A true curse of our time appears to be the issue of time itself, and more specifically, it’s diminishing availability. Going to the gym so often gets lost amid schedules and perhaps even waistlines that just seem to burst at the seams.

The goal here is really a dual-pronged approach at increasing motivation to hit the gym, along with ensuring the ensuing process is as time-efficient as possible. So let’s see if a discussion on tackling both these factors hand in hand might yield some fresh inspiration.

In becoming more motivated to reach your goals you’re really going to have to stop at some point and ask yourself why such goals are important to you in the first place. If we want exercise to climb the priority list, then the real reasons for your desire to get in shape must come into the foreground.

Your exercise-related goals cannot occupy your uppermost thoughts unless you draw them out and engage in some quality reflections, asking yourself what it is exactly that you want to achieve and, more importantly, why. It’s got to be personal and it’s got to mean something to you. If it doesn’t, I’m often the first to say, then perhaps your time and effort could more productively be spent on something else that means more to you in the context of your personal, emotional, professional or even spiritual development.

Once you’re sure your health and fitness goals are important to you, then hopefully they have just climbed a couple of notches as priorities, and it’s time to go about the more practical task of choosing a gym. Sounds simple enough, but we often rush this step. I have only personally come to appreciate the magnitude of this task quite recently. Working in gyms I’ve always had this choice made for me, but only recently have I gained newfound freedom to actually visit different fitness centres and see which I like best. Some gyms will definitely motivate you more than others, and there is no shortage of choice out there.

Some gyms have a buzzing atmosphere with plenty of things going on to keep you occupied. Some are quieter and more private. Some are full of people lifting insane weights, others have a more moderate feel.

Have a partner of whom you will think, ‘If they can make it, then most certainly so can I’

You really do need to see which environment offers the best mix of comfort and motivation for you personally. If the gym offers something that actually makes you look forward to going there, then you’ve hit the jackpot. At worst, you will walk in a gym and feel like walking straight out again. Listen to your gut and really think ahead to those evenings in three months time when you really don’t feel like going.

The next criterion for gym selection revolves around proximity. It is important that your selection is preferably within walking distance of your home or work. And when I say walking distance, up to 20 minutes on foot is acceptable and shouldn’t be dismissed outright, as it will probably still end up being quicker than driving.

We have reached the unfortunate and undeniable state on this island nowadays that any additional driving or parking is simply going to take time and usually impose a fair amount of avoidable hassle. By cutting down on any additional driving and added parking ordeals, you are very likely to save valuable minutes. In any case, walking to and from the gym can serve as a handy time-saving warm-up and cool-down, cutting down further on actual gym time.

Once you actually get to the gym, be sure to maximise time-saving methods and techniques such as supersets, where all exercises are performed in pairs. Sets of each exercise are performed back to back with no rest in between. Exercises can similarly be organised into an entire circuit or sequence, strung together in lots of four or five, moving seamlessly from one to the other before repeating the entire sequence.

This technique allows individual muscle groups to recover while constituting the additional bonus of taxing the cardiovascular system, elevating the heart rate and leading to a high energy demand and calorie burn. Also stick to the bigger compound movements like squats and standing shoulder presses, which target plenty of muscles simultaneously, as opposed to isolation exercises that mobilise only one joint at a time.

Four to five multi-joint movements strung together in a circuit can actually provide you with a complete and intense workout in well under half an hour. Remember also that a regimen of two to three such sessions a week, performed at the right intensity, are enough to win you noticeable results.

Training partners with whom you make set appointments always help with motivation and adherence too, but another tip here is to ensure that your training partner has a similar routine or extent of commitments as you. It becomes easier to stand your partner up when you have come to dismiss them as having less important things to attend to than you do.

Have a partner of whom you will think, “If they can make it, then most certainly so can I.” And finally, it might seem like a trivial matter, but if you prepare your gym bag and kit when you get home from your workout right away while still in the swing of it, just picking it up and getting going next time will be much easier and present one less excuse to fall back on when motivation wanes and temptation to skip comes calling.

matthewmuscatinglott@gmail.com

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