George Doesn't Have Time to be Fit
George rises at the crack of dawn to get ready for work before helping his wife get the children off to school. He commutes 45 minutes to his job as a salesman where the pace is fast and furious. The hours after work are filled with family responsibilities: homework, little league and dance lessons.
George knows that exercise is a great way to relieve stress, prevent burn-out and keep fit. He'd like to get to the local fitness club twice a week, but many weeks he has only one free night. With all his other commitments he doesn't have time for more exercise.
Or Does He?
By examining his schedule and adopting a new attitude towards his workout, George might discover buried nuggets of time for more exercise.
George's workout consists of 45 minutes on a treadmill, an hour of resistance weight training and a 20-minute cool down and stretching routine. It's a balanced workout that includes elements from all three fitness areas: aerobic (the treadmill), strength (the weight training), and flexibility (the stretching). What it lacks is consistency and frequency.
Ideally, George needs to work aerobically at least three times a week. To improve his strength, he should work each muscle no less than twice a week, and preferably three times. Stretching should be done as often as possible when the muscles are warm.
From warm-up to cool down, George's workout takes a little more than two hours. It's not surprising that somebody as busy as George has difficulty finding a two-hour block of time three or more days each week.
It's a Matter of Thinking Creatively
George is trapped by some common exercise myths. First, he feels he must perform all the elements of his workout in one session. By dividing his workout into its three elements and dealing with each part individually, George can break free from the tyranny of a two-hour-workout.
George's second mind-trap is depending on the facilities of a fitness club to achieve his goals. Every fitness program includes activities that can be done anywhere, or at least somewhere other than the club.
And finally, a lifetime of being goal oriented has trained George to view everything as work. By relegating fitness to a specific time and place, and by tagging only selected activities as "exercise," George is missing out on recreation that can provide both fun and fitness.
Seize the Moments
George's primary aerobic activity is a brisk 45-minute walk. All he needs for that is a good pair of shoes, a large employee parking lot and a shower facility. Instead of eating lunch out everyday, George could bring lunch from home and walk on his lunch hour. He doesn't have to walk all five days, even three days a week would be an improvement over his current schedule.
Using his lunch hour not only increases the frequency with which George walks, but by turning his attention to something other than work, his subconscious can work on any problems that arose during the day. George will return to his desk refreshed, relaxed and renewed.
With his aerobic routine relocated, George only has to strength train and stretch at the club, but that can take an hour, still a large slice out of George's evening. Instead of working the entire circuit of weight resistance machines, George might perform a split routine, alternating an upper body workout one day with a lower body workout the next. It's easier to find 30 minutes of free time four to six nights a week, than to find two hours on any night. Stretching can and should be done after each exercise session, but by targeting the muscles that were involved in that evening's workout, George can cut in half the time it takes to stretch out.
And Don't Forget to Have Fun
As a parent, George has a responsibility to model a fit lifestyle for his children. By always exercising at the club, George sends a message that exercise is something one does in addition to one's other chores. Like taking out the garbage and paying the bills, it becomes just another bit of drudgery on the to-do list.
An enlightened George might look for ways to build fitness into his family's play time. Instead of taking in a movie on a Sunday afternoon, why not go to the local YMCA for a swim? He could take the family for a walk around the neighborhood, ride bikes along the local nature trail, hike through the forest, go to the ice-skating rink, the stables or bowling alley. By selecting active play, George adds to his own fitness level while instilling in his children a love of physical activity that will serve them all their lives.
