“Are you using your time wisely?” was the irritating favorite question of more than one of my junior high teachers.  Thirteen year old me would die if she knew I actually ask myself that as an adult.

I had a bad habit of showing up to open gym and doing all the things I already knew how to do.  Why nearly bring myself to tears working on those dastardly meathooks when I could laugh through spinning technique?

Leg lifts?  How about I just stretch my shoulders again instead…

I love being at our studio.  There are fun things to climb on, fun people to talk to, fun music to bounce to.  But every time I turned on my carefully curated Beyonce Pandora station, it got a little too easy to focus on the fun instead of on the training.

I plan my training sessions now.

What move is making me crazy during class?  What transition can I technically do but only if I look like a dying spider?  What part of my body is not as strong as I want it to be?  (I’m looking right at you, lower abs!)

These annoying questions are what I ask myself before showing up to the gym.  I pick two or three things to focus on, and I make myself work on them.  Since this obvious revelation, I’ve been a lot more productive and I broke through my rut.

The fabulous Ms. Laura Witwer even offers a killer “Kick Tushie Work Sheet” at the end of this post on planning training sessions to get you started.  (You haven’t been to Laura Witwer’s blog?  You’re seriously missing out!)

What about you?  Are you a die hard, protein shake bringing, train in sweats in July, side crunch ’til you cramp up gym-goer?  Or, like me, do you need a little help to focus your training?