There aren’t many things I’d regard myself as an expert in, but ‘cramming sport into an already time-crunched life’ would definitely be one of them. In between 50+ hour work weeks, tiring London tube commutes, and whatever social / family life I can manage, it can be hard to see how exercise fits in.
Nevertheless, it’s possible. I’ve been inspired by numerous elite triathletes who’ve managed high training loads alongside demanding professional careers: Lucy Gossage, 5x winner of Ironman UK but also an Oncologist; Tara Grosvenor, top GB Age-Group (and recently professional) triathlete whilst also a Manager at TSB Bank; and Ruth Purbrook, Ironman Age Group World Champion who happens to also work c.70 hours a week.
So when I decided I wanted to try and qualify for the GB Age-Group duathlon team, I realised I couldn’t let ‘lack of time’ be an excuse. Through a bit of trial-and-error, learning from other people, and sheer stubbornness to make things work, I’ve come up with a few guidelines to help create a satisfactory work-sport balance.
In true Consulting fashion, these guidelines take the form of a three-part roadmap. To change your work-sport balance, you have to change three things: your Mindset, your Actions, and your Environment.
1. Mindset
First, don’t hide behind the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse — recognise that you can always make time for things that are important (Laura Vanderkam puts it nicely in this Ted talk).
Second, get clear on why you want to exercise. Physical health benefits? Mental wellbeing? Improved sleep? Better concentration at work? Socialising? Achieve a particular race time or challenge? You’ll give up at some point if you’re not fully convinced that exercise is important, so do the research, and remind yourself daily of your personal motivation.
Third, make a list of your priorities in all areas of life: work, relationships, hobbies. Where does exercise fit in? What are you prepared to compromise? Supermen/women don’t exist, so it’s best to face up to that from the get-go.
2. Actions
Now you’ve got the right mindset, you’re ready to go!
Start by critically assessing your current work / life schedule. Where can exercise realistically fit, without compromising higher priorities? I like using my commute time to run to work (I’ll write some tips on this in a future post!)
Three traps to avoid:
- “I can fit a 30 minute run into a 30 minute lunch break.” Don’t fool yourself. After changing, inevitably getting caught in a conversation with a colleague on the way out, and showing afterwards, you’re looking at 10–15 minutes, max.
- “More is always better”. Not necessarily. While you can get positive adaptations from higher volumes of training, it’s important to remember that those adaptations actually occur in the rest periods between sessions. Therefore, there’s absolutely no point cramming in so many sessions that you can’t recover in between, particularly if you also have a busy / stressful work or life situation to contend with as well.
- “I’ll get up an hour earlier / go to bed an hour later to fit in exercise.” Only if you’re already sleeping over 10 hours per night, which I’m 100% convinced is not the case for anyone reading this article. Read Why We Sleep by scientist Matthew Walker, and you’ll understand why I’m horrified by anyone who regularly subjects themselves to less than 7 hours sleep. In a trade-off between getting 7–8 hours sleep and exercising, sleep wins.
Once you’ve got your training availability, the next step is to optimise that time. Browse the billions of ‘how-to-train-for-a-*insert race type here*’ articles online and educate yourself about different types of training. What sessions will most effectively help you meet your goals in the time you have available? Could you maximise fitness gains with high-intensity training, or are you looking to go slow and develop endurance? If you know you’re likely to lose motivation by yourself, practice ‘self-binding’ and pay for sessions or commit to going with a friend in advance.
Finally, being able to follow through with your plan is all about communication. Give early warning and be clear with your family and colleagues as to when you are planning to exercise, how long it will take, and how you will still meet work or family obligations. If you have to leave work before the rest of the team, show flexibility: maybe you can come in earlier the next day. Remember that being focused and efficient will ultimately result in a better product for the client.
3. Environment
You can try to do all this by yourself, but it can be lonely and demoralising when no-one around you shares the vision. Solution: change the culture. The more your colleagues and bosses are happy to take time out of a working day to work out, the easier it will be for you to do the same. This is certainly a long and sometimes frustrating process, but you might be surprised how much of a difference you could make.
Step one is to find your allies. Talk to colleagues, seek out people who also prioritise fitness and wellbeing, share ideas, offer support, and jointly create a vision to foster a sports-friendly environment at work.
Step two is to identify key leaders or gatekeepers in your organisation needed to support new fitness initiatives, and present the business case. Aside from the physical necessities of being active, studies have shown sport to be a highly effective way of reducing stress and improving mental health. Plus, from a corporate perspective, employees that regularly exercise have been shown to be more productive at work, and office-based activities can boost morale, enhance teamwork, and foster a greater sense of community.
Finally, just start with something, however small or informal. Whether that’s inviting colleagues to join you for a Parkrun event at the weekend; advertising a gym membership discount; setting up a casual lunch-time jogging group; or organising an office-wide fitness challenge. You have to start somewhere, and little things do add up in the long term.
So, did it work? Did I find enough time to train to manage to qualify for the GB Age-Group team? Find out next week in the final post of this series about my journey in triathlon…
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