Lack of time is one of the most common excuses people give for not being able to stick to a training regime. People work nine to five, lead busy social lives, have families to look after... how can they be expected to fit in a fitness workout? Well to be honest we waste several hours a day through procrastination or doing one thing alone when we could be doing several. Below are some tips and tricks to cut the waste out of your daily grind so that you can find more time for your fitness workouts. Now you've got no excuse...

Recently I've had a lot of balls in the air (stop chuckling). I've been writing my dissertation, dating, writing essays, going out, maintaining my website, attending lectures, writing a book, keeping up my training and trying to keep my family together. Just today I managed to go to bind and hand in my dissertation, attend a lecture, chase up a loan, write this article, cook dinner for me and my friend, go to the gym, go to a very strange meeting with a crazy psychologist who just stared at me for an hour (a great way to use my time), buy some stuff from town and read the 'Secret Invasion' TPB. Yesterday I managed to finish the second edition of Project Superman, proof read my dissertation, go to circuits, have lunch with my girlfriend, attend two lectures, phone my Mum, go to a comedy night and read 'Invincible Iron Man' TPB (I read lots of comics). Fitting in workouts can be tricky when your to do list is as long as your arm (or the arm of someone a bit taller...) so how can you make sure you manage to fit in your fitness workouts?

The important thing to note here is that both days I read graphic novels featuring Iron Man. You don't have to spend long time in my company to realise that he is a major inspiration for me (yes I’m a geek). While I put on Rocky Balboa when I need to get psyched for training, I always put on Iron Man when I need to get myself in a productive frame of mind. In case you haven't read it here elsewhere before, Tony Stark (that's Iron Man's real name... keep up), is hardwired into all the communications technology on Earth, has a suit of invincible armour, runs the avengers, runs Stark International (an electronics and weapons manufacturer) and is head of the peace keeping force 'Shield'. He's also a playboy millionaire. So at any one time he'll be in combat with a super-powered villain while simultaneously giving a presentation over video phone at a board meeting. He'll then slip off the suit for a date with a hot model.

Okay so my life isn't quite like that, but man I wish it was. That said though, there are certainly many ways you can squeeze a few more hours into your day and become hyper productive, and like Iron Man, technology can seriously help in that department. Here I'll list a few of the techniques I employ and a few that I save for more hardcore situations. Bare in mind however that I leave some of these alone for a reason (for example the caffeine tablets) – they can lead to burn-out. Trust me, I speak from experience, and if you reach that point your body will punish you and the time you'll spend recovering will have made all your work pointless. Still, I mention them here so you can make an informed decision yourself.

Run Everywhere:

Seriously, if you run everywhere you can cut lots of wasted time out of your day and at the same time it's incidental training making it a fitness workout in itself. This way you’re not wasting time doing a fitness workout – you’re actually using the workout to achieve something… and achieve it more quickly. Plus it re-energises you and there's really no reason not to (other than arriving everywhere sweaty and out of breath...). Of course if you do this you'll need some decent trainers. Might I recommend something by Springboost with some good old Spingsoles slipped in for good measure. The former being a make of trainer, the latter being a special insole that improves speed and lessens impact.

Train Everywhere:

As well as running places you can train while working. Either by writing between sets of exercise, by curling a dumbbell while typing or by squatting while on the phone. Similarly you can curl weights while watching TV meaning it becomes your leisure time, or with a friend, making it your social time.

Use Hands-Free:

Now we're getting into Iron Man territory. Need to walk into town? Drive on the motorway? Well you can easily sort out your bills or chat to your Mum at the same time as keeping your hands free for other jobs thus killing two birds with one stone. Time saved. You can even do a workout while talking hands-free but be aware that this is frowned upon in most gyms.

Shop Online:

Then again why walk into town at all when you can do it all from the comfort of your desk? Get your online banking sorted too.

Get an iPhone:

Seriously, round the clock 3G internet connection is simply a must. It's one of those things that you won't be able to live without once you get a taste. I have mine set to ping every fifteen minutes if I get a new e-mail, then I can read it like a txt and answer on the fly. That's pretty impressive stuff. I sorted out my dissertation question while in the pub. Tony Stark eat your heart out.

