How I beat overwhelm: I stopped planning workouts – and set myself up for a happier, healthier future

An overcrowded gym would take a wrecking ball to my programmes and leave me feeling frustrated. So I took a different approach

In the days when my calendar wasn’t jammed with social engagements for a seven-year-old, I used to go into every workout session with a plan scribbled on a bit of paper. Exercises, sets, repetitions and rests – even the number of seconds I spent raising and lowering the weights was meticulously planned so I could more successfully chase my goals.

In lots of ways, this wasn’t a bad thing. Having a proper plan for the gym can save a fair bit of mental bandwidth: you go in, you do what the Post-it note says. If you are new to training, or you are looking to maximise your results in limited time, it is still very much what I would recommend.

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