1% is all you need. NOT MORE

I recently found out this “1% rule” for not being in shape from Mike Geary and I wish I had come up with this kind of thinking myself. This makes me realize that most of the reasons people are not in shape or even worse, can not do much effort to be in shape are basically lame and unreasonable

Like I said in my first note, we live in a busy world. So, we often “don’t have time” to plan our meals regularly or to do some workout.

Let me give you different perception on this NUMBER ONE reason. For an effective workout, all you need is basically 30-45 minutes per session. Let’s take the minimum 30 minutes since time is the BIG PROBLEM here. How many times do your workout per week? Probably 3 to 4 times for optimal results (Definitely not more 5. Otherwise this will lead to overtraining, which will be explained in my next note). Again, let’s take the minimum one, 3 times per week for total 90 minutes per week.

If you compare this 90 minutes with the total minutes you have per week (10,080 minutes. That’s right, I calculate it). The total time you spend for your workout per week is LESS THAN 1% of your total minutes per week.

IT TAKES ONLY 1% OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME TO BE IN SHAPE. You certainly can’t get any better than that. It is now just the matter of how you use that 1% time for exercise. If you use it for intense workout, definitely good body shape will be yours

So now, is time really the problem here? Isn’t it ridiculous now to hear someone say, “I don’t have time for exercise”?

Let me tell you how I utilize my PRECIOUS TIME and “somehow” find time to workout regularly.

I work out 3 times per week. Each session is roughly 45 minutes (even longer than the minimum but “somehow” I still can make it). I do my workout during the evening when I have no appointment with any clients. Here is my schedule on my workout day.

I wake up at 7.00am, eat my breakfast prepared the day before, go to office at 7.45am (I work as an engineer during the day), and reach office at 8.30am (quite hectic isn’t it? Just like your life).

I finish my office work at roughly 5.30pm, reach home around 6.30pm. Cook my dinner and eat it, 1 hour gone. It is 7.30pm now. Relax for a while, do some grocery shopping. START MY WORKOUT AT 8.30pm until around 9.30pm. Take a rest for a while in front of TV/PC while enjoying my post workout meal and also chatting with my flat mates. Around 10pm, I start to prepare my last meal of the day while also preparing my breakfast, healthy snack to eat at the office, and my lunch for the next day. Finish everything around 11pm. Sleep around 11.30pm, which means 8 hours sleep (just nice).

Hectic isn’t it? But I still can make it (even I can maintain my relationship with my girlfriend and other friends). It’s all about commitment, discipline, effort, and determination. If you don’t really want to give the effort, certainly you will NEVER HAVE TIME to workout, which means, YOU WILL NEVER BE IN SHAPE.

Till the next newsletter, be discipline and determined and you will find time to move forward on the road to six pack.

Tobias KG
AMFPT Certified Personal Trainer
AMFPT Certified Sport Nutritionist
Creator of RoadToSixPack.blogspot.com