So your gym has finally reopened. A lot of things are going to be different from now on and most noticeably the amount of time you’re now limited to. If your gym is similar to mine it’ll mean pre booking a one hour time slot to ensure the place doesn’t become crowded.
Here’s my tips for maximising your time and your workouts:
Come prepared:
Be ready to work as soon as you step foot inside the door. Be in your workout gear if possible and have any living equipment, headphones, water bottles etc on your person. Time spent in changing rooms is time you should have been working out. For me this looks like an oversized hoodie that fits my keys, wallet etc and changing into my squat shoes in the carpark (if you’ve ever tried driving in these you’ll already know why)
Warm up at home:
Take your normal warm up routine (if you don’t have one you really should) and simply do it at home. Stretch on the living room floor, take a brief walk, whatever works. But do this at home so that when you arrive you’ll be ready for business
Consider making changes to your routine:
Take a look at your program, there may well be some “fluff” exercises in there that aren’t 100% necessary and taking up valuable minutes. If that’s not the case then you might need to consider adding additional days to your routine to fit them in. Do you need to spend 40 minutes on triceps? Does anyone? Probably not.
Focus on the job:
At no point should you be checking email, texting, watching videos or reading this blog post while your in the gym. It’s as important for your health to disconnect your brain from your phone as anything else and now is not the time for procrastination.
Try new equipment:
If you’re gym is forced to implement social distancing standards then you’ll probably notice a lot fewer machines available to you. Half the number of treadmills for example because every second machine is blocked off. Use this as an opportunity to learn a new form of cardio. Try the rower or the punchbag. I promise the calories burned won’t ever know the difference.
Lastly:
Allow extra time in your routine for cleaning equipment and reracking weights. Please don’t be that guy or girl that can’t be bothered to pick up or clean up after themselves. We’ve all been stuck at home, without gyms for long enough and won’t take much for us all to be in that scenario again. Now more than ever it is crucial that you look after the equipment you’ve used.
Happy Covid gains.
The Beltsander.