Finding Time for Fitness
I often ask people about their health and what their exercise regime looks like. The answer I usually get is, “I don’t have time to train,” which is probably true for many of us who work from 8 to 5.
The fact is that if we don’t make time, we will never have time. When I stopped playing professional rugby exactly 20 years ago, I looked at my normal day and asked myself: What time would be best for me to train? What was the perfect window where I could train hard without worrying about work, family, or any other distractions?
I decided to start training early in the morning so that my work and family time would not be affected. Towards the end of 2005, I started getting up at 5 a.m., and 20 years later, I still get up at 5 a.m. most mornings to exercise while my family is still sleeping.
The reason I am telling you this is not to boast, but to give you a great example of how a small change in my lifestyle has had a major impact on my life. I must add that it is very hard to get up at 5 a.m. in the middle of winter, but I have persisted as much as possible.
The Long-Term Benefits of a Small Change
For twenty years, I have worked hard on my fitness and strength, and at 50, I feel like I am in a good position to launch the second half of my life. The added positive is that I never missed any of the early morning shenanigans when my children were small.
I hardly ever missed a morning of bringing my wife coffee in bed before she went for a run. I never missed a meeting at work or my son’s rugby game in the afternoon because my training was done early, leaving me time to do the things that a present dad needs to do.
This has led to my daughter, who is in her second year at university, starting to train in the mornings. There is no way she will get up at 5 a.m., but she enjoys her morning runs when she is at home. (She does enjoy the beer runs on Thursdays even more than exercising with us!)
The Ripple Effect of Small Steps
One small step I took twenty years ago has had a massive ripple effect – not only on my health but also on my wife and children.
We often get so caught up in life that we only see the challenges and not the solutions. Take the five areas of your life – work, family, health, friends, and spirit – and see where you can take one small step to improve in that area. Once you have identified the area, take that first step in the right direction and be consistent. Keep taking one step at a time until it becomes a habit.
All the best, and remember – nothing worthwhile is easy, so keep pushing!
GET IN TOUCH
If you would like to get in touch with me about my key note presentation, Debunking Motivation, please send an email to corne@cornekrige.com. Visit my website to review my speaker sheet for more info. I also share my story on my social media pages on Facebook and LinkedIn.