Since we have hammered the point about not making excuses so far, we have hammered the fact that you need to take action, we have beat the drum on really training with purpose, we have pushed the fact that 80% of the time you need to be eating well and the good, fresh natural foods that are going to serve you well.
What happens if truly circumstances don’t allow you that day to put in your scheduled workout?
Here’s the best way to look at it. If you are really struggling, is something better than nothing? Of course it is!
Look at it from this perspective and you have to go back to the start to appreciate your starting point. When you first started training and 10 squat thrusts, 5 press ups, 8 arm dips etc could have been your standard, with breaks this workout could well have taken 20-25 minutes if you had taken your time if you did 3 circuits.
Now your standard may well be 80 squat thrusts, 25 press ups, 25 arm dips and another 3-5 exercises too in the same workout. Now this is mightily more impressive of course, and your body now is performing to impressive levels.
So one day when you’re trying to train, the kids are super busy, work is calling, the phone is ringing and everything in your day or week is going wrong, how do you get around that?
The value of doing ONE circuit at maximum intensity cannot be underestimated, and one circuit will take 4 minutes if you really push it and cram in the big exercises (squat thrusts, press ups, arm dips along will be good). Say your previous best was 25 press ups and for 3 circuits, chances are you will be able to do at least 30-35 or even more in ONE go, therefore expanding your abilities and reaching a NEW standard, all in 4 minutes or less!
Is 4 minutes enough? You know i encourage you all to work for 3 circuits which takes around 20-25 minutes which is still pretty intense i think you will agree. However, that maximum effort for 4 minutes will be enough to get your metabolism burning at a higher rate for that day, and will mean you get closer to your goals which is always good. I will repeat it again, if you beat your previous best, you have set a new personal best. Even if you don’t, you will have still done a very positive amount for your physical condition and got your metabolism racing and burning calories at an accelerated rate, and then you can get straight back to the trials of life!! How’s that sound?!
For example, my hardest cycle of the week was my ride from my house to sandy water park and back once a week, kind of a time trial where i judged my own personal fitness standards, if i was over 22 minutes, i was out of shape, if i was under 20 minutes, my condition was very good indeed. My best workout of the week and 20 minutes? That’s a fact.
I think the misconception is sometimes we all have to be in the “right workout clothes”, have the ipod looking trendy hanging from our arms, and wearing the right “shades! That’s absolutely not the case and some of the fittest people i know have some of the oldest workout gear there is, but they have an amazing attitude that would put some of these “poser’s” to shame. In fact, most of these show off’s lack any real fitness conditioning because they concentrate on looking the part, instead of really getting stuck in there and having an amazing workout!
Great workouts are about improving or at least doing your best, whatever the circumstances we have that day. Nobody i know has “all day” to exercise, that person doesn’t exist, at least i’ve never met them (and i’ve met a lot of people who some people think they have “all the time in the world) and that way of training is the least productive anyway.
Nobody trains for 6 hours a day, nobody does that apart from pro cyclist in season so don’t let the papers and magazines fool you time after time, this way of training DOES NOT HAPPEN with these so called celebrities and actors, they are not only not capable of it, but where does that time come from!!!!
Whatever your circumstances, i think 4 minutes as an emergency measure is not too much to ask to make sure your body still gets a workout and still allows you to make progress on this challenge, and for the rest of your life?!!
Another big excuse taken care of!
Have a great sunday and let’s get going again!
