Simple Gym Hacks for the New Year

Whether you’re a seasoned gym veteran looking to resume training for the New Year, or if you’re hyping yourself up to join the gym for the first time, you will all want to get the most from your sessions. When you’re training regularly, are seeing great results, and your motivation couldn’t get any higher, you will enjoy each training session immensely. But what about if you’re stuck in a plateau, or are simply not sure how to approach your training? What then? Well, you then need to take affirmative action to set things right. How? Well, to start with, you can try following these simple gym hacks for your New Year training sessions.

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Sort that playlist! – We now live in an age where we can play music through our phones with the touch of a button. This means that you will now find it easier than ever to create a series of playlists packed full of your favourite music designed to help you train harder in the gym. Yes, all gyms play music, but that music isn’t guaranteed to be to your liking. If it isn’t and you don’t have a set of earphones with you, well, you have to listen to it anyways. If you have earphones and a device for playing music, simply throw on your gym playlist and enjoy training to your favourite songs designed to motivate you and get you hyped up.

If you can, train at off-peak times – There is nothing worse than a over crowded gym at peak times, where you are literally having to fight your way through crowds of people in order to use even the most basic of machines. Training at busy peak times, which is usually when people have just finished work or college, and are fitting a workout in before they head home, can be stressful, especially if you are facing time constraints. We know that some of you will have to train at peak times because it is the only time you are free, but if your schedule is a little more flexible, you should consider training at off-peak times so as to avoid large crowds. Some gyms even offer off-peak memberships where you only train at off-peak times, and normally they are slightly cheaper as well.

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Always have a gym bag on standby – Another great gym hack for you to try is to always have a gym bag with you on standby. Even if you don’t plan on training, make sure your trunk contains a packed gym bag with clean gym gear, shower essentials, a towel, and a clean change of clothes. That way, if you do decide to embark on a spontaneous gym session, you know you’re well prepared.

Consider HIIT if you don’t have much time – If you are struggling to find the time to exercise, hold down a job, and, you know, have a life, you may wish to consider HIIT. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and it is the perfect solution for busy people trying to get in shape. With HIIT, the basic idea is that you alternate between periods of fast-paced, high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise, for several rounds. So, you may sprint on a treadmill for 30 seconds, walk for 30, sprint for 30, walk for 30, and so on. HIIT can be applied to bodyweight circuits, free weight circuits, cardio workouts, and much more besides. Best of all is the fact that the average HIIT session lasts just 20 minutes, and allows you to burn off hundreds of calories.

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