Bodybuilding While Working Full Time

Bodybuilding While Working Full Time
September 28, 2005

Many of us don`t have the luxury of being able to focus all of our attention on bodybuilding. Unless your getting paid by a sponsor or making some serious cash doing bodybuilding shows, you almost have to have a stable job to afford the necessities that are needed to having a good body. Assuming most of us work the typical eight hour job, how do we achieve balance between work, bodybuilding, and all the other things we deal with on a daily basis. This article was written for the bodybuilders who want to bodybuild as well as work a full time job.

When we come home from work, most of us feel to tired to even cook dinner, let alone exercise. Not only do we have to motivate ourselves to put down the remote and hop on the treadmill, but we also have to sacrafice some things for the sake of bodybuilding. We have to develop a balance between our jobs, bodybuilding, family, and our social life. Who wouldn`t rather go to a club with a group of friends instead of going to the gym putting yourself through an hour of torture? This is when dedication becomes very important.

When we bodybuild we already create a bit of discipline for ourselves so making sacrafices is just a part of the game. It`s going to become tougher to maintain that discipline when working a job full time because of all the added stress a job can do to you. You have to be able to persevere through all the obstacles. Once you do that, you will feel on top of the world once you achieve your fitness goals. Just don`t get cocky and have to restart the process all over again. Set yourself up with a goal to improve on the goal you just met and never become satisfied.

So how can you accomplish any of your fitness goals when your locked up a job eight to ten hours a day? It`s very simple! Get organized. Write down everything you can do to achieve your goals. You also need to write down everything that gets in your way of achieving those goals and always look for a way forward. If your job is manual labor where it is physically demanding then you should consider work as part of your training routine. That way you kill two birds with one stone so to speak. Find out how many calories you`ve burnt throughout the day working and replenish your glycogen stores during and after work. Then you can exercise some of the muscle groups you didn`t hit at work and you will feel good about yourself for making an attempt to better yourself.

You are going to have days where you feel overworked, stressed, and feel that everything in the world is coming down on you. These are the days when you should treat yourself to something out of the ordinary like a cheat meal or consider going out to the club with a group of friends. Just keep everything in moderation. You can can accomplish anything you want in life if you stick to your plan of attack and stay focused. Good Luck.

Fuk Man Ur Crying Im On Apprenticeship Full Time And Look At Me Man Im Dealing With It. And Im On **** Money Man First Year Apprentice Try 6.8 An Hour $236 Bucks A Week 38 Hour Work Each Week

I Get 2 Breaks At Work I Just Eat Hard Out Go Gym 3 Days A Week Monday Wedneasday Friday.

Iv Been Lifting For 11 Months And Gained 39 Pounds Of Lean Muscle No Bulking Its Cause Im Fuking Dedicated

[QUOTE=beerman_420]Bodybuilding While Working Full Time
September 28, 2005

Many of us don`t have the luxury of being able to focus all of our attention on bodybuilding. Unless your getting paid by a sponsor or making some serious cash doing bodybuilding shows, you almost have to have a stable job to afford the necessities that are needed to having a good body. Assuming most of us work the typical eight hour job, how do we achieve balance between work, bodybuilding, and all the other things we deal with on a daily basis. This article was written for the bodybuilders who want to bodybuild as well as work a full time job.

When we come home from work, most of us feel to tired to even cook dinner, let alone exercise. Not only do we have to motivate ourselves to put down the remote and hop on the treadmill, but we also have to sacrafice some things for the sake of bodybuilding. We have to develop a balance between our jobs, bodybuilding, family, and our social life. Who wouldn`t rather go to a club with a group of friends instead of going to the gym putting yourself through an hour of torture? This is when dedication becomes very important.

When we bodybuild we already create a bit of discipline for ourselves so making sacrafices is just a part of the game. It`s going to become tougher to maintain that discipline when working a job full time because of all the added stress a job can do to you. You have to be able to persevere through all the obstacles. Once you do that, you will feel on top of the world once you achieve your fitness goals. Just don`t get cocky and have to restart the process all over again. Set yourself up with a goal to improve on the goal you just met and never become satisfied.

So how can you accomplish any of your fitness goals when your locked up a job eight to ten hours a day? It`s very simple! Get organized. Write down everything you can do to achieve your goals. You also need to write down everything that gets in your way of achieving those goals and always look for a way forward. If your job is manual labor where it is physically demanding then you should consider work as part of your training routine. That way you kill two birds with one stone so to speak. Find out how many calories you`ve burnt throughout the day working and replenish your glycogen stores during and after work. Then you can exercise some of the muscle groups you didn`t hit at work and you will feel good about yourself for making an attempt to better yourself.

You are going to have days where you feel overworked, stressed, and feel that everything in the world is coming down on you. These are the days when you should treat yourself to something out of the ordinary like a cheat meal or consider going out to the club with a group of friends. Just keep everything in moderation. You can can accomplish anything you want in life if you stick to your plan of attack and stay focused. Good Luck.[/QUOTE]
I deff know what you are talking about i own a gas station and i work 75+ hours a week..the only good thing i can eat when i want!!!!!but man i get sooo tired!!!!!!

