Maintaining your workout focus can be one of the toughest things about getting results.
Training is a marathon, not a sprint, and consistency governs most of your progress. During a year of training, you’ll do hundreds – if not thousands – of repetitions of the same movements, and spend many hours of the gym.
With that being the case, no one can really blame you if your gym focus slips a little. You could chug a load of pre-workout to get yourself in the zone, or you could just use these tips to maintain your focus and develop a more effective training style.
Keep Your Goals in Mind
The type of training you do should be almost entirely governed by your goals. You wouldn’t run a marathon to improve your bench press! If you set specific goals and stick to them, your training will benefit from a) the motivation boost of having something to look forward to; and b) giving you a justification for every minute you spend in the gym. If something isn’t directly moving you towards your goals, you don’t need to be doing it.
- Pick 2-3 goals that you can measure. Write them down.
- Add some short-term milestones to help you get closer to the overall goals. Write these down.
- Decide which actions you need to stick to in order to reach these milestones – for example, going to the gym 2-3 times a week. Write these down too!
You’ll notice that writing down these commitments is a key part of the process. Studies show this makes people more likely to stick to their goals.
It’s much easier to stay focussed in the gym if you know exactly what you’re meant to be doing and how it contributes to your long-term aims. I’ve spoken previously about how understanding your goals can improve your motivation.
Focus on the Aims of Each Exercise
For each set that you do, have one goal in mind. Understand what you’re hoping to get from the set and focus on it as you work out. This is especially useful for skill-based training, and I used to do this all the time in kickboxing, but you can apply it to the gym too. Here are some examples you can use to improve workout focus:
- Having a set pace to stick to during cardio work;
- Being as explosive as possible on speed work;
- Getting the best contraction you can in the muscle that you’re meant to be working;
- Paying attention so a specific part of your technique, i.e. lifting your chest on squats.
Get a Gym Programme
Even if you have set clear goals to stick to in the gym, it can be hard to maintain your workout focus if you’re in charge of every training variable. There’s so much information (and misinformation) out there and it’s easy to get pulled in every different directions. It’s hard to be your own trainer, and people often lose focus in the gym because they don’t know how to properly balance a programme between what is essential, what is enjoyable, and what is exciting or new.
There’s no shame in needing help in the gym. Out-sourcing a huge chunk of the decision-making task will allow you to focus in the gym and take away the guesswork. A good fitness professional will also schedule in changes to your sets, reps, weight, and so on, ensuring that you are reaching overload in your sessions. This will keep you moving forward.
Keep Your Workouts Short
An overly-long workout is a sign you’re lacking focus in the gym. It could mean any of the following:
- You’re getting carried away with your rest periods;
- You’re trying to address too many different goals in one workout;
- You’ve picked too many exercises to address your goal.
Of course, there are good reasons for a long workout too. Barbell athletes such as weightlifters and powerlifters may spend 2 hours or more in the gym! However, that is because their gym workouts are technical sessions and workouts combined.
Shorter workouts reflect an understanding of your priorities and an ability to manage your time effectively. This doesn’t mean every workout needs to be a HIIT session, but it’s hard to justify a workout longer than 90 minutes at most; especially if you’re struggling to focus on your workout.
If you’re struggling to stay focussed in the gym and your workouts take longer than an hour, ask yourself:
- How long are your rest periods?
- What are the essential exercises in your plan?
- Are there any exercises that are not directly contributing to your main goal?
- If yes, why are they still in the programme?
Summary
In my experience, people that struggle staying focussed in the gym are those that:
- Don’t have clearly defined goals;
- Aren’t really sure why certain elements are in their workout;
- Don’t manage their time effectively;
- Try to do everything at once while they’re training.
Struggling with your workout focus will make your sessions less enjoyable and slow down your progress. The steps I’ve mentioned will keep you on-track and ready to make every workout as effective as possible. If you’re going to work hard in the gym, you deserve to get as much reward from your workouts as you can!
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