Getting Back in Shape: The Three Things You have Control over.

Are you getting a little frustrated with your workouts or lack of workouts?

Let’s take this back to the basics. You have control over three things when it comes to getting back in shape.

Your job is to minimize excuses and maximize workout time so you can get the results you want.

1. Time

Time is the number one excuse for not working out.

There are 168 hours in a week. At a minimum, all I am asking for is 3. That is 2% of the week. Is that too much to ask?

3 hours a week is probably the bare minimum you can get away with and still see change.

Can’t do it? Too busy?

Ask yourself one question.

“Is anyone as busy as I am and can still find time to work out?”

Simple question. The president of the United States makes time to work out. Are you busier than the president? In fact, the answer to this question will tell you a lot about yourself that you may not have realized.

The answer is obvious. No you are not the busiest person in the whole world. The cold reality is that there are people with more time to workout than you and a whole bunch of people with less time.

This leads to the next question, how do I make it work?

Let’s be honest.  You are probably wasting time each day with busy work. I do it all the time and it ticks me off. Unless I schedule it into my day, workouts tend to get pushed farther and farther back in the day. Last night I was on the elliptical at 10 PM. I really hate working out at night but every action has to have a consequence. I could have done it in the morning but the day just got away from me. By making myself work out at a time when I should be in bed, it reinforces the fact that I need to get this done earlier in the day.

I have trained early in the morning and found that once you get used to it, it may be the best time to train.

I trained a stay at home mom who had 4 young kids and she could always carve out time to do her exercise. I am not saying it was easy and I am not telling you the kids cooperated all the time but she had a calendar and she ran a her household like a business. Start with 30 minutes to 1 hour of exercise, 3 days a week and write that into your schedule. Don’t think it, write it down.

The correlation of time and getting in shape.

Please realize that if you want to lose 50 pounds, it will take x amount of workouts and x amount of time. We can actually sit down and chart out how many workouts it takes to lose a pound. Knowing that you can apply basic mathematics to your goals can be very assuring to clients. Conversely, the universe will not allow you to shortcut time and still get the results you want. It only works that way on infomercials.

Bottom Line:

Your fitness goals are going to require an investment of time. Get used to that idea and getting your workouts in won’t be such a chore.

2. Money

You can either throw a lot of money at your problem or try and do it as cheaply as possible. Neither method works very well. I am not saying that everyone needs a personal trainer because they don’t. What I want you to think about is the concept of “how much will it cost me to achieve x?” X is your goal or dream.

Just as you can figure out how many hours in the gym it will cost to lose 50 pounds, you can also put a monetary value on it.

“If I want to lose 50 pounds, what is the most effective use of my money?

• It may be a personal trainer 3 times a week.
• It may be a gym membership.
• The cost of eating better quality food.
• The cost of making a home gym.

Figure out the best to spend each dollar. There is a sweet spot here. Don’t go out and buy every piece of gym equipment in sight because you will probably spend 80% of your time with just a pieces of equipment. By the same token, don’t go without equipment because you want to save money. Cheap equipment is just awful to use. It will break, bend, warp and make working out miserable. You don’t have to buy a lot of equipment but whatever you buy, make sure it is good stuff.

The same goes for workout and diet advice. You can hire a coach, scan the internet or ask friends. There is a cost associated with each one. If you really don’t know what to do, invest in a trainer for a few sessions instead of wasting time trying to figure it out for yourself.

Bottom line:

There is a time cost associated with money. Improve your health by investing in equipment and knowledge. Effective equipment and knowledge will cost money but you will get a huge return on your investment.

3. Effort

I can’t argue that money and time are unlimited. They aren’t.

You are just going to have to deal with that.

The one thing you have an unlimited supply of is effort. This is a great thing because effort will make up for a lot of budget and time limitations.

You can choose a crappy workout program, put in 100% effort and get good results.

You can choose to work out 20 minutes a day, apply 100% effort and get great results.

The only thing you can’t do is apply little to no effort and expect results.

Effort is the great equalizer in life. You don’t need a lot of time or money to see results but you do need consistency and a willingness to push hard.

Effort can buy you time while you figure out the most effective workout and nutrition plans.

Max effort will give you results when you are strapped for time.

Effort builds discipline. Discipline builds consistency and that alone will get you 80% of the way there.

Conclusion

Getting back in shape and staying in the kind of shape you want to be in will never be a static thing. As you go through life, the three variables of time, money and effort will change. Your training will have to adapt to the changes in your life. But at least you can use this as a framework to help keep you on track.

I hope this helps you. If you need a little more help, I am here for you.

Fill out the form below or give me a call to set up your free 30 minute consultation.

[formidable id=”10″]