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Distractions will kill any workout, but some are unavoidable like scam phone calls in the middle of a run or crazy people using the treadmills the wrong way.
There are self-made distractions cutting into your gym time that are entirely avoidable. This list from Active.com points out the 20 biggest mistakes guaranteed to ruin a workout is spot on, but more than a handful of these disturbances are escapable with a little willpower.
The first distraction is aimlessly wandering around the gym because you didn’t make a plan. Bad idea. As the article points out, a builder would never construct a house without a blueprint. Your exercise plan should reflect your ultimate goal whether it’s becoming blazing fast or banging out pull-ups like a 70-year-old action star. Pick a target and find exercise plans to achieve that goal.
The second distraction is being glued to your phone. Whether it’s taking selfies after every set, reacting to every notification, continually texting people or your sick addiction to social media, all of that staring at the phone is killing your momentum and keeping you in the gym way longer than necessary. If your phone is your music source, consider going old school with an iPod that only plays music and doesn’t allow for games of Candy Crush in between sets of skull crushers.
Comparing yourself and your workout to others is another massive waste of time. Sure it’s healthy and beneficial to check out other members for exercise ideas and mental motivation, but people watching doesn’t burn calories unless you’re doing it on a treadmill jacked to nine.
And finally, the most prominent distraction and time waster of all is talking. STOP. TALKING. If you want to bullshit after a workout, go for it. Don’t send your routine into a tailspin or distract other people by talking about the NBA playoffs or the best after workout smoothies. Get in the gym, put in the work, and get the hell out.
Check out the rest of gym mistakes killing your workouts over on Active.com… but just not during your workout.
Chris Illuminati is a 5-time published author and recovering a**hole who writes about career advice, gear and occasionally pro wrestling. Follow him on Twitter.