Nowadays a growing number of people go to the gyms, as more and more people realize the importance of keeping fit and healthy. Most of us spend all day time working and only have time at night or at weekends to go to the gyms.
How to be more productive at the gym in such a short period of time? Below are 12 tips that will definitely help you.
- 1. Know Where to Go
Choose a gym that is convenient for you to go to. It will be great if there are gyms near your office or your house. You can directly go there after work.
If you are unfamiliar with the gym, spend a little time during you first visit. Try to figure out where all the equipment are so that you don’t need to run in circles looking for barbells or kettle-bells every time you go to the gym.
- 2. Know When to Go
Try to avoid rush hours. Most people go to the gym at night or at weekends as they work in daytime, which usually cause peak time to the gym. You’d better go to the gym during off-peak hours. In this way you can avoid being with too much crowds and also avoid waiting for equipments. Besides, if you want to stay productive all day long, going there on midday is a good idea!
- 3. Put Your Phone on Airplane Mode
Phone calls and texts come to us when we are at work, in class or even at sleep. If you take your smart phone or smart watch to gym, you may be disturbed by a sudden call when doing a push-up or resistance band workouts or something else.
So remember to put your phone on do-not-disturb mode or airplane mode to avoid texts or calls.
- 4. Set A Goal
Set your gym goals before you arrive the gym. The more specific your goals are, the easier for you to achieve. For example, you want do basic resistance band workouts this week and do middle level workouts next week.
Having a goal in mind, you will feel overwhelmed when you come to a crowded floor. You will find the equipment and directly start the workouts without wasting time. It’ll be great if you write down the number of reps or sets. That will definitely make your gym training more productive!
- 5. Download An App
People who haven’t go to the gym before may don’t know what to do at the first few times. You can download an app on Apple Store or Google Play Store. The apps about sports and fitness will show you how to do workouts with particular equipments and how to make it more effectively.
Some apps will also offer some suggestions on training plans. It will be very helpful to anyone wants to keep fit and keep healthy.
- 6. With An Empty Stomach
Although studies have showed it is better for us to do workouts with an empty stomach, it is always best to follow your gut. Eat something or drink something before a workout will also provide energy so that you can push harder. I usually eat an apple or a protein smoothie as a pre-workout snack. Generally speaking, it does help on minimizing digestive issues if you stick to something that’s high in carbs and low in fat and fiber.
- 7. Turn on Music
Studies have showed that listening to music while working out will help people work out harder, faster and better. In general, songs with a neither-too-fast-nor-too-slow rhythm and inspiring lyrics will give you more motivation on working out. You can make a song list on your phone so that you can follow the rhythm and directly gain energy as soon as you reach the gym.
Take an iPod or MP3 with you helps you avoid being disturbed. And if you take your phone with you, set it to airplane mode to avoid being disturbed.
- 8. Go with A Partner
Bring your friends to the gym. It does help increase your accountability as you know your friend is right there watching you. it’s same to couples. Studies have shown if one of the couples go to gym regularly, the other one will be influenced and will have the tender to go together.
Besides, doing exercises together is a lot more fun than going alone. You can do exercises together, try different equipments and work out side by side.
- 9. Use A Timer / Fitness tracker
Try to use a timer on your phone or download an interval app to keep rest consistent.
Please be aware of the clock ticking between intervals or sets. If you are not paying attention, a 60-second recovery can easily turn into 3 or 4 minutes. And if you use a timer, you will better avoid that happen, making your workouts more scientific and more effective.
It will be great if you wears a smart watch that can track all-day activity. It tracks steps, distance, calories burned, floors climbed and active minutes. Some smart watch comes with optical heart rate sensor help you on health monitoring much better!
- 10. Bring Some Water with Vitamin
Water can not only satisfy your thirst but also fight fatigue. Drink 17 to 20 ounces of water if you work out for 2 hours. And drink 7 to 10 ounces if you work out for about every 20 minutes.
If you want to add more fun or be more healthy, you can add some mint, lemon or other fruits and vegetables into your water bottle and create your own unique flavors. You will easily adopt a healthy hydration habit proven to increase your energy level and also facilitate weight loss.
Here’s a free eBook about Infuser Water Bottle Recipes. You can download it if needed.
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- 11. Try A Personal Trainer
Sign up a session with a personal trainer can help preventing any sort of slacking. Specialists suggest a personal trainer can motivate people to up the intensity at the gym. In addition, trainers can help you to correct bad habits. That’s more scientific and will keep your routine fresh and more effective.
- 12. Share Your Moments
You can also share your photos taken in gyms to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WeiChat. Share your moments to your friends or strangers in the internet can in a way gain more motivations or suggestions. People like sports and fitness are always generous to share useful tips to anyone also loves sports. In this way you encourage each other and get better workout effects. Besides. Seeing what other achieved will also inspire you exercising harder and better.