5 Alternatives to Scrolling Between Sets
What do you do between sets?
Me?… I was texting, making calls, replying to Slack messages, checking the news, and doomscrolling. I told myself I was multitasking. Really, I was dragging stress into my workout and leaving the gym more distracted than when I walked in.
At 55, I need my workout time to count. Training is one of the few parts of my day where I can focus fully, reset mentally, and do something that actually moves me forward. That is why I stopped treating rest periods like empty time.
The time between sets is part of the workout. Used well, it can help you recover, move better, stay hydrated, sharpen your focus, and track your progress. Used poorly, it can break your momentum and turn your session into just another screen-based blur.
Here are five simple things you can do between sets to make your workouts more productive without turning your rest periods into extra work.
1. Breathwork
A good rest period should help you recover physically and settle mentally before the next effort. Simple breathwork can do both.
One easy pattern is inhale through your nose for 3 seconds, letting the breath expand into your diaphragm, then exhale slowly for 5 seconds. A few rounds of that can bring your heart rate down, reduce tension, and help you refocus.
The goal is to downshift back into control. Longer exhales tend to calm the nervous system, which makes this especially useful after a hard set. It is also a technique you can use outside the gym anytime you feel anxious, stressed, or mentally overloaded.
Between sets, even three slow breaths can make a noticeable difference.
2. Mobility
Between-set mobility is one of the most underused tools in the gym, but it has to be done correctly.
The goal is to restore useful movement without hurting your next set. This is not the time for aggressive stretching, or anything that turns into its own mini workout. Keep it short, moderate, and dynamic.
A few basic principles work well:
Keep it around 20 to 30 seconds
Stay at a moderate intensity and do not push too hard
Use small movements, pulses, reaches, or gentle shifts
Keep setup simple so you can get right back to training
For example, after a set of squats you might do ankle rocks or hip shifts. The point is to keep your body moving well while preserving your strength for the next set.
Done right, between-set mobility helps you stay loose, maintain quality movement, and get more out of the workout as a whole.
3. Hydrate
Many people walk into the gym already underhydrated, then make it worse by training hard and not drinking enough during the session. You do not need to obsess over it, but you do need to pay attention.
As a general benchmark, daily water needs are often estimated at around 3.7 liters per day for men, including fluids from both drinks and food. During exercise, your needs can increase depending on heat, workout length, and how much you sweat.
Between sets is an easy time to stay on top of hydration. A few sips of water here and there is usually more practical than waiting until you are already thirsty or trying to chug a large amount all at once.
For most normal gym sessions, the rule is simple: show up hydrated, sip during the workout, and drink more if the session is long, hot, or especially sweaty.
4. Log Your Workout Progress
Logging your training gives you real data:
What weight you used
How many reps you completed
Whether your technique improved
Whether performance is trending up, flat, or down
This matters because progress is much easier to create when you can actually see what is happening. Tracking lets you notice patterns, and make smarter adjustments. It also gives you a record of what worked and what did not.
Just record the basics. The exercise, the load, the reps, and maybe a quick note such as “1 rep in reserve” or “left shoulder felt tight.” That alone is enough to make better decisions next time.
A simple training log turns random workouts into a process.
5. Visualize Your Next Set
Visualization sounds abstract until you use it properly.
It is a short mental rehearsal of what you are about to do. It only takes a few seconds, but it can help you focus and execute the next set more cleanly.
Keep it concrete:
See yourself unracking the weight
Picture the first rep
Rehearse your setup and tempo
Remind yourself of one key cue
Mentally feel the set going right
Before a squat, for example, you might think:
Brace. Sit down low between the hips. Drive up hard.
That kind of quick rehearsal helps sharpen intent. Instead of drifting into the next set half-distracted, you step into it with a plan.
Use Your Rest Periods Better
Your rest periods are not dead time. They are part of the workout.
You can waste them on your phone and let your attention splinter, or you can use them to breathe, move, hydrate, track, and refocus. These habits are simple, practical, and easy to repeat.
Over time, those small choices add up.
EVRMV integrates breathwork and mobility between every set because fitness includes balancing strength and mobility to get the most out of every minute of your workout… especially for midlife athletes. If that approach makes sense to you, check out the YouTube channel for follow-along workouts ranging from 10 to 40 minutes.