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Don’t Have Time To Make It To The Gym?

Trade your old schedule for a new and improved time schedule

Don't Have Time to Make It To The Gym?

Workout Strategy for Those Who are Short on Time

At Home Workout Tips - No Equipment Required

April 15, 2020
Trade your old schedule for a new and improved time schedule

-This article is meant for those running short on time to make it to the gym or getting started with an at home workout routine.  Our goal is to maximize time spent with family and personal excellence.  Your body needs time and attention to stay healthy and perform at its best.  When your body performs at its best, your mind performs at its best. Here are some tips to customize a home workout you can do without equipment – 

  1. Find Make the Time
  2. Establish a Plan
  3. Execute

Make Time That Fits Your Schedule (4 Minutes to Start)

    According to the American Heart Association, Lack of Time is the first barrier to fitness (American Heart Association Blog).  Did you know that it can take as little as 4 minutes a day to improve your life?  Tabata is a type of workout (also referred to as  HIIT [High Intensity Interval Training]) designed for 4 minute workouts that you can complete any time of the day.  Think about that! 4 minutes = more energy = stronger = longer life = doing more = productivity. For a helpful hint on creating more than 4 minutes in your day checkout our article 5 Steps You Can Take Now To Increase Productivity.  

    It is a time tested, age old cliche. Don’t find time, make it.  It seems ironic, but the thing that most of us don’t know very much about, but which ensures that we wake up every morning ready to take on the day’s tasks, is our body.  Most of us know more about how our phones work or the engine in our cars than the mechanics of our very own being. The autonomy of our internal engine takes care of itself for the most part, but giving it the attention it deserves can have a lasting impact on the quality of our lives.

Create a Workout Plan

 Now before you get overwhelmed, there are an infinite amount of resources available for you to execute a successful workout plan without going to the drawing board.  Let’s face it, if you’re reading this you’re probably not a physical trainer and you don’t need to learn how to be one in order to improve your physical fitness. If you don’t know where to start, relax.  First think about how much exercise you normally get during the week. If it’s zero, then doing anything is already an advancement. 

Building Muscle?

 Can you build muscle with bodyweight alone? Well yes, but with caveat.  The rate at which you build muscle is a ratio of how much your muscles can output to resistance.  Therefore, if your body weight is higher vs your muscle output, then less reps required to build muscle, if you continue to max out your reps you will continue to build muscle.  What type of muscle you build is also in question, but that is beyond the scope of this article. Then lies the question, how do you get more bang for your buck.  So therefore, a calculation can be made.

    According to the Australian’s (they’re big and burly so they must be trusted) following a repetitive maximum ratio (RM) is the best way to build muscle.  “RM is the maximum number of repetitions that can be completed with a given resistance or weight.” Source: Better Health.  

   RM=REPS/WEIGHT

    The amount of reps you can focus on are 8-12 for beginners and 2-6 for advanced.  Therefore, whatever exercise you complete, you should max out in 8 to 12 reps for maximum muscle build.  For more information on high vs. low reps this breakdown by Body Kinetics is very helpful.

   Remember 4 minutes. Below are some ways to get started without any equipment.

No Equipment Necessary

All muscle groups:  Home Workout (Android App). – Multiple plans and muscle target groups with voice instruction and goal tracking.

Legs, Triceps, Obliques, Glutes: 10 Workout Moves In Your Room – (onemedical.com)

Abs: The Best Ab Workout For A Six-Pack – (bodybuilding.com)

Legs: 13 At-Home Leg Exercises That Require No Equipment – (self.com)

Execute and Perform

    If you have been following us in any of the previous articles, you’ll find that we like to keep it brief.  After all, the goal is to save time, not have you read a bunch of fluff. Get out there and do it! You can. Really, do it! The responsibility is on you, don’t rob yourself of the opportunity.

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5 Steps You Can Take Now to Increase Productivity

From Procrastination to Productivity

5 Steps You Can Take Now To Increase Productivity

Steps You Can Take To Immediately Start Getting the Most Out of Your Time

March 18, 2020
From Procrastination to Productivity

-This article is meant to aid in spending less time on your daily routine to help maximize the efficiency of your day.  In the end the goal is to narrow the time spent on routine tasks and allocate effective blocks of time to help you reach your most important goals and prevent procrastination-

  1. Establish Your Goals
  2. Make a List of Routine Items
  3. Research and Gather Your Tools  (Apps and Toos to Make Your Life Easier)
  4. Make a Plan
  5. Put Plan to Action

Establish Priorities. Set Your Goals.

    This is going to be entirely up to you.  What do you need most from the time you have. Do you value family time? Work time? Free Time?  Take a minute to think. Write it down. This is a rough draft, so don’t feel like you are committing to anything yet.  See tools below for help and inspiration.

Create a List of Common Daily Tasks

    Make a List of your common Daily Tasks.  Be as detailed as possible. Write down even the most menial and necessary tasks like commute time, hygiene, the time it takes to finally roll out of bed.  These are the commonalities that hopefully you can reduce to maximize your time. Write down a time estimate on how long you think these things take you every day.  Then dedicate a day precisely measuring your time. Use a stopwatch or timer on your phone. It may be surprising the amount of time spent.

Gather the Tools Necessary to Accomplish More

    There are many productivity apps and tools that can help make your life smoother.  Below is a list of apps I have tested and use to keep things running and provide some self control in preventing procrastination. 

MOBILE APPS

Time Tune (Free with Paid Pro Version): Simple to use but complex enough to customize for even the most rigorous routines. Set a daily routine(s)  that repeats automatically. Customize notifications to remind you to move to the next event. Turn ON/OFF routines as your schedule changes.  Set custom events by date. Pro Version ($4.99): Program specific routines for specific dates. Sync events with Google Calander.

Dreamfora (Free):  Plan long term and short term SMART goals in an instant. Develop daily tasks to focus on what is really important. Utilize preprogrammed goal achievement plans.  Keep track of your goals with statistical analysis.

Prioritize (Free): Very simple. List your tasks or goals and then answer prompts to decide which tasks are more important.  Can help if you have a long laundry list of things to do and don’t know where to start. 

Home Workout (Free with Paid Pro Version):  If you need some workout inspiration that requires little to zero equipment, this app is excellent.  Focusing mostly on Tabata/HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) lasting 4 minutes you can be sure to squeeze some workout time in anywhere.  Exercise routines from Beginner to Advanced for all skill levels. Ability to sync with Google Fit and track your progress.

HARD TOOLS

Goal Planning47 Goal Setting Exercises, Tools, & Games (Incl. PDF Worksheets)  (PositivePsychology.com)

Finalize the Plan... For Now

    Meal Plan. Workout Plan. Study Plan. Business Plan.  Whatever your goal is, an effective plan is the best way to set yourself, or your business, up for success.  Set a calendar reminder to reflect and critique your plan. 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year. Make any necessary changes to improve your lifestyle. 

Take Action. Go! Do It Now. You Can. Realy. Do It!

That’s it.  Do it.  Never stop improving!