I think one of the things that prevents a lot of people from improving their health, lifestyle, or fitness is that they feel they don’t have time to fit something else into the day. I totally understand feeling busy, and funny enough, sometimes I think I operate better when I’m busy rather than when I have a lot of free time. I recently came across an article from Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s blog, regarding his training for a triathlon, and was surprised to find that his thoughts on fitting exercise into the day were almost exactly the same as mine!
The introduction to the article:
A couple of years ago, I was worried I had become too complacent and full of too many excuses. A bowl of ice cream was justified almost every day. Hadn’t my day been so busy? A little treat was warranted. Exercise was always the first thing to fall off the map with a busy work life and a house full of three small children. “Tomorrow will come, and I will make a change,” I kept telling myself. Problem is – the tomorrows always came, without fail. And, the changes never happened, without fail.
And the part that struck a chord with me:
Two years later, as I finish training for my second triathlon, which is this Sunday, I write this blog as a changed man. Besides the obvious fitness benefits and the compliments from my wife, which come more frequently, I have become better at managing my time, setting priorities and practicing what I preach. My diet improved, because it had to improve. I simply felt too sluggish during a training ride if I had indulged the night before. I came to enjoy exercise, relish it, almost need it. Remarkably, despite adding another significant time commitment, I found I was getting more done in my life overall.
I think this is so true and interesting. When I get up early to run or ride my bike before work, I feel more energized throughout the day and I think I manage to get more done. If I get up early but don’t do the run out of laziness or something else that gets in the way, I usually manage to waste all of the extra time without really achieving anything. I’m sure that as time goes on, our lives will only get more busy, but I hope we will always be able to make time for the things that are important to us, maybe by cramming the day a little too full! What do you think?
Here is a link to the whole article:
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/05/sanjay-and-triathlon-a-reset-button/
