This post is inspired by something a very wise client, and dear friend of mine, Rose, once said to me in passing (Hello Rose if you’re reading this! I still need to get the name of your ‘Tea person’ here in China!).
One Saturday morning, when I turned up to the gym for the standard 7am training session with the crew at GCP Fitness on the Gold Coast, Rose was sitting in her car. When I asked how long she’d been waiting for, she replied, “I’ve been here since 6am as I messed up the time!”
However, it was the next part of what she said that resonated with me.
“But it’s all good, I went to the coffee place across the road and just relaxed. It’s not lost time Gav, it’s found time.”
Brilliant.
So often in my life, I have emphasized squeezing as much as possible into as little time as I can, thinking this is the most efficient and effective way to be productive. Not so. Being effective is VERY different to being efficient and I think this mantra can be an important one to remember when it comes to your training as well.
Think about it. Is it better to train for 2 hours but only really work at 50% capacity (ie: texting in the Squat Rack?!), or for 30mins at your best given intensity? Well of course when it comes to strength and conditioning, the answer is more often than not…”it depends”. However, when it comes to time management (which is no doubt an important factor for many of us who work!) then being effective is essential.
When it comes to body composition, intensity is one of the most important factors for achieving results, so large duration workouts are not necessary to achieve this. However, small, consistent and effective training methods ARE required, which is where knowledge equals power..and certainly where GCP Fitness can help you out!
Not only will greater consistent training intensities (for your individual level) bring about change, it will also allow you to ‘find time’ for the other important things in your life, such as: spending time with loved ones, your hobbies and trying to develop new skills, such as learning a language (I’ll be working on my Mandarin for a while I think!).
The ‘gym life’ doesn’t actually have to be a life spent in the gym! In fact, for best results, you need to make sure it is done in an enjoyable way for YOU. If this happens to be long duration workouts, so be it. But the idea is that training is something that needs to be a part of your life forever and not just a phase, so find the spark which lights your fire when it comes to strength and conditioning. This way, your goals seem easier to reach with less time taken out from your day, so you can find more time to action other important things in your life as well.
Thanks Rose and I hope you’re still training the house down like you always have!
Reward For Effort.