Starting a training routine is not easy. Especially if you are a parent. Play dates, school functions, and simply spending time with your kids is part of the equation. Those things don't take up all your available time however. You still have time early in the morning, late at night, or mid-day during lunch if you're employed. It's just a matter of scheduling it.
When I first got back into training (13 years ago) I looked at how much time I could devote on a weekly basis to training. At the time, it was 4 hours per week. That was as much as I could carve out. It was triathlon training so I focused on the 3 disciplines: swim, bike and run. From there I was able to create a base of conditioning that got me into the training habit. Once I started racing and was seeing where I was relative to others, I realized my time commitments needed to shift. The important thing about this is that I started with a set time. 4 hours of training in 7 days. Create the opportunity for a good habit to develop, then simply show up.
This week I put in the following (in hours):
- Sunday: 2 (Strong Sunday)
- Monday: 3.25
- Tuesday: Rest (donated blood)
- Wednesday: 1.5
- Thursday: Rest
- Friday: 2
- Saturday: 1.5 (10k trail run)
Ten and 1/4 hours of training. Not bad. About 40% of that was running, and the rest strength training out of the garage.
Pull out the calendar, look at what days you can train. Start small, build the habit, then build out.
You owe it to yourself and to your family to be in good health, have the strength and endurance to be there for them. Laziness can be trained out by taking choice out of the formula. Keep your workouts short and simple. This is your time to make training a habit. Dedicate the time, show up.
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