How To Stay Focused During Your Workout (For MORE Muscle Gain)

Your phone buzzes – and you instinctively reach out to see what’s up ?

The only problem being … you’re right in the middle of a heavy deadlift set. And you proceed to use this ‘well-timed’ opportunity to catch a break.

Is this behavior something to worry about?

Generally, yes. Getting distracted while working out disrupts your workout session. That hurts your potential for muscle gain by 1) messing up your planned rest periods, 2) breaking your mind-muscle connection, and 3) significantly cutting down on the time you have left to work out.

Meaning? There’ll be a massive decrease in your effective training volume.

Which, when it comes to how to grow muscles (and fast!), is the primary determining factor. Thus, driving the point of just how crucial staying laser-focused during your workout sessions is if you're seeking maximum muscle gain.

Just one question, though: how? That’s what this article is for.

Turn off push notifications on your phone

Be honest. Do you really need to know when someone’s posted a new picture of their baby while you’re grunting your way up a goblet squat?

Yeah … that’s right: you don’t have to.

And let’s face it. Social media is a black hole. Checking out ‘just one text’, ‘just one email’, or ‘just one Tik Tok video’ is about as likely as dinosaurs re-populating the Earth tomorrow.

“But what if I simply don’t tap on those notifications?”, you ask.

Unfortunately, that’s only marginally better. Whether you tap into a notification or not, your focus – and train of thought – will inevitably be interrupted by your noticing, processing, and determining whether or not to respond.

Pretty sure you don’t want to go into your 1RM effort still thinking about the possible undertones of the “K.” reply from your boss.

Thankfully, the solution to this is pretty simple.

Kill your notifications. Yes, turn them all off. Own your workout time. It's your time. Don't let your phone (and its incessant dinging during your workout) get between you and your pursuit for muscle gain.

Note: you can leave on phone calls if you must. Just in case there’s a REAL emergency.

Time your workout right for maximum muscle gain

Still uncomfortable with the thought of/unable to get to the gym for a workout?

Then here's a tip that'll help you stay focused during your workout for the most muscle gain possible: time your training right.

More specifically, try to work out when there are as few distractions as possible.

That means avoiding periods where your family members are rushing for work or just getting home from work. Chances are, you're probably already well aware of just how difficult it is to maintain core bracing when your Mom (or some other family member) is screaming that you're out of milk.

So, try to think back to all the times you worked out at home – and struggled to maintain focus. What (or even who) were the distractions? When does it happen? Then, adjust your workout timing accordingly.

There you have it: the secret that’ll help you grow muscles faster when you’re doing home workouts (you’re welcome).

Get a pair of headphones – and put them on

We can all agree.

Sometimes, the most annoying thing to happen in the gym is to have a stranger come up to you, only to peddle you with some of the most incorrect, gym-bro beliefs out there, like:

1. You should always train to failure
2. Eating 10 meals a day boosts your weight loss efforts
3. Changing your routine every day is great because it ‘shocks’ the muscles

Mm, yeah (follow the links to see why these are training myths). Even if you choose not to engage, you’d have lost precious minutes of your training session.

But how do you avoid random people approaching you at the gym without being rude? Easy. Get yourself a pair of – ideally wireless – headphones. They quite literally scream, "Do not disturb! I'm focusing on my workout!"

Besides, you also get to decide on your playlist. Honestly, a bonus, especially if you've always had issues with the gym-owners' taste in music (or a lack thereof).

Come up with a concrete workout plan beforehand

Before you even start to warm up – or pick that dumbbell up, you should already know exactly what exercises you'll be doing, plus what weights and reps you're aiming to complete.

Trying to ‘wing it’ for your workouts just isn’t going to cut it.

In addition to being a serious time waster (since you're likely going to be just standing around, staring into blank space while trying to think of an exercise to do), it's also a gains-killer.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. You’ll undoubtedly neglect certain muscle groups: Developing muscles in a well-rounded manner takes conscious effort. You need to plan out the necessary training volume for every muscle group (even the small ones, like the rotator cuffs) – then make sure you’re achieving that through your workout plan.
2. There’s no progressive overload to speak of: If you're winging it through every workout, how would you know that you're truly making progress week after week, month after month? You wouldn't. Worse yet, you're likely not. And you can pretty much think of that as a death sentence for any potential muscle gains.
3. You’ll put mobility work on the back burner: If you're already not planning your workouts … the chances of you actually putting yourself through a mobility routine is arguably close to 0%. That's unfortunate since mobility is key to achieving a full range of motion on any lifting movement – which, in turn, plays a massive role in optimal muscle hypertrophy.

The ultimate hack to staying focused during your workouts: GymStreak

Phew. That’s quite a bit to do, just so you can stay focused during your workouts, isn’t it?

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, don’t worry. There’s a ‘hack’ you can use to limit distractions during your workout for more muscle gain: GymStreak.

Say goodbye to:

1. Unwelcome push notifications
2. Confusion about the best way to structure your workout

And say hello to one of the smartest, AI-powered personal trainer apps around. Experience – and see – the difference right now.