How to be productive in the gym

We’re a time-poor world these days and unfortunately for a lot of people, spending time looking after their bodies is not always a priority. Whether it’s because their lives are packed with work, families or a busy social calendar, most people get very little ‘me’ time. Even for those who do ‘gym it’, we regularly see an attitude of get in, get it done and get out in time to take the kids to gymnastics. We regularly get asked what a person can do to maximise their time in the gym, and lucky for you – that is exactly what this blog is about!

We appreciate that life is busy, but read on for some handy tips on keeping a productive gym schedule:

• Go with a friend or family member: Many people hate going to the gym alone because they find it hard to motivate themselves. Having a gym partner means you can motivate each other during those really hard slogs on the exercise bike or pushing for that last rep. If you’re time poor, this allows you to kill two birds with one stone by getting in some socialising whilst working out (no animals were hurt during the writing of this blog).
• Get a P.T: What better way to be productive in the gym than having a personal trainer to guide you along the way and keep you motivated. You’ll also have the benefit of having someone there to offer advice on technique, so you avoid injury. Obviously PTs cost money, but if you can’t afford a one-on-one, think about small group classes, where you still have personalized attention, but with less impact on the wallet.
• Sign up for a class: There are heaps of class types out there to cover all bases of exercise. Try a HIIT class (which stands for High-Intensity-Interval-Training) if you’re after a big calorie burn in a short space of time.
• Train smart: If you want to maximise the burn and time is short, then be smart with your exercise choices. Choose an exercise that targets several muscle groups (i.e. squats into overhead press), or perform two exercises that focus on the same or different muscle groups, one after the other (called ‘super-setting’ - i.e. squats then lunges, or squats then push-ups).
• Avoid peak times of business: Hit the gym during a quiet time to avoid having to deal with long queues for equipment, allowing you to get your routine done in minimal time.
• Have a plan: If you know what you are doing before you go to the gym then you’ll be less likely to find yourself wandering around between exercises mulling over what to do next. Write down your routine on paper so you can tick off the list as you go along.
• Have water on hand: We recommend having your favourite, eco-friendly water bottle with you at all times. Keeping hydrated throughout will mean you’ll be able to see your routine through to the end without having to stop several times to queue for the water dispenser.
• Switch devices to airplane mode: Text messages, emails and phone calls are potential distractions from your workout. Simply switch to airplane mode and you’ll be working out distraction-free, which means more time for dedicated exercise.
• Listen to music: Music has been shown to enhance people’s performance during exercise. It’s personal preference but if you’re looking for motivation, having a playlist of up-tempo tracks could be just what you need to keep the energy levels up.

We hope these handy tips mean your future gym sessions will now be as productive as possible. And if you’ve held off from the gym in the past because of a lack of time, we hope we have convinced you that time doesn’t have to be a factor if you’re organised. Hit us up at Back in Business Physiotherapy if you have any further questions. See you next month!

Uploaded : 4 February 2020