5 Minutes on the clock.... Let's Go!!
Let’s take a close look at time! I know Albert Einstein would be proud, but here is the thing… Our math is not nearly as complicated.
I want to take a look at time because the most common excuse I and any athlete makes for not training is “I don’t have enough time”
But here is the deal…. WE DO! We simply aren’t allocating our time well. (I used we and I because I 100% fall victim to this as well)
Let’s take a look at an average week and a relatively typical athlete as an example.
We all have the same 7 days a week 24 hours a day.
That's:
Total:
7days x 24hours = 168 hours each week
Assuming our theoretical athlete works 5 days a week 8AM - 5PM (9 Hours a day)
Work:
5 days x 9 hours = 45 hours each week
Great, let’s see what we have left.
168 hours - 45 hours = 123 hours remaining
Ok, now let's take sleep into account. Let’s assume this athlete sleeps 8 hours a night. (call it 9PM - 5AM)
Sleep:
7 days x8 hours =56 hours a week
Great, let’s again see what we have left.
123 hours - 56 hours = 67 hours remain in the week (still more than the athlete works or sleeps!)
So here we get a bit more complicated. We are going to assume this athlete is training for a full IRONMAN and is training an avg of 15 hours a week. (That averages out to 2.14 hours a day, a middle of the road volume when training for IRONMAN)
So what is left after work, sleep and training?
Training:
67 hours - 15 hours = 47 hours
47 HOURS! There are still 47 hours remaining in this athlete's week to do with what they want.
Free Time:
47 hours / 7 Days = 6.71 hours a day!
SOOOO… How do we use those 6+ hours??
Great, you work an hour more than our theoretical athlete each day, That leaves you with 5.7 extra hours.
Do you sleep more than 8 hours a night? … #1 that's awesome! It will help everything in general, and that means you have 4.7 hours free each day. (assuming you also work 50 hours a week as above)
You commute? Ok, that is fine, let’s assume it is 30 minutes each way, that loses you 5 hours each week
And if you do all those additional things. work 50 hours, sleep 9 hours, commute 1 hour and train 15 hours YOU STILL HAVE 3.7 extra hours each day
Think about it this way.
When was the last time you rode your bike or ran for 4 hours??
It felt like an incredibly long time right?
And yet we look at that same 4 hours in a totally different light when it is spread through our day.
everyone has different commitments and different time allocations, but the idea is the same for all of us. We all have the same hours in the day, it is simply how we CHOOSE to use then that differs.
So next time you think “I don’t have enough time” take a closer look and see if you are right and see if you can perhaps improve your choices.