Think it's a challenge at 20 years old, wait 'til your'e 35 plus, get kids, aging parents and in laws who need help caring for themselves, etc etc etc. I've been working out for 20 plus years. When I was 18 - 25, it was 5 - 6 days a week, 1.5 - 3 hours a day without fail. Now, I'm lucky to get 30 - 45 minutes a day 3 days a week, but I don't stop. Hate to say it, but it doesn't get easier. So hit the gym as much as you can now and build that strong base.

If you are dedicated to it, you'll find a way, even if it means foregoing an afternoon out with your buds, or an 8 hour night of sleep (early am training), or whatever. When life happens, that's when you find out who's really dedicated. Most guys I know quit once they had kids, got married, etc.

Think it's a challenge at 20? Wait 'til your'e 35, kids, aging parents and in laws that need help daily, etc, etc. When I was 17 - 25, I worked out 5 - 6 days a week, 1.5 - 3 hours a day without fail. Although I haven't quit, I'm doing good to get 30 - 45 minutes a day 3 days a week, sometimes I have to sacrifice my 6 hours a night sleep for a 5 am workout and 4 hours of sleep just to make it to the gym.

If you are truly dedicated, you'll find a way to at the very least maintain what you worked hard for in the early years. Hit the gym as much as you can while your responsibilities are fewer than they'll be in the future. Most guys I trained with 15 - 20 years ago now look like hell because when life happened to them, the gym was the first thing they left behind, because it was a hobby, to them not a way of life.

You think it's a challenge at 20, wait til you have kids, aging parents and in laws who need help, etc, etc. I went from 5 - 6 days a week 1.5 - 3 hours a day when I was 18 - 25. Since then (13 years) I'm lucky to get 30 - 45 minutes 3 days a week- but when time is tight, you make it really count, and cut out all the bs when you train. I've even had to forego a 6 hour night's sleep to get up at 4:oo am to train for a period when tha twas my only option.

If you are really dedicated, you'll make it happen. most guys I trained with back in the day haven't been to the gym in years - when "life happened", the gym was the first to go - and it really shows on them. Train all you can now, because life isn't always the same.

I have been working full-time and going to graduate school in economics full-time now for two semesters. For the first two semesters, I could workout after work on the days I didn't have class. Unfortunately, this semester I have to start writing a thesis and my classes are actually (for once) pretty intense! I have never been able to wake up and workout, but I started doing that this week. How do I do it? I haven't answered that question, nor do I want to or need to. I just do it!!!!! When you get home from work and start thinking "should I go to the gym or shouldn't I?". Before you even begin thinking (because it is oh so easy to find excuses), stop yourself and go! Don't think, just do it!! It kind of sucks that Nike has ruined that phrase, but I now live by it: Just Do It!! I go to the gym, go to work, go to school, and go to bed at 10 in order to repeat it the next morning at 5:30, and how do I do it? I don't know, nor do I care: I just do it!!!!!

Good Liftin'!!

P.S.
I'm off to the Olympia tomorrow!! Each year it gets better. For those that are into lifting, fitness, health, gambling, womaninizing, and drinking (some of those are contradictory but what the hell, I'm on vacation) you should try the Olympia Weekend!!!!!!!!!

Great article, two thumbs up.

Hey Beerman_420, great article. (Love your nick, btw)

I myself am a sysadmin for a large midwest bank. I work downtown, gym is in my basement at home.

Your thoughts on maintaining a balance are excellent. I think its important to mention that its a potential trap to get frustrated by all the other 'energy required intrusions' on the sport. My new baby girl, midnight calls from work, etc, sometimes preclude the good night sleep I need, or trumps the time required to get in a proper meal. In addition, there's a marriage to maintain (requiring lots of time), social involvements to maintain... the list goes on and on.

I think its important not to lose the perspective that is so easy to get simply by walking around the office. Just the fact that we're working out and minding our diets put us in the top 5% of the general population on the physical fitness scale. Just because we're not as shredded and swole as we know we could be does NOT mean we're not proud to take our shirts off. The "other 95%" seem to place their lifestyle priorities in less physical persuits. Fine by me, because I know what makes me happy.

For those of us working schmucks, taking the long term approach seems to be the only way to go. Slow and steady seems to be the rule for success. Sure, it could be possible to fanatically devote onesself to diet and training, and if you have that drive, fantastic. In my case, I'm able to make BB'ing a balanced part of my life and enjoy its rewards. For example, when I'm under the bar and squatting heavy at home, its truly ME time. No one else interferes with that and I can quietly go to work the next day, proud of the 50 pounds I have added to my squats over the last two months, knowing that no one else in my building has probably achieved such strength gains.

I do most of my training at home as I have a reasonable amount of equipment.
Like yourself I work full time 5 days a week alternating between day and afternoon shifts. I know I have to train 4 days a week so when I get home I head straight for my gym. If I delay it any longer like watching a bit of tv on the sofa I become tired and sleepy. I know which body parts I will train that day
and that is what I focus on. When I am training I find that I can block out things
that happened that day and I find after training I am more relaxed than before training. I am not sure who came up whith this saying which says that the mind gives out before the body but I know arnold swarzenegger when he was training blocked out all outside happenings in his life and so could train 100% most of the time.

Great Article! I must admit, it is hard at time.



-Spaz