#1. Don't over rest in between sets



Resting between your sets is a good idea, however resting too much between sets is a very common mistake. Rememberyou have to challenge yourself and your muscles intensely to succeed.There is no magic number to rest, so you''ll have to listen to yourbody. Depending on how hard your previous set was you may need 2-4minutes to fully recover. Maybe even more if it was a very grueling set.

Eitherway be conscious of what you are doing during your rest time. Oftenpeople will walk around, go get water, talk to people or just flat outdaydream for 10 minutes between sets. Don't do that, its called restingfor a reason. Bring a bottle of water with you to the gym and resistthe urge to move around or let your mind wander. Let your body recoveras much as it can in the shortest amount of time while you mentallyprepare for your next lift.

Its a good idea to bring awristwatch/stopwatch with you. Even though resting times may vary fordifferent exercises, if you time yourself you'll have a running clockto let you know how long you've been sitting there. It's a good way tomotivate yourself to not waste more time than is needed.

Also, ifyou're working out with a partner, sometimes you can avoid wasting timeand energy by not alternating sets. You can really lose a lot of timeconstantly shuffling around the weights. Instead have one person do allof their sets of a particular exercise consecutively while the otherperson racks the weights and keeps track of rest time in between sets.Then switch. You'll be surprised at how much time you save.

#2 Don't socialize

Thismay be biggest mistake of all. Don't waste time having long drawn outconversations with trainers, workout partners or other lifters at thegym. Remember you only have a set time to get as much work done aspossible. Socializing does not build muscles. You're at the gym for areason so make sure you do everything you can to stick to your agenda.

Ifyou workout with a partner it can be very easy to fall into the trap ofchit-chatting. Set some boundaries before you go. Socialize as much asyou want during warm-ups but when you start lifting weights agree toput your game faces on. Set up some time after the workout to relax andsocialize a little more if you want. Grabbing a bite to eat after yourworkout with your partner is a great idea.

#3 Don't stare

It'samazing how much time people waste by either just staring into themirror or at other people at the gym. If you're big on looking at yourown reflection and flexing constantly throughout your workout, I assureyou, you're wasting time. Anytime you are looking into the mirror, istime you should be recovering or actually lifting some weights. Savethe narcissism for when you are at home.

Also, resist the urge towaste time by staring/checking-out other people. I promise you the cuteblond on the cardio machine doesn't care about you, so stop checkingher out after every set. Also don't look at other people working outeither. Who cares if the guy on the bench press is doing 455 lbs forsets of 12? If you want to watch other people lift go home and do it onYoutube. Focus only on recovery and getting mentally prepared for yournext set.

#4 Don't watch the TV or listen to the radio

Alot of gyms will have TV sets in the workout area. Don't pay anyattention to them. You'll lose plenty of valuable time if you getsucked into Sportscenter or the news. Also pay little attention to theradio. Music is nice but you don't want to be thinking about the songlyrics while you're squatting.

#5 Don't hold up your workout

Often,the machine or rack you need for your next exercise is being taken.Most of the time people have no problem allowing you to work in, sodon't be scared to ask. If there is a big disparity in weight i.e theguy is squatting reps of 650lbs and you just need 300lbs it may be abetter idea to hold off and ask the person how many sets they haveleft. If it's more than one I would do a substitute exercise or justmove on and come back to the exercise at the end of your workout.Whatever you do just make sure you're not waiting around doing nothingfor an extended period of time.

#6 Workout when it's not busy

For all of the reasons mentioned above, working out when it's busy can be pretty distracting. Formost gyms 5pm - 8pm on weekdays is probably the busiest it gets. Tryworking out early in the morning or an hour before closing time. You'llbe surprised at how much faster you're workout moves when its lesscrowded.

As you can see there a lot of little things you can do to help your efficiency in the gym. Remember, you are working out for a reason.Commit yourself to being mentally focused. Hone in on the key pointsoutlined here and watch how your new workout intensity brings yourresults to a whole new level.