Making time to work out requires a person to put a priority on their health, physique, and fitness.
The most popular excuse that people make when it comes to them not working out is “I don’t have time to work out.”
Even Cardi B said in a May 2020 interview that she had gotten cosmetic surgery performed on her body to maintain a specific look because she “didn’t have time to work out.”
I don’t care about the cosmetic surgery part because at least she is honest about it.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: people can do whatever they want with their money and their body. The major issue I have is when a person gets cosmetic surgery and tries to bamboozle people by telling the world their body is natural.
You can’t sell us that you lifted and dieted your way to a great body when you really just went to Dr. Cosmetic. But I digress.
That quote she made about not having time to work out is completely bogus!
Saying you have no time to work out is the ultimate fake hustle excuse to not train.
I would have much more respect for a person if they just flat out said “I do not want to work out” instead of throwing out the overused and extremely hollow time excuse.
How Much Time Is Available?
There are 168 hours available in every week. For the average person, let’s make some estimates of what they might spend their time doing.
• Work, 40 hours
• Driving to work, 5 hours (assumes 30 minutes to and from)
• Sleep, 48 hours (rounded up, and based on the national average of 6.8 hours per night)
• Watching TV, 28 hours (based on the average consumer watching 4 hours of TV per day)
• Social Media, 15.5 hours (based on the average consumer spending about 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media per day)
• Family/Home, 15 hours (things like taking kids to practice, preparing meals, doctor’s appointments etc)
• Cosmetic, 5 hours (things like showering, using the bathroom etc)
• Leisure, 3 hours (things like going out with friends)
Now this chart will have major variances based on who is using it.
For example, you might have a young, driven, single man or woman who spends 60 hours a week working on their business but only spends 1 hour per week tending to matters of family.
But if we base everything off of this sample chart, we end up with 159.5 hours used out of 168 available hours.
Even with excessive TV watching and scrolling into oblivion on Instagram, you still have 8.5 hours per week available to pump iron, run sprints, or perform some other fitness modality that will get you leaner, stronger, and healthier.
How Much Time Is Needed To Get My Arse In Shape?
At the minimum, baseline level it takes 60-90 minutes per week to improve your health, get stronger, and build a decent physique with a basic resistance training program.
Now if you want to build a great, athletic physique that really looks and performs exceptionally, you will need about 4-6.5 hours of great training per week. This still leaves you with a few hours left before you get to 8.5.
For the baseline physique, which looks and performs better than the majority of people, this is literally two, 45-minute sessions, or two to three, 30-minute training sessions per week.
For the great physique, this is about 4 or 5, 60 to 75-minute sessions per week. There is absolutely time to work out, but the real question is, is there a desire to work out?
Let’s go back to Cardi B.
Obviously she does not live the average life. She is a popular entertainer and her daily schedule is drastically different from the average 9-5er.
I cannot speak to what she spends her time doing, but I would guesstimate her life is probably consumed with TV appearances, touring, studio time, family, and other business opportunities that the average person does not have.
But saying she does not have time to work out is just not true.
What is stopping her from doing calisthenics or a dumbbell circuit in the morning 2 days per week for 30 minutes a session?
It comes back to the desire to work out. You can make time for anything in this world that you prioritize.
Excuses Get Us Nowhere
Most people equate training with torture, and therefore they inherently hate it.
They will avoid training at all costs. This is why most folks gym memberships get about as much action as the 40-year-old virgin.
Oh, it’s raining outside? Not training.
Oh, it’s hot outside? Not training.
Oh, it’s essentially the perfect weather outside? Not training.
Oh, it’s a holiday? Not training.
Oh, it’s not a holiday? Not training.
Oh, it’s their birthday? Not training.
Oh, it’s Monday? Not training.
Oh, it’s football Sunday? Not training.
You get my point. In my 11 years as a fitness professional I’ve heard hundreds and thousands of lame excuses to not workout.
The same people tell me they feel unhealthy and sick. They tell me they are fat and flabby or skinny and weak and hate what they see when they look in the mirror.
They tell me they want to have a leaner, stronger, and healthier body, but then they follow up with they have “no time to work out.” The numbers do not support that empty claim.
How You Can Make Time To Work Out
There are two things you can do to make time to work out within the parameters of your schedule. They are:
1) Workout at the same time when you do train
• I typically train in the early to late-afternoon.
• I also find it much easier to train around the same time for each workout than to have to frequently switch my workout times.
• By training at the same time, you will develop a habit that will breed consistency.
• Sometimes life throws you off your workout schedule, and you may have to train at a different time. But make sure you still do your workout.
2) Choose specific days to work out on
• Depending on your training split/schedule, choose certain days that will be your training days.
• Outside of a major emergency, do not skip training on these days.
• Citing the weather (especially when it’s sunny and warm) or your favorite TV show coming on or the couch being too comfortable as reasons to skip training is self-limiting and disingenuous. Especially when you factor in the goals you have set for yourself.
• You said you wanted a leaner, stronger, and healthier body. Skipping training sessions will not get you anywhere close to reaching those goals.
• Stick with training on the same days each week and eventually you will develop a habit that will breed consistency.
Here is an example of how I planned my training sessions heading into this year’s summer track season:
Sunday-OFF
Monday-Upper Body Lift between 2:30-4pm
Tuesday-Speed Workout at The Center between 2:30-4pm
Wednesday-Lower Body Lift between 2-4pm
Thursday-OFF
Friday-Upper Body Lift between 3:30-5pm
Saturday-Speed Workout between 3-5pm
Ideally I would have liked to do my speed work on Monday and Friday.
But the times that I am available to sprint did not work with the new track usage policies at the high school where I typically train at.
They changed their policies this year and no one from the community was allowed to use the track during the school day or during sport practice for security reasons.
I run The Center training clients full time and the times that the track was open (evening) during the school year were the same times that I would be training my clients.
There was no need for me to cry about it or make weak excuses as to why I couldn’t sprint.
I just made some adjustments and kept it moving forward. It’s all about prioritizing what you want.
You absolutely have time to work out, but you have to put a priority on it.
If you do not prioritize working out than getting yourself into respectable shape will continue to elude you forever.
Conclusion
Prioritizing what matters separates the ones who say they don’t have time to work out and the ones who make time to build their dream body.
Imagine how cot dang amazing you would look and feel at this time next year if all that time spent skipping workouts and saying “I don’t have time” to work out was spent pumping iron, running sprints, eating healthy, and getting sleep.
There is more than enough time to work out. You just have to commit to the process and drop the fake hustle excuses.
I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer,
Fitman
