Make Time To Train

I’m busy.

I wrote two lesson plans yesterday, and have two more to write today.  I worked yesterday, and work later today.  This is a rough week.  If I were you, I wouldn’t care though; I’m sure your week is just as bad.  In fact, your schedule might be even worse.

When are you going to train?

Making excuses not to exercise is close to the top of my list of things that aggravate me, right up there with Zumba, bicep curls, and high squats.  You only have one body, with no replacements; take care of it before it breaks on you.  In a world of near-perfect physical health we’d all break a sweat a few times a day, and would be diabetes and heart disease free, for the most part.  (Obviously, this is near-perfect world is being designed by me!)  We’re now far removed from physical culture as a way of life, and it seems that most people will make every excuse they can not to exercise, or disregard it’s importance outright.  I trust that my readers don’t have that mentality, so let me ask you again:  When are you going to train?

From the look of it I think this is a Nike ad, but I can’t be certain.  The source doesn’t matter as much as the message.  However busy your schedule is, there is something that you can do to include exercise in your routine.   A single set of chin-ups, or push-ups, or sprints can go a long way for maintaining your fitness and performance levels.  (We’d all probably like to do more than that, right?)  If you’re crunched for time, let me recommend a few tips to consider when you’re ready to get down to business:

• Compound Movements.  Usually this is a given, but it merits some attention.  Most people, regardless of how busy they are, tend to forget about using compound movements to make up the bulk of your training.  When you’re pressed for time, it’s even more important:  Scrap the leg extensions for some squats, folks!  When in doubt, the following exercises are good places to start: Deadlifts, squats, rows, chins, dips, military press (standing) push-ups, sprinting, and every variation of those you can think of.

• Less Overall Volume.  I’m not a fan of single set training, but I’m also not a fan of higher volume training (10 x 10?)  If you’re used to higher training volumes, you’ll save time by reducing your overall volume; 3 sets of 6 reps should take less time than 10 sets of 10 reps.  You’ll also probably be able to lift much heavier weight across your sets, so you might actually get strong(er) in the process; never a bad thing!

• Full Body Workouts.  It seems that few people train using full body workouts anymore.  Most folks are stuck in a 1980’s body-part split mentality, and then struggle with perpetual questions about their progress.  Body part splits certainly have their time and place, but they require a whole lot of time in the gym compared to the results that they offer.  If you’re stuck with a busy schedule, you may need to reduce the time you spend in the gym, and full body workouts can help you make the most of your time in the gym.  If you can spend an hour in the gym every 2 or three days, does it make more sense to focus on your back and really hit your rear delts, or perform some chin-ups, a push-up variation, and a split squat?  Your overall work will be much higher for the latter, and you’ll likely get in and out of the gym in a a much shorter time period.

I’m sure that you’re busy, we all are.  If you’re so busy that you’re not scheduling some time to take care of your body, you’re only hurting yourself in the long run.  However busy you are, you can take care of yourself.  Remember that quote, that someone busier than you is running right now.  Get in the gym and train, even if it’s not as much as you’d like to do.  Even this is good for you: