Modify, Don’t miss
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This month, Brett will be talking about how to get your workouts in even when life gets busy.
As many of you know, my wife and I had our first son about 3 weeks ago (check out some more cute pics below). Most importantly, everyone is happy, healthy, and doing all the things they're supposed to be doing. But of course, our lives have gotten WAY busier since (in the best way possible), and this leaves far less time to get our own workouts in.
Notice I said "far less time" and not "no time." This is because we are sticking to the principle of "Modify, Don't Miss."
This principle means exactly what it says-instead of missing workouts, just modify them. Same goes for your rehab routines if you're coming back from an injury. Maybe you usually have an hour to get your work in, but now you've only got 30 minutes. No big deal-pick the most important pieces, get them done, and move on. Even if it's just 10 minutes, same thing. Something is ALWAYS better than nothing.
There are countless ways to modify your specific routine, but I'll go into some detail on how I am modifying mine to give you just one example.
I have a PT friend of mine write my workout programs. I studied under him as a student, so we like to nerd out over training and get pretty detailed. Before Mason was born, he wrote me workouts 5 days per week. Each day had a different focus-day 1 hypertrophy, day 2 strength/power, day 3 sprinting/speed work, day 4 mobility, day 5 cardio and extra hypertrophy. Each workout took about 60-80 min if I was fully focused and had no distractions.
Currently, I've only got 30-40 minutes 2-4 times per week. So, here is how I modified. Day 1-lower body strength and hypertrophy; day 2-upper body strength and hypertophy; day 3-sprint/speed work; day 4-power; day 5-cardio. Instead of getting each day done within a 7 day span, I expect to get through them all over the course of about 10 days. For each of these days, I set the timer for 40 minutes. First 5-10 minutes is a warmup. Next 10-15 minutes is one main lift/exercise. Final 10-15 minutes is accessory work that supplements the main focus of the day. No matter what, workout is done in 40 minutes max. Sets, reps, and weight may look a bit different and fluctuate more than previously, but as long as I sufficiently challenge myself each session that's all that matters.
As you can see, the general framework of the overall training program is similar, it's just paired down to fit my current schedule.
Again, there are literally countless ways to modify your own workout/rehab routine. There is literally no right or wrong way to do it. I've seen cases where someone picks literally one exercise each day, gets it done, leaves the gym, and still stays on track with their goals and was able to jump right back into more training once they had the time. Something is ALWAYS better than nothing.
One more note here-there are times in life when it feels literally impossible to take care of your own health. But here's a quote that I heard somewhere which I frequently remind myself when setting priorities: "You have a solemn obligation to take care of yourself, you never know when the world may need you." So, in those moments when you can't seem to find the time, remember to modify, don't miss, so when the world needs you, you're ready.
Stay tuned for next month’s newsletter, where will we continue to look into some common issues that arise and practical solutions to deal with them. Also, if you have any topics that you want to see covered in a future newsletter, please let us know!
