Time is one of the biggest barriers to a healthy training process but none of us has enough time in the day. That’s why you need to make time to include training as an integral part of your week, every week.
Don’t let being busy put you off starting your training. You can achieve results in less time than you think! When you look at fitness professionals or trainers it might seem like they have an unlimited amount of time to work out but time is tight for all of us.
Consider the Calories
I work with people who need maximum results for minimum time investment. The key is to focus on nutrition. If you have a specific weight or body fat goal, then you must eat the correct calories for your goals.
Remember, the less you train, the less you should eat, so your primary focus should be getting your calories right. This will require time to organise what you need to eat. You can also factor in food prep which saves time in the long run, as batch cooking means less time on meal prep during the rest of the week.
Create a Balance
From a training point of view, your sessions must be efficient with each one serving a specific purpose. You won’t spend hours on cardio to burn off the extra calories you have eaten, you will simply better balance your intake with your expenditure.
If your goal is fat loss or muscle building, you should focus primarily on resistance work. This will have the most positive effect on body composition.
If your goal is to improve fitness, I would suggest focusing on intervals and resistance training. Intervals will provide more time-effective results than steady state cardio.
Time vs. Results
To achieve weight loss, you can actually spend less time training than you might think. You don’t need hours and hours of cardio to burn fat. Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) burns fat as its primary fuel.
So, if your calories are right I would suggest a minimum three hours of exercise a week. This is the amount that is essential for good health. Plus, if your movement levels are too low then you need to restrict your calories quite heavily. Taking on fewer calories is naturally more challenging and has a knock on metabolic adaptations that may make it harder for you to lose weight.
Muscle Building
If your goal is building muscle, this can be achieved with three or four 45-minute sessions per week. You need to focus on getting the basics and main lifts right to begin. Then you must gradually and consistently lift more weight as progressive overload is very important for muscle gain.
Focus on the quality of your lifts, as time under tension and control will stimulate muscle building. Don’t bounce and cheat your reps and always use variation sparingly as it might be killing your results. While it can be a useful technique to implement, it’s more important to focus on a consistent plan.
Make time
Now you know what you can achieve in just a few hours a week, it’s time to make time for your fitness. We all have busy schedules these day but we make time for family, work, friends, Netflix and Candy Crush. So, stop avoiding your health!
Just three to four hours of exercise every week can make all the difference between achieving your goals or never reaching them. The difference between being healthy and not healthy. It can transform the quality of life and make you feel far better than before.
So now go and find three to four hours a week to dedicate to your fitness. With 168 hours available to you, I guarantee you can find the time.
