Should You Ditch Your Phone During Workouts?

How do you feel about scrolling on social media during workouts? 

Personally, I think people would have a better workout if they avoided it. 

I’m not talking about intentional use, such as filming for a form check or to look up how to do an exercise. I’m talking about scrolling to fill time in between sets. 

I would find it hard to perform a set, scroll on TikTok, perform a set, scroll on Instagram, perform a set, and then finish by scrolling on Facebook. I wouldn’t find that conducive to a focused, productive workout. 

Maybe I’m too sensitive, and others are able to do it no problem. 

If that’s the case, keep doing whatever helps you stay consistent and train hard. 

For me, though, scrolling on social media between sets would be a major distraction. It’s engineered to maximize engagement. Because of that, I’m likely to see content that triggers a chain reaction of thinking about anything BUT my workout. 

“Oh, so-and-so got married? Amazing! I haven’t talked to them in a while. When was the last time I messaged them? Lemme check…”

“Damn, look at so-and-so’s new house! That kitchen looks amazing. Lemme check out the other photos…”

“Oh no, there’s breaking news out of X-Y-Z country. That looks terrible. HOW many people?! I should check out the details…”

Before I knew it, five plus minutes may have gone by before I snapped out of a mini-trance and remembered, “Oh, right. Next set.” 

Engineering aside, this may also be due to a concept known as “attention residue” – a concept explored through organizational and cognitive research –  with studies dating back to the mid-1980s.

In essence, when people switch between different tasks, their performance suffers. A study from the University of Minnesota found that, “…switching attention tends to be difficult for people and subsequent task performance easily suffers.”

Applying this to a workout, scrolling on social media  and then immediately switching to do a set of physical exercise could impair your performance because of attention residue. I doubt any of us go to the gym to have subpar workouts or decrease our performance. 

To me, a workout is a time to disconnect from the constant stimulus of the world. I want to focus and do something kind for my body and mind, pushing myself and celebrating my efforts and progress. 

Social media will still be there when I’m done.

Training is MY time. 

What’s your experience with scrolling during workouts? I’m curious to hear your thoughts. 

Love you lots. Have a great weekend.

❤️ Ian