How I beat overwhelm: I stopped planning workouts – and set myself up for a happier, healthier future
Share:
An overcrowded gym would take a wrecking ball to my programmes and leave me feeling frustrated. So I took a different approach. In the days when my calendar wasn’t jammed with social engagements for a seven-year-old, I used to go into every workout session with a plan scribbled on a bit of paper. Exercises, sets, repetitions and rests – even the number of seconds I spent raising and lowering the weights was meticulously planned so I could more successfully chase my goals.
![[Joel Snape]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2023/01/04/Joel_Snape.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
In lots of ways, this wasn’t a bad thing. Having a proper plan for the gym can save a fair bit of mental bandwidth: you go in, you do what the Post-it note says. If you are new to training, or you are looking to maximise your results in limited time, it is still very much what I would recommend.
The problem with this approach is that, as a rule, the fitter and stronger you get, the more complicated your workouts need to be, to make sure you are challenging yourself enough to improve. And, once your training sessions start getting more targeted, an overcrowded gym can ruin your whole day. I was beginning to find it frequently ruined mine, leaving me feeling frustrated that my carefully programmed regime had not gone to plan.
A workout calling for you to alternate between two machines that are at opposite ends of the weights area? You had better not go during the lunchtime rush. Need to do some weighted-sled pushes? Best hope no one has taken advantage of the lovely, soft artificial turf to do 20 minutes of light stretching. Want to leg-press, but someone is sitting on the machine scrolling through TikTok in between the occasional half-hearted set? Now, you have to be late back from your lunch hour, or ruin your week’s training, or try to explain the concept of sharing to a stranger.
Share:
More for You
.jpeg?crop=4:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Top Followed
Trending
You Might Also Like
