If you have followed along with some of my blog posts (yes I’ve been MIA for a little while, developing our podcast), you will know that I preach training a minimum of 3 hours per week (or 1.7% of your week). I still stick by this for a number of reasons. 3 hours per week is achievable for most people, in my opinion.
However, it may not be for everyone. Whether it be a time thing, a money thing or just simply a mindset thing, there may be people who can’t commit to 3 days each week.
If you genuinely can’t commit to 3x per week. Then 1x or 2x is going to be better than 0x. Pretty simple to understand. Just because you can’t do the ideal amount doesn’t mean you should do nothing.
On Monday, I met with one of our members who has been with us for 12 weeks. She has been doing 1 personal training session along with 1 yoga session each week. I believe she was already doing the yoga sessions prior to starting training with us.
In these personal training sessions, her coach has been focussing on a mix of strength training and some cardio whilst targeting the whole body.
Well, her results have been pretty awesome:
Body Fat down – 4.1%
Muscle Gain – 2lbs
Body Fat lost – 7.7lbs
This was a surprise for me. I had prepared to say something like “hey, with 1x per week training we need to have realistic expectations” but I was amazed.
It goes to show that small changes can equal big results. Making slightly better decisions each day over a period of time can have a big impact on you, your health and your fitness.
Cutting out the glass of wine each night, adding a walk every morning, doing 1 day of strength training… the list is endless – individually they can change the course of your life, literally!
While I believe we should be looking to get as much physical activity as we possibly can in our life, whilst trying to fuel our bodies the best way we can – I know not everyone has the same priorities as I do and everyone’s life is different.
But, you should commit to as much as you possibly can. The person in this example would never have done weight training by herself, so she hired a coach. This has helped her to stay accountable but also helped her to make better decisions around her nutrition because she has worked hard in the gym and made a financial commitment that she wants to maximize.
We are complex creatures, we need certain things in line to be successful. If you need accountability, hire a coach or get with a group of friends who will keep you in line.
Don’t let the idea of perfection stop you from doing something that may not be perfect, but 100% better than nothing.