Get an iPhone Continued:

Then of course there're the other apps. Get lost and use the GPS to track your location and view a detailed map of the area. Or use 'NearMe' to find your nearest restaurant or pub. I also have FTP software on there so I can use my website server to store files or edit the site on the fly. I can even check the site's earnings using i-Earn. Seriously this baby has saved me countless trips to my computer and been a lifeline when the internet goes down in flimsy Bournemouth. Then there's the Dictaphone that I use to record lectures... and to frame people.

I also find it's psychologically beneficial to give all my hardware cool names (how cool did it sound when I just said the Biomatrix server? Love the name of my site).

I call my phone my Communications Deck.

Get a PDA:

Okay if you don't get a cool phone getting a PDA will do something similar for you (getting both is even better if you have the cash). They're also great for you sex life... okay that's a lie girls think they're sad. I recommend the XDA exec – I use mine for writing essays on the train, writing programmes in BASIC, playing emulated DOS games and as a universal remote so I'm not constantly searching for the TV box.

Get a Memory Stick:

I call mine The Shard. It has my five greatest creations on it. This way you can work from anywhere – got ten minutes to kill at a friend's house while they shower? Sort out your finances or get ahead with some work on their PC.

Get Some Webspace:

Even better than a memory stick is being able to upload all my work in progress to the website server then download or edit it as and when. Even on my iPhone which now has the aforementioned FTP download.

Caffeine Tablets:

These should really only be considered as a last ditch effort. They keep you up and re-energise you allowing you to work or do a fitness workout at more obscure hours and they really do work (although they're meant to have the same amounts of caffeine as a regular cup of coffee the delivery system means you feel much more of a boost much quicker). The downsides are the way it affects your body clock, gives you jitters, an increased heart rate and a headache. For these reasons I really can't recommend it as a workout enhancer and suspect it's quite likely to increase the likelihood of a heart attack.

Guarana:

Now we're talking... Guarana is a natural alternative to caffeine which I find has a much gentler but certainly noticeable effect. If you find that you're procrastinating and wasting time, guarana is a great way to get yourself to focus and really concentrate on the task in hand – thus freeing up more time for your fitness workouts.

Get a Laptop:

Seriously if you haven't already, getting a laptop over a full-sized computer will save you bags of time. Especially if you get one that's wireless enabled, or better yet 3G. This way you can work on the train, or in the living room with housemates/family while being 'sociable'. Remember socialising is another thing that can't be completely avoided (unfortunately) so you need to find some time to fit that in too. I call my laptop my Mobile Command Centre. Yes I do need to get a life but I'm showing no signs of getting one soon.

Make Notes:

Taking notes at opportune times reminds you what you're meant to be doing during inopportune times.

Polyphasic Sleep Cycles:

These involve sleeping for very random points during the day for ten minutes at a time with roughly three hour intervals. This drastically lessens the time you'll spend sleeping and is allegedly enough for our bodies to function when spaced like this (apparently Margaret Thatcher actually did something similar). However I would strongly advise against it having found myself unable to adapt at all. Remember me talking about burnout and feeling terrible? Well that's what will happen if you try polyphasic sleep cycles. Try it if you like, but I can't recommend it.

Procrastinate Less:

Okay so I know that’s easier said than done. But the secret to knowing how to procrastinate less is to know what causes procrastination. In short we procrastinate when we get bored, when we don’t want to do a task, when our mind is wandering. One time we procrastinate a lot is before a workout… In order to cure procrastination then we need to make the task in hand more exciting. One way to do this is to have music on in the background or to make the task into a game or challenge – see how fast you can do it, or try doing it in an unusual way. Another one is to play music, which distracts the ‘creative’ side of your brain so the serious side can work.

Get Distracted Less:

Again, easier said than done I know, but there are ways you can do this. Distraction again comes often when you’re bored – waiting for the PC to load or similar. If this means you head over to Facebook or Blogger it’s game over. Get yourself a desk toy then to play with and you’ll still get distracted but at least it won’t hold your attention for ages and ruin your day.

Get a Stop Watch:

Set time limits on everything you do. Particularly when working out, make the resting periods as short as possible. Not only will this make the actual fitness workouts much quicker (enabling you to fit them in more easily), but it will also make them more intense meaning more muscle growth. Similarly time journeys places, breaks, dog walks and anything else – beat the clock and find yourself shaving valuable minutes off everything you do.

Mack LeMouse

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