One of my biggest pet peeves is athletes who are texting during their training sessions. There is no way you can focus on your workout when you do this. Focus is lost if you are constantly on your phone, texting or checking e-mail, Facebook, or Instagram! Focus is an essential part of training.
Once a week, I take my daughter to train with coach Alexander Varbonav to get in some special technical training. Alex is a professional weightlifting coach— he is still the world record holder in the Clean & Jerk in the 75kg weight class (215.5 kg) and was coached by the legendary Ivan Abadjiev. I never see any of his lifters with a phone, and I never see him with a phone either. His eyes are always on his athletes. In fact, if you start talking a little too much during your workout you might be shown the door. Alex understands what serious training involves, and the kind of focus and discipline it takes to achieve elite levels of performance. Texting during workouts is certainly not part of that process.
So the question is: are you training or are you texting? Are you training with purpose, or is it just another form of recreation to you? Alternating sets of squats or power cleans with texting or status updates is not the way to maximize your results. If you are a serious athlete, or serious about achieving whatever goals you have set for yourself in the gym, I assume you want to get the most out of your training efforts. If this is true, leave your phone in your gym bag and focus on the task at hand.
Having said that, I do understand the impact of social media these days, and the need or desire to market yourself, share your experiences with others, and get feedback, technical or otherwise. I get all that, but once you have got that video or photo of your key lift of the day, put your phone away and get back to work!
If you need any more motivation to put your phone away during your workouts, listen to what Arnold Schwarzenegger has to say on this issue:
About the Author: Clance Laylor
Related Articles
