You’ve seen them before: the giant digital wall clocks that seem to be omnipresent in gyms. Why are they there? Well, having access to a wall clock while exercising can actually be quite beneficial to your workout. Here’s how timers help increase workout time.

Helping You Manage Your Time

Whether you’re running, stretching, or lifting weights, watching the clock while you workout will help you keep track of the time and monitor how long you’re performing each exercise. When using a timer, you can set exact goals, such as running for 15 minutes straight. By keeping an eye on the clock during your jog, you’ll know that you are accomplishing that goal exactly. Plus, increasing your workout time mid-exercise is easy—just watch the clock and continue your exercise for however much extra time you want.

Timing Rest Periods

If you’re doing any sort of interval training, it’s important to be able to track not only the amount of time you perform each exercise, but also the amount of time that you rest between each exercise or set. If your interval training requires exactly one minute of rest between each set, you’ll be able to time your rest period to the exact second. Using a timer for this is more accurate than counting the seconds without a timer. While a few seconds might seem minor, this exact calculation might be the difference between finishing your workout and being too tired to complete your next set.

Measuring Progress

Having a timer at the gym also helps you keep track of your progress over time. If you’re doing speed training, you’ll be able to easily see how quickly you can complete the same exercise from workout to workout or how many reps of one exercise you can get done in a given amount of time. Knowing this information will push you to improve during each session and will keep you striving to beat personal records.

Now that you know how timers help increase workout time, it’s time to consider adding one of these essential tools to your gym. Whether you are the owner of a public gym or are creating a workout space in your basement, a gym wall clock timer is a great tool to have. Take control of your workout session and accomplish your goals!