Today, my wife and I are dropping our kids off at their grandparents and heading off into the Whiteshell for a much needed weekend away. Should be an awesome, fun time of rest and relaxation. Rest and recovery are such important, and often neglected components, of an intelligent and effective training and nutrition program.
I had a question come up today from one of my clients regarding training. More specifically, the difficulty they were finding in getting the motivation and/or energy to train after a long day of work, and how consistency (and results) were lacking as a result.
This brought me back to thinking about my own training history, and how, while I now have the luxury of training when I have the most energy and motivation (I realize how lucky I am in this regard), it hasn’t always been like this.
When I worked for Manitoba Public Insurance at Cityplace in Winnipeg (which is almost 1.5 hours away from where I live), I would need to get up before 6am to start getting ready and have enough time to drive in to work. I am NOT a morning person. Early for me is rolling out of bed at 8am.
I vividly remember getting up 20 minutes early just so I could do sets of pushups and bodyweight squats in my darkened and quiet house before anyone else was up, and before I had to start getting ready for the day ahead.
I did this specifically so that if I found that I didn’t have the energy to train after I got home, at least I knew that I had done SOMETHING that day. I also kept track of how many sets and reps I did of each, and tried to beat those numbers…….every single morning.
I also remember back when I was working as an Educational Assistant in the Hanover school division. I got into the habit of doing 1 set of pushups every time I went to the washroom, and tried to beat my number every time. In answer to your unspoken question, yes I did, in fact, wash my hands after I touched the bathroom floor 🙂
I did this for months, so you can imagine how many pushups I did over that time period. Those kind of small efforts add up if they are done consistently.
I did these things because my training, and my dedication to achieving my fitness and fat loss goals, were important enough to me that I found ways to ensure that I was consistently doing the right things.
I figured out ways to get around my schedule, ways to get around my fatigue after a long day of work, ways to get it done, no matter what.
NO EXCUSES!
This strategy worked really well for me. Sometimes perfection is the enemy of good. Overthinking things and trying to be perfect usually sets you up for failure. The absolutely wrong approach is thinking that if you can’t do a 1 hour workout, then you might as well do nothing. Some of my best workouts have been in the 15 or 20 minutes that I DID have available to me on busy days.The trick is finding an approach that will work for YOU.
Remember, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. What sets us apart in every area of our lives, is what we deem to be important to us, and what we choose to do with that time.
Is your health and fitness important enough to you to figure out ways to get it done, and get it done consistently?
Anyway, hope this gets you thinking a bit unconventionally about how you can integrate some simple training into your day, even when you don’t have the time or energy to do a full workout.
Interested to find out how I can help YOU achieve your fitness and fat loss goals while still living your life? Check out my 28 Day Fat Shredder Program which has helped hundreds of busy parents just like you shed pounds and pounds of ugly, oozing bodyfat while still enjoying the foods and beverage that they love…
