More time to grow: 10 timesaving tips for bodybuilders to get more muscle out of their day

Flex, March, 2004

It happened again, didn't it? You had to rush to the gym with barely the time to grab your gym bag. With beads of sweat on your forehead, you now stand in the locker room, fully changed and ready to blast up the heavy iron--only to be held back by the fact you didn't bring any shoes. Once you've finished banging your head off the nearest locker, you could weigh the options of looking like a dork and training in your socks, or wasting the time to go all the way home to get your shoes. The idea itself is enough to kill all motivation, never mind actually doing it. So where did the wheels fall off "Operation Mass Construction"? It all boils down to the one thing there may never be enough of--time. If we all weren't so rushed from the time we wake up to the time our weary heads hit the pillow, details like gym shoes wouldn't get missed in the flurry of activity that is life in the 21st century. Fear not, weary bodybuilder, for there is hope for the victims of Father Time. All you need to do is make a few schedule adjustments, plan ahead, and like a good spotter who anticipates your next big lift, time will be on your side. "More Time To Grow" is a top-ten list of ways to make every musclebuilding minute count before and after you arrive at the gym.

1. Plan Ahead

When it comes to surviving the life of a bodybuilder, it always pays to plan ahead. Your best option is to get at least a rough idea of how your following day (and possibly even the next week) will go when it comes to work and training, etc. A rough estimate of when you should be heading to and leaving from the gym can help you stay focused on a timeline you won't want to stray from. Take this philosophy even further by planning out which body parts you will be working, on which days, and which exercises you will be doing, so there will be no wasted time standing at the dumbell rack trying to figure out your next move.

2. Put On Your Chef's Hat

One way to get back some of your valuable time every day is to try to cook your meals for several days at once. To do this, you need to get yourself a few large plastic containers and several medium-sized ones. Preparing three to four days worth of food ahead of time can make a big difference when it comes to saving time. A large container of rice, several precooked chicken breasts, lean beef, and baked potatoes should always be front and center in your fridge. It's especially important to remember when dealing with meat to wash it thoroughly and keep it chilled before and immediately after it's cooked. The longer it's exposed to warm air, the less shelf life it has before spoiling.

3. The Gear Should Be Near

Make sure you have three or four clean shirts and pants that are specifically set aside as workout gear. Have it all together in one place so you can just throw something on and go. Hastily rummaging through the clothes hamper or your bedroom floor for the least smelly shirt before you head to the gym can make for a lot of wasted time. You may even try pre-packing your clothes the night before; this can make a big difference the next day when you're in a hurry to get to the gym.

4. Location, Location, Location

One thing you may need to evaluate is how close you are to your gym. The best gyms aren't always the closest. That being said, you could be wasting a lot of time traveling to a gym that only offers one or two more machines than the gym that's 15 minutes away. Fifteen minutes is a good benchmark to base your decision on. If you can find a gym that can offer you 80 percent of what you need and is about 15 minutes away, use it! Look at it this way: If it used to take you 25 minutes to get to your old gym, you just gained 20 more minutes of free time in your day.

5. Set A Time Limit

Previously, we showed you some ways to save time before you go to the gym, but a lot of time can be wasted while you're at the gym. It's for this reason that you need to set a time limit for being at the gym. From the moment you set foot in the gym, consider yourself on the clock. If you have determined this workout should only take 45 minutes, then make sure it only takes 45 minutes--without sacrificing the intensity or number of exercises you have planned. Time gobblers to watch out for are the "talker," who would love nothing more than to waste half an hour talking to you about his diet, and the "mesmerizer," the cute girl who you can't help but stare at, losing all track of time. Simply excuse yourself politely from the conversation or get a pair of head-phones to help avoid conversation altogether, and save the gawking until after the iron has been lifted.

Taking too long of a rest between sets can also waste time. Make sure you're taking only the required 30 to 60 seconds between sets and then get right back to it! You'd be surprised how quickly you can be in and out and still do the workout you feel three days later.

6. Don't Procrastinate!

One of the biggest time-killers for anybody is procrastination. Sometimes we have things we don't want to do, and it's just human nature to do everything we can to avoid it. Although rearranging your sock drawer by age may seem like more fun, you're still going to have to train legs. The best advice to avoid losing valuable time dreading what you know you have to do is to just suck it up, get in there, blast those wheels, and get out!