’s the time spent coming up with a workout on the fly, or simply lost potential due to poor exercise selection and planning, you’re definitely wasting it! In a society that is already so time poor, don’t waste is guessing your way through a workout.
Think of your training plan like a map to a destination you’ve never been before. If you just got in the car and drove, who knows where you’ll end up!
Although I’m probably biased, getting in touch with a professional is your best bet. Having someone draw up that map for you, is going to save you a ton of time, and help you achieve the results you’re after in the long run.
If you’d like to hear how you could maximize your training, minimize your time wasting and achieve RESULTS, contact us here on how Performance PT might be able to help you.