It’s the last day of January and hopefully you’re sticking to those New Year’s resolutions.  Focusing on exercise and fitness are one of the top commitments people make each year.  Those of us who hit the gym daily or on a regular basis will tell you that the New Year’s crowd is somewhat annoying.  Some gym etiquette tips before your workout might help you navigate the crowds with more confidence.  The time we spend at the gym should be fruitful.  There’s nothing worse than being pumped up for a good workout and not accomplishing that because the gym was too crowded or unmanageable.

Gym Etiquette Tips Before You Workout

1. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. When you’re in the weightlifting room or waiting on a piece of cardio equipment, don’t just stand there!  Those couple of minutes that you waste standing there is lowering your heart rate.  It’s also making the workout uncomfortable for the person who you’re staring at. Pick another piece of equipment or grad a different weight and actually WORKOUT.
2. Your workout gloves don’t make you stronger.  If you have weak grip strength, even the best workout gloves won’t make you do more pull ups or biceps curls. Workout gloves and gym grips ease hand fatigue and help with your tactile grip, they do not make you stronger.
3. The phone in your pocket is for music.  The most annoying thing is to be next to someone who’s having a full on conversation while you’re sweating bullets busting out some chest presses or lat pull downs.  The gym isn’t for socializing it’s for exercising.

Sometimes I tell my personal training clients to time themselves in the gym.  The hour you spend “working out” is likely mostly what you would call rest time.  Wonder why those who are fans of Crossfit workouts or wodies are ripped?  It’s because they don’t spend 2-3 minutes between sets “resting.”  Set your stopwatch on your phone when you first hit the gym.  Pause it everytime you rest.  At the end of that hour workout, chances are you’ve spend less than half of it working muscle.

Here’s where having one good pair of workout gloves like GymPaws helps.  They don’t have to  be taken on and off and they don’t get in the way of any of your movements.  For example if you’re doing shoulder press, instead of sitting there in between reps, grab those same dumbbells and bust out some biceps curls.

Not only are you keeping your heart rate elevated but you’re making the most of your time at the gym.  Good gym etiquette is about being conscious of yourself and those around you.

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