24 hours a day. Eight of which you (ideally) spend sleeping. That leaves you 16 hours mostly vertically orientated. And vertical orientation is when you get stuff done. Then, unless you’re retired or in the fourhourworkweekforlife tribe, you spend at least eight hours of that 16 doing work.
That’s eight hours left. Throw in the housework and whatnot. Commuting if you must. Then add up the time you spend interacting with other people. Whether it’s Friday afternoon social tea, helping kids with the homework, or just attending to things, people and causes that deserve your attention.
If you have a partner, they’ll likely appreciate some deeper connection time, too. A dog? Yep, that too. Cats? Meh. Not our cats, anyway.
How much time does that leave you? Few hours. Three, maybe. And that three is only realistic if your time management is somewhere closer to Benjamin Franklin and not the early 90s Axl Rose.
But for the sake of agreeing on something, let’s say you have two focused hours to yourself each day. On average.
And if, like me, you’ve got young kids, most of those hours may well fall into early mornings or late evenings. That’s the time to read and learn. To create something in a way that’s meaningful to you. All this eats out of your two hours.
To make progress in anything requires focus. And you pay for that focus with time. And we haven’t even touched on your health and fitness. Which brings us to…
Based on the time you have available to train, how reasonable are your expectations for the results?
Are your training result expectations inline with the time you have available to do the work? Unless you’re willing to put everything except the kettlebells on the back burner, it’d be nothing short of delusional to expect quick results.
You don’t exist in a vacuum. With all the other commitments, stresses, and dogs you have in your life, there’s only so much attention you can give to your training. Even when you’re prioritising it.
You’re a human adult.
You have a life, and it’s unlikely that your life revolves around strength training. Give yourself some slack. You’re more likely to stay motivated if you shift your expectations from tomorrow to eventually.
Carve out whatever time you can for training. Yes, something else might have to give. Within reason. Then, keep showing up. And know that when you do the right things often enough, results will follow.
It just might take a little longer than you’d like to admit.
– J