Maximize Your Time In The Gym

Throughout social media you constantly see posts of how much time your friends spend at the gym. 

"Just got done lifting for 3 hours! #gymratproblems #swag"

Now this is impressive to some, but sometimes less is more. When it comes to training or working out, quality is just as important as quantity if not more. If you are doing high quality thought out training, you shouldn't be at the gym for more than an hour or an hour and a half tops, decreasing the amount of time you are catabolic. Your brain disconnects from what you were just doing when you slide open your phone to see the latest facebook update. Then, you transform your 1 minute rest to 5 between each set, so unless you are an Olympic lifter that takes 3-5 minutes to fully recover between sets, you are wasting your time. 

Here are five things you can do right now to maximize your time in the gym:

1. Time Your Rest - Use a timer, preferably a watch to time your rest in between sets. This will help you stay concentrated and keep you from getting distracted. Also, it is an important tool in staying consistent between sets, your repetitions will vary week to week if you mix your rest time from 1 minute to 5 during the same workout. A basic rule of thumb would be 0-60 seconds of rest when training for strength endurance, 1-2 minute rest for hypertrophy, and 3 minutes for maximal strength training. Each serves a purpose, which I will touch upon in a separate blog post. 

2. Plan Your Workout - This doesn't mean "Today is chest and triceps". Plan which type of workout you are going to do, the exercises, sets, repetition range, intensity, tempo, and rest time of each.

3. Know the Purpose of Your Workout - Specificity is key in training. As a sprinter you probably just wasted an hour of your day if you stayed on the treadmill going at a slow, steady pace. Know your goal, and which type of exercises are needed to accomplish this goal. Be specific, be goal oriented, and be realistic. In turn, you will maximize your workout. 


4. Find a Trainer - 1 on 1 training could be crucial. Not only will you get personal attention every minute of your workout, you have someone to make sense of everything you are doing. Having someone prescribe a goal-oriented plan specific to you will cut out exercises that give little to no benefit. Like stated before, you should know why you are doing the exercise prescribed, the number of sets, the repetition range, intensity, and rest time. A trainer will personalize each aspect to fit your goal and take away all of the guess work. Having a professional hold you accountable could make the difference between slacking and pushing towards your next personal best.

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5. Super-Set it up - I have been running into the problem of getting anxious in between sets to go again. If you know you are doing multiple muscle groups during your training session, you can significantly decrease your time spent in the gym by doing circuit training and super-setting your exercises. Doing this, you increase the amount of work done in less time, challenge yourself, and stay engaged. 

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-Written by Paul Banasiak