Addition by Subtraction

One constant in my life is an assault on my time by everyone and everything. Five minutes to do this 10 minutes to do that. It all adds up until there is no more time left in my day. I know I am not alone. It seems to be a prerequisite to getting older. 

How do you carve out time to train and take care of your health? 

The answer is easy…stop wasting time doing doing unproductive activities. This goes for fitness and in the gym as well. Are you doing side lateral raises? Concentration curls? Using any machine? Yep, you guessed it, wasting your time. 

When I started training, it was at the tail end of the 80’s bodybuilding culture. In many respects the bodybuilders and powerlifters back then had more right than they do today. The exercises where straight forward and simple, squats, deadlifts, military presses, dips, pull-ups, bench presses. There wasn't a whole lot of choice as the machines of the day were crappy. Most gym rats didn't want to be seen using a nautilus ab curler, the insults would fly!

Nutrition was simple as well. While the rest of the world was experimenting with microwave dinners, bodybuilders were eating clean. When I was getting ready for my first bodybuilding show, a pro bodybuilder that worked out at my gym gave me the advice to eat only natural foods in proper proportions. Wow, that eliminated the majority of the crap I was eating, but it worked. 

Why the reminiscing? The training was simple, nutrition was simple and strength athletes were in amazing shape. During the 90’s and 2000’s there have been tremendous developments in machines and engineered foods. All these choices have everyone running around performing crazy analysis, promising huge gains and improvements in performance. I will save everyone a ton of time and money, it is all junk and a waste of time. Remove the choices of what protein powder or meal replacement pack you should be using. Stick with whole foods, free weights and bodyweight exercises.

For the month of February, remove the things in your fitness regimen that are not worth their weight in time. Some common removables:

  • fitness machines 
  • isolation exercises (unless you are actually a bodybuilder)
  • cardio equipment - get outside (may be unrealistic, but have to try)
  • wraps, straps, belts, etc. 
  • processed foods
  • protein powders, meal replacement packs, etc

Removing particular choices, such as the use of machines for training, can be liberating. You will have more time to do productive activities, and probably will spend less time in the gym as a result. Take action and simplify your training. Hit me up with some feedback, I love to hear your comments.