“How do you navigate maintaining your fitness goals while also working full time?”
While there are a thousand different answers to this question, it really boils down to two factors. Efficiency and sacrifice…
Efficiency:
How does efficiency get you to your goals? Well… efficiency of your time, workouts, and routine not only aids in helping your day go smoother, but it is one of the keys to helping you stick with your plan. If you are efficient then you have more time, the dedication blends with your lifestyle and doesn’t feel like a burden, and it helps relieve stress.
What does efficiency look like? There are so many things that you can do to be efficient. Lay out your clothes if you are working out first thing in the morning, or pack a bag if you are going after work. If you are running, know your route, have your fuel and water ready, and prepare your pre-run carbs the night before. When it comes to lifting, have your workout plan ready before you get to the gym, have a plan A, B, and even C because not all of the equipment is always open, and make the workout efficient. You don’t have to spend 2 hours in the gym to reach your goals, maybe you do 30-45 minutes of high quality exercises, cut your rest time from 2 minutes to 90 seconds, and do your stretching at home. Think about the day as a whole before deciding when you are going to workout or run. Is there a certain time that is easier for you, when are you most motivated, and what are potential hurdles that you will have to jump over at time A vs B? There are so many little things that, if planned efficiently, can add so much more time to your day.
For me, I typically run in the morning and lift in the afternoon. It is just easier for me to get my run time in early since it is usually more time consuming than my lift, and by leaving the less time consuming goal for the afternoon, I am able to spend more time in the evenings cooking dinner, relaxing, and spending time with my wife. If I am running in the afternoon for some reason, I feel no shame bringing my carbs to work and stretching a little in my office before I go out. I don’t know who coined the phrase, “You will never meet a hater doing better than you” but it's true!
Is it always easy? Does everything always go according to plan? No! Life happens, obstacles appear out of thin air, and some times you can’t find a work around. That’s okay, its expected. The efficiency is to help give you the best chance possible to overcome expected challenges, so when the unexpected happens you have to be resilient. This is where the second factor comes in…
Sacrifice:
This one is a little harder because there is an emotional aspect to it. You have to sacrifice a little, but you don’t want to sacrifice so much that you do not find harmony. Balance is essential and is important for making sure that you are focusing on your goals without taking too much time away from the people you love.
My sacrifice is sleep. I am a huge advocate for the before breakfast club. My grind time, the time that I know is mine to work on myself, and the time that gives me the opportunity to find balance, is the hours before the sun comes up. Yes, at first the 4 am club sucks. But, after a few weeks you might find that you like it. I think that this one is huge for parents because you want to spend as much time in the evenings with your kids as possible. So, while they sleep, work on you and when they are awake work on them!
Now waking up at 4 am is not the only way to sacrifice. Maybe the sacrifice is using your weekends to train, maybe it is leaving the social gathering a little early so you can rest, maybe it is paying a little more for a gym that is closer to your house. Everyone's sacrifices will look different and not every sacrifice has to be significant. Little sacrificed compound over time and the real key to any success in either fitness or nutrition is consistency.
Remember, not every day has to be perfect, going is better than not going, think little changes over a long time, and as always keep… moving… forward!