Don’t Turn the Gym Into a Social Scene

Workout partner
Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash

Getting a subscription to the gym can be a wonderful thing if you’re someone who doesn’t do well working out at home. Some people need to be out and about in order to achieve the best results, and having a gym subscription can optimize your performance and results for precisely this reason. However, there are also potential pitfalls to working out at the gym—and one of them is letting it turn into a social scene.

Keeping Your Eyes on the Prize

There’s nothing wrong with having a few friendly chats at the gym. Even a little dose of friendly competitiveness can cause you to push yourself in ways you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. But too much chatting and not enough focus can sometimes take your eyes off the prize. You’re there to achieve a goal, and you may regret it if you let your gym outing distract you from your routine.

Compartmentalizing

So how do you keep the chats where they belong? By compartmentalizing. Allow yourself to chat for a limited time only, and then end it. Give yourself a five or ten-minute limit, and when the time’s up, tell your friend that you need to get back to it. If they have similar goals, they’ll understand!