Top 10 Time Wasters at the Gym

Posted under female workout

Have you been spending several hours at the gym but haven’t seen any signs of reaching your fitness goal? Do you leave the gym feeling you have progressed or gone backwards?

You may know it but you could be one of those people who waste time at the gym. Have you mentally run down what you usually do at the gym? Read on to know time wasters at the gym so you avoid committing it yourself.

Time waster #1 - Warming up for too long
You just may be one of those people who warm up far too long that it shortens workout time by a huge amount.  Warm ups are essential but it shouldn’t go for more than about 10 minutes.

The thing is, if you are young and go to the gym three or more times per week then chances are your body is limber, healthy and can resist a fair amount of work. The fitter you get the less you SHOULD have to warm up. However, better safe than sorry - don’t ever miss your warm up!

Time waster # 2- Water break
I have seen that many women don’t carry a water bottle but chooses to use the drinking fountain. If this is you, limit your water break in between sets and don’t take the scenic route!

Time waster # 3 - Hot guy/girl alert
If you think the gym place is a haven to spot a hot chick or talk to a hot guy, then you are in there for the wrong reasons. The gym is for working out while the bar is for picking up!

If you go to the gym to meet someone then you are going to make small amounts of progress. Check how much time you spend showing off your booty or trying to chat up that special someone and see if it does negatively affect your progress.

Time waster # 4 - Rest in between sets
Just like warming up, resting is essential but doesn’t mean it should be done for too long. Intend to push yourself more and more so you will never come to a plateau or standstill.

Time waster # 5 - Not pre-planning your workout
When you go to the gym without any action plan on what to do, chances are you could end up wasting time. I am guilty of this act sometimes. I would go to the gym without any sort of a personal workout routine. After I’m done with a couple of sets, I linger around trying to find something else to do. This usually happens when you think you have made enough progress to stall and just waste time.

Time waster # 6 - Spas
Don’t let trips to the sauna and spa account for more than one third of your total time spent at your local health club. Spa and sauna should be seen as a post workout treat.

Time waster # 7 - Waiting for machines
I’m sure all gym bunnies experience having to wait for their turn to use a piece of equipment, myself included. There are ways to go around this so you don’t have to wait.

If someone is on the equipment you plan to use, look around to check if there is something similar you could do instead. If you can’t find any, ask the person how long they are going on it. If they say they will be using it for a long time, ask them if you can trade time resting and using the machines. This plan might not work for all equipment but is applicable to things like the triceps pushdown, cables, fitness balls, and most machines with the pull of the pin for weight changes.

Time waster # 8 - Workout pretenders
This is the most time waster of all. There are people who look like working out but are just going through the motions. You may be lifting the two-pound dumb bells doing 300 reps of biceps curls. This is a plain waste of time! It would be better if you pick up heavy weights and do five reps. It is the same exact with the stationary bike, don’t set the on the lowest setting where you are basically pedal on air. Set the difficulty on a hill and pedal away!

Time waster # 9 - Sitting on the toilet
Some people find time to just sit on the toilet thinking or day dreaming time away. I’m guilty of that when I feel bored with gym time. If you need to take a trip to the toilet, make sure not to idle your time for more than 10 minutes taking a power nap.

Time waster # 10 - Working out everyday of the week.
Here is the top time waster: working out too often! Chances are, your muscles will become sore if you consistently work them out every day. Muscles in their sore state will not make any progress of reshaping. You end up wasting much of your precious time when you do. If you have that luxury of time to go to gym every single day, mix your cardio and weights to give certain parts of your body rest between days of work out.

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