That's Fit

For years, I had the same fitness routine: I would head to the gym with my friends, and we'd do our usual routine of exercises while chatting and reading magazines. After a while, we noticed we hadn't really shaped up much. What gives? We wondered. It's pretty obvious now though -- we were wasting time, putting too much effort into gossiping than working out. For us, it was more about being social than getting fit. Now I work out alone (except when I join a group class) and I'm much more productive that way.

If you're finding your workouts easy and painless, chances are you're not doing much good for yourself. And really, if you're not there to work out to the best of your ability, why bother paying for the gym membership and wasting all that time there? But, if your goal is to get fit, here are some things to avoid:

• Not lifting enough weight. You might be proud of yourself for doing 25 reps, but if you're not lifting enough weight, you're not doing yourself any good. If 25 reps are fairly painless, add 5 or 10 lbs to the load and then try to get to 25 reps.
  
• Watching TV, reading or talking too much. If you can hold a lengthy conversation with your workout buddy on the treadmill, you're not working hard enough. Keep the chit-chat, reading and TV viewing to the warm-ups and use your gym time to improve your stamina.
• Resting too long. When the workout gets tough, it's natural to want to take a break. But don't rest too long -- it takes previous time away from your overall workout. Limit your breaks to 30 seconds, and when you do take a break, try to do something productive like stretching or walking on the spot. And if you're hour workout includes a mandatory 20-minute soak in the hot tub? Plan to go to the gym for an hour and 20 minutes, and spend the hour actually working out.
  
• Isolating muscle groups. Body builders often talk about working out one or two muscle groups a session, but for the rest of us, it's a bit of a time-waster if our goals are to get a whole-body workout and/or burn calories. So concentrate on exercises that target more than one muscle group, like squats. Doing so will pay off in the end.
  
• Not planning. For most of us planning is key. We need to make a plan every time we work out or we'll end up wandering around, not sure what to do next. So, for instance, plan to do a warm-up on the StairMaster, followed by 25 minutes of weights (remember, no extended rests), followed by 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer. If you're not sure what to plan for, book a session or two with a personal trainer, or take group classes -- either way, you have a trained professional setting out an effective plan for you.
  
• Doing the same thing. every. time. Variety is the spice of life, and if you're doing the exact same workout every time, two things will happen: You'll get bored, and you'll stop seeing results. So switch it up every now and then!

If you practice any of these habits, think about it this way: If you work out smarter, you'll be able to get better results in less time. So essentially, not wasting time saves you time!

Want to know more about how to optimize your time at the gym? Click here.