No More Excuses!

Time is a Factor

The Wild Will round of smack downs continue. First it was the “Food Babe” and then the “Unhealthy is Ok” movement. However I am tacking the smack downs in a different direction. I am going to smack down on some of the most common excuses I have heard over the past six years as a personal trainer. I’m going to layout the rationale for the excuse and why so many people have that excuse. Next I’ll explain why all that rationale is just a bunch a bull created in the head. This should be an exciting series; so get motivated and ready to leave your excuses at the door.

If you have not read our current Transformation of the Month’s story on Cathi Trezek please take the time to read it here now. Ok, welcome back. Now in reading her story and interview questions one of the biggest contributors to her success was time management.  You read that she would get up early, get to the gym, get her workout in while Steve was at home with the kids; over and done with so the rest of the day was ahead of her. Cathi’s goals were important to her (and still are) so she made the time to reach them. So without further delay I bring you bring the #1 excuse I hear every day.

I DON’T HAVE TIME TO WORKOUT!

This is an easy number one because everyone regardless of the goal uses it when they are first starting out. For some reason when a person comes to the realization they need to live a healthier life, suddenly “time”is sucked away so they can’t get healthy. It’s not their fault; it’s their busy lives that are to be blamed. Oh well, they had the best of intentions. BULLSHIT!

Here is an example of a common conversation I have had with people when I ask them to tell me why they don’t have time to work out and the rationale that they use.

There are 24 hours in a day. I know to be healthy I need 8 hours of sleep so now we have 16 hours to play with. I work 8 hours a day with a 30 minute travel both ways dropping my time to only 7 hours to play with. I need at least an hour to get ready before work so now I have 6 hours of time left. I need to come home and unwind, I have a stressful job so I need my time to relax and its Fall so all new favorite shows are back on TV. My shows and relax time take up 3 hours so I only have 3 hours left. I’m so tired in the morning though so I can’t workout then and the gym is too busy right after work and I need to get my 8 hours so I have to be in bed by 10 but by 8pm I’m too tired from my hard day. I just don’t have the time.

Ok let’s break this down. I am all good with the first 16 hours we’ve got to work and we’ve got to sleep. Travel and getting ready time in the morning, ok good to go; nobody wants to leave the house looking like a slob. So now this leaves us with that 6 hour window. 6 hours!!! There are 6 hours left in a day and I’m hearing you don’t have time. PLEASE!! You have time; you just don’t want to make the time. Did you know in 6 hours you could drive from Chicago to Ohio, yes the state of Ohio in 6 hours? You only need 1 of those 6 hours to work out that leaves you 5 more hours to “relax”, “unwind”, “cool down”, “chill out”and watch your shows.

Here is what you need to do. Go out and buy a calendar and write out your entire week, write out all the things that you have to get done, job, sleeping etc. Write it all out for the week. Then pick at least 4 days and allocate 1 hour within each of these days. That is your workout time. It may not be the most convenient time which may mean you need to work out early in the AM or later in the PM. Don’t worry your body will adjust. If you don’t believe me what do you think happens to people who work 1^st shift and then get transferred to 2^nd shift, they don’t die. It will be a challenge at first yes to adjust your schedule but nothing in life worth having is ever just given out with ease. For those of you kids, follow the same pattern. Write down daycare, school drop off time etc. You know the schedule and if your gym has daycare then bam there goes that excuse.

Remember excuses are just that; excuses. They only satisfy the ones making them. They do nothing to further your life but only get in the way like road blocks. If being healthy is important to you, which IT SHOULD BE! Then make the time. You do not need to spend hours in the gym, hell you don’t even have to leave your house with the Fitastic bodyweight program. Being healthy is not hours upon hours in the gym. In fact with my current training position at Orange Theory Fitness, it’s a 1 hour class with cardio and free weights; you are in and out within 1 hour.

So make the time, not excuses. Check back when I lay the smack down on the number 2 excuse.

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Wild Will Wilson (W³⁾