Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice. This week we are talking to those of you who seem to get distracted at the gym. You go there, you have a goal, but all you seem to be doing is just dilly-dallying around. How can you improve your focus at the gym so you are there, you get your workout done, and you get out of there.
1) Use Headphones
Tip number one to improve your focus–use headphones. A lot of times people like to listen to music while they workout. Maybe you pick music that motivates you. But, additionally, it tells the rest of the gym that you are not open to conversation. It helps you get in, get out, and be focused while you are at the gym.
Action Step: It is likely that your phone came with perfectly usable headphones. It is time to see how well they work, dig them up, and plug them in so you can limit the interactions you get caught up in while you are working out.
Related: Why Your Workouts Aren’t Working
2) Put Your Phone On Airplane Mode
Tip number two to improve your focus–put your phone on airplane mode. We know there are apps out there that let you stream music to your phone–and those are wonderful–but take up some of the gigabytes on your phone, download some music to it, and stop all of the other notifications. Put your phone on airplane mode so you don’t have to worry about calls, you don’t have to worry about texts or emails. It is your time. You are focusing on your body while you are there, so put the phone on airplane mode and cut out all of the noise.
Action Step: If you are concerned that others may need to get ahold of you during your workout, tell them to call the gym and have them page you. Otherwise, keep contact with the outside world at a minimum while you are trying to workout.
Related: How to workout if you head to the office from the gym
3) Write Down Your Workout
Tip number three to improve your focus–make sure you write down what you are going to do in the gym. Sometimes we call this programming, or we could call it just planning, but you want to know exactly what you need to get done and how you are going to do it before you get to the gym. That way, you are not dilly-dallying around, looking at all of the machines, trying to figure out what you are going to do, and talking with your friends. Make sure what you are going to do is written down so you can get in and get out.
Action Step: Before you get to the gym, write down the exercises you want to do. Start a workout journal so you can track your progress and see what you did during your previous workouts. Try to minimize the number of decisions you will have to make once you get to the gym so you can show up and get to work.
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