Tips for Women Attorneys on Finding Time to Train
A regular exercise regimen and an intense job are not easy things to reconcile. If you’re putting in 50-60 hours a week and NOT spending some time on self-care (e.g., improving your physical and mental health) daily, it’s only a matter of time before the lethal combination starts to add up. Your body will hurt. Clothes won’t fit the same. Sitting for hours at a time will take a toll on your health. Stress will manifest itself in some type of way and it won’t be good. The list goes on. Finding a fitness routine that works for you will keep you fit and healthy both physically and mentally and keep you more in sync with your body. Stress will be managed, and you’ll have energy to do everything else you enjoy.
What is the number one challenge preventing you from working out? “You don’t have the time.” Or at least you don’t think you do. However, there are some things you can do to build a bridge between the two worlds of a busy career and taking care of yourself to create a fulfilling balance.
Make Fitness FIT in your life. The ‘fit’ is not just training for how fit you are right now, it’s also your time commitment, the equipment you do/don’t have access to, family obligations (a practice, a game, a music lesson), your schedule, your lifestyle, your budget, your personality, etc. If you’re all in but want something that tells you what to do – as opposed to you being in control and having to decide what exercises to choose, settle in to that. If you are like most attorneys, once you clock in and open yourself up, you’re ON. If you need a break from that in your fitness routine, find a program in which all you have to do is show up and hit ‘start’. If the fit isn’t right, you’re not going to stick with it! As cliché as that is, it will hold true most of the time.
Get the most bang for your buck. You already don’t have time to waste. If you’re going to show up for your workouts, make sure you are maximizing your efforts. Periodization training will produce the most results in the least amount of time. It is the only training style that also prevents injuries (meaning it’s safe), works for all fitness levels, and helps prevent training plateaus.
Set S.M.A.R.T. goals. Why exactly are you opening up the training app? Do you want to lose weight? Reduce/manage stress? Do you want more energy injected into your days? Do you want to get stronger? Improve your physique? Not only will these goals help create your path, hitting these goals is motivation!
Find an expert or a specialist. I have 2 Bernese Mountain dogs. When they need medical attention, they go to the vet; but they go to a groomer when it’s time to get cleaned up and trimmed. I would never allow either of these experts to shave MY head. The last thing you want is to find yourself working hard with no tangible results, or even worse, getting injured.
Know YOU and stay true to that. Don’t try and start a morning training routine if you are not a morning person. If you’re going to successfully integrate fitness into your life, you have to keep showing up. So, be realistic about your scheduling options and find a routine that you can stick to at least 3-4 times a week.
Subscribe to a program. One of (if not THE) things and benefits my clients love about me designing all of their training programs is the fact that they never have to do anything but show up and clock in. They never have to think about how many sets or reps to do, what exercises to do and in what order, what warm-up would be perfect for the day, what to do when they are sore, when to take a day off or any other component of a training program. When I was training for the US Olympic Weightlifting team 100% of everything I did was programmed by my coach. The days I was with the team I did the workouts; the days I trained away from the team I knew exactly what I needed to do. Having a coach to dictate all of that was an absolute game changer. Considering how many directions you’re pulled in once you open yourself up to your world, having a program that you don’t have to think about or choreograph yourself should be something you don’t have to put a ton of thought into. Let someone else do the heavy lifting for you.
If you would like help in getting started, schedule a 15-20 minute free consultation and we’ll create a game plan for FIT you.