How to get the most out of your gym time

If you work full time with children, a partner and all of the social occasions, business travel, errands and daily life competing with your time for gym and vice versa, you better make sure that you use the time in the gym wisely to make the most of it.

Have a goal and a plan

Whatever you do set yourself a goal or multiple goals and do whatever gets you there. Do not arrive at the gym to think about how many reps, how many sets & how much weight you are going to use. You can have a preplanned workout from the internet, something you thought of in the car on the way or an app which tells you what to do but do figure it out before you step into your gym.

Bring everything you need

This sounds trivial but it happened to me too often to not be pointed out. Make sure before you leave that you have all your gadgets, drinks, food supplements, shoes, underwear, socks, towel(s) and swimming trunks in the bag. I usually pack everything I need the day before.

Limit the equipment you have to use

The more machines or equipment you have to use at the gym the more likely it will become that you have to wait to use it. This does not necessarily mean do only squats, only abs or arms, but rather do these exercises only with one set of dumbbells or one barbell.

When in the gym: train, When in the cafe: chat

I personally do not mind people on their phones or chatting away for 10 - 15 minutes in the gym, I just do not get it. The gym, at least for me personally, is not my most favorite place to bond. Meet up in the cinema, cafe, a nice restaurant or at home to have a chat and stick to the weights primarily in the gym, that is the single reason that you came here (or wasn't it).

Minimize rest time

It depends on the workout and intensity you are after, but ideally, minimize the rest time to a bare minimum. It will get you where you want to go quicker and make better use of your time. Do not overstrain yourself as fatigue will lead to injury and set you further back than an extra minute of rest, still bare in mind to have more active than passive time in the gym.

Do a proper warm-up

Have a standard ten minute warm up prepared which fits your workout. This will activate your body for the exercises to come and they will, therefore, have a bigger impact on your body.

If you are not the next superhero, do full body routines

Most people are at a fitness level where they benefit more from full body routines activating all of their body rather than just one part of it. You can branch out into focused workouts once you have reached a certain level of fitness, but it won't be the best use of your time just starting out.

Find a gym near you / get equipment to exercise at home

The commute from and to the gym is dead time for you and your day. If you have to travel an hour back and forth each time you are going to the gym, maybe consider getting something closer or make a compromise of how much of a"fancy" gym you really need.