It’s Monday morning. You’ve got your bag packed for the gym, your post-workout shake in hand and you’ve just downloaded a brand new playlist of all your favorite music onto your Ipod for your training session later on today. You’re prepared to do battle, you’re pumped to throw around some heavy ass weights, you’re excited for the results that you are going to achieve from your workout. Only one problem – You have no idea as to which muscle group you are going to train……..

As a trainer I see this happen all the time. A person walks into the gym with all the good intentions to train hard and work up a sweat yet spends most of his or her workout wondering aimlessly around the gym trying to decide which exercises to start with and then which ones to move on to next. Generally these people tend to stick to machines or exercises that are not too complex such as the bench press or standing dumbbells biceps curls.

Then there are the people who come to the gym and do the exact same workout everytime. These are the people who might start with a 5 min warm-up on the bicycle or treadmill, followed by a “Full Body Circuit” and sticks to the standard 3-4 sets x 12-15 reps. Yawn, I get bored just thinking about these type of workouts, I can only imagine what their bodies must think.

Finally, there are “The Talkers”. I’m sure everyone knows at least one “Talker” at their gym. You know the type, as soon as you make eye contact with this person they will gladly come over and talk to you about anything and everything. This type of person almost seems as if he or she has no sense of time or intensity when it comes to working out with weights in the gym. Some Talkers will even go as far to still try and talk to you even when you refuse to take your earphones off. It’s as if they don’t even care whether or not you can hear them. Now some Talkers I know actually do come to the gym with a plan. Whether or not they follow through and complete that plan is another story.

I honestly am not trying to come off as judgemental or sound like a workout snob. I’m simply making a few observations of the many different types of people I see that enter the gyms I go to on a regular basis.

Myself personally has always been one who thrives off structure and organization. I like to know what I’m doing and when I’m doing it (at least in the gym anyways). Therefore I know exactly which muscle group I am going to train long before I even step foot in the gym. I plan my workout accordingly and then make minor adjustments along the way depending on how busy the gym is or how I am feeling on that particular day. I never drift too far from my original plan however. If I’m training legs, then I’m training legs. I don’t simply go do biceps curls because someone is using the squat rack. Rather I either wait for the squat rack or find an alternative exercise that will target the same muscle group.

As a bodybuilder, I don’t do “Monday” and “Friday”. I do “Leg Day” and “Chest Day”. I follow a 7 day split and then usually take 1 day off after the split has been complete depending on how I am feeling. If I feel tired and/or sore I might take 2 days off in a row or even take a break in the middle of my 7 day split. I don’t take every second or third day off because I read in some muscle magazine that this will create the best results and anything more is simply “overtraining”. Your body doesn’t work like that. Learn to listen to it and take the time off when it tells you it needs it, not when someone else tells you to take it.

I’m a firm believer in using visualization techniques to complete the required task at hand and accomplish the specific goal that I’ve set out to achieve. I make new goals everyday, some I accomplish, some I don’t. One of my goals each day is to get through my workout and train with the utmost intensity. This may seem like a small goal to some however to me it’s an important one as each workout helps me move one step closer to achieving my ultimate goal. So if it’s “Shoulder Day” for example, you better damn well believe that I am not talking about my stocks on the way to the gym. I’m focusing on my military presses, my lateral raises, my rear delt raises, how I’m going to hit my traps that day, which exercises I will include drop sets on, my rep range, etc. Once the workout has been complete and the goal has been accomplished I then move on to my next goal of the day.

I’m not suggesting that I have the best workouts and that everyone else should do exactly what I do in the gym. I am however suggesting that you should always take your workouts seriously. This means plan your workout ahead of time. If you’ve made an appointment with your trainer then don’t be late. If you are short on time, learn how to incorporate circuits and supersets into your own workouts to save that very same time.

Pretend as if your workout is your job for that thirty to sixty minutes that you are in the gym. No Texting, No Selfies, No Watching the TVs at the gym, JUST TRAIN!

You wouldn’t pick up the phone and have a conversation with your friend if you were in a meeting with your boss or a client. So why would you pick up the phone when you are with your most important client – Your Body.

At the end of the day we all want to look and feel good. Some of us may just want it a little bit more then others. You don’t have to go “balls to wall” every time you enter the gym or start training like a madman or woman. Just try your best to treat your workout like you treat your career. If you take your job seriously then you should have no problem taking your workouts seriously too.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove