COVID times we're difficult...

[rynosaurus1234]

This question is for those working extremely business lives:

I know this isn't a new story by any means and probably sounds familiar, but since COVID came around and gyms shutdown, I've really fallen off my game and haven't gotten back on the horse.

2018 - 2019 I was at the peak of my physique (not that I was a bodybuilder, but I was at least an avid gym-goer and always had my eye on what the pros do). 180lbs and a fair amount of muscle.

I went from my "best" to my absolute "worst" here today typing this message and have put on plenty of fat sitting at 190 (6ft) and have not done anything at all for retaining my muscle. To put this in perspective, I dipped from my 180 to 170 when I stopped working out (muscle loss) while having awful nutrition and then gained back to 190. Those are some pretty large swings in my opinion.

Compounding my difficulty getting back on the horse, I have a software consultancy and have also just started as 2nd new business where I have everything on the line financially at the moment. I live, sleep, dream this. I'm working anywhere from 55-70 hours a week and trying to maintain life balance with marriage, kids, holidays, etc.

All this said, I find that I'm in the land of excuses. I've always balked (in my own mind, never to their faces) at peoples excuses, but now find myself not prioritizing my fitness like others often do.

In your very busy life with businesses, family, etc. How do you keep focused and how to do you squeeze in some sort of effective workout routine, whether that be at the gym, or some other hack routine to keep things from sliding backwards?

I'm interested to hear your workout hacks and if you have any other suggestions of focus for me given the transition of where I was vs. where I am physically.

[coachcalande]

This question is for those working extremely business lives:

I know this isn't a new story by any means and probably sounds familiar, but since COVID came around and gyms shutdown, I've really fallen off my game and haven't gotten back on the horse.

2018 - 2019 I was at the peak of my physique (not that I was a bodybuilder, but I was at least an avid gym-goer and always had my eye on what the pros do). 180lbs and a fair amount of muscle.

I went from my "best" to my absolute "worst" here today typing this message and have put on plenty of fat sitting at 190 (6ft) and have not done anything at all for retaining my muscle. To put this in perspective, I dipped from my 180 to 170 when I stopped working out (muscle loss) while having awful nutrition and then gained back to 190. Those are some pretty large swings in my opinion.

Compounding my difficulty getting back on the horse, I have a software consultancy and have also just started as 2nd new business where I have everything on the line financially at the moment. I live, sleep, dream this. I'm working anywhere from 55-70 hours a week and trying to maintain life balance with marriage, kids, holidays, etc.

All this said, I find that I'm in the land of excuses. I've always balked (in my own mind, never to their faces) at peoples excuses, but now find myself not prioritizing my fitness like others often do.

In your very busy life with businesses, family, etc. How do you keep focused and how to do you squeeze in some sort of effective workout routine, whether that be at the gym, or some other hack routine to keep things from sliding backwards?

I'm interested to hear your workout hacks and if you have any other suggestions of focus for me given the transition of where I was vs. where I am physically.

I now know how to use 20-30 min in the morning to get a lot done.

Here’s an example of two thirty min bodybuilding workouts that I do before work.

5:00-5:20 alternate chest and back sets bench /row, incline/pulldowns
5:20-5:30 shoulders …shoulder press/upright row



Here’s my leg day

5:00-5:20. Squats and front squats
5:20-5:30 giant sets of leg extensions, bis, tris, leg curls


So by planning time slots vs sets n reps….it gives me peace of mind

[air2fakie]

Personally I find it less stressful & time consuming to just work out ~ 4 days/week than to constantly think about how I'm so busy that I can't work out or get healthy. (srs)

[CW47]

I mean, I think you answered this yourself. You're not prioritizing it. If you honestly have other things that are higher priority, then maybe you just shouldn't be worrying about it right now? But if you feel your priorities are out of whack, just move it up your list.

Like Coach said, you can get a lot done in 20-30 minutes. That's typically all I do in a day, and have found it to work better for me to do that 6-7 days per week than doing an hour 4 times per week. If you have a calendar you use for planning, just schedule the time you need and treat it like anything else on your calendar that's important. And consistency is important too. Try to find a time slot that works consistently (ideally around the same time every day).

[nick5569]

I think a common problem is people assume that you need to be in the gym for 1-2 hours/day 4-5 times/week to stay fit

and if they don't have THAT much time to spare then they figure it's not worth it to do anything


When Covid closed our gyms I literally just did pullups and a jog on saturdays (took like 45mins) and Shoulder press with dumbbells and some abs stuff on wednesdays (took like 30 minutes)

and stopped drinking because bars were closed
(I went on like this for over a year and a half)


Got into the best shape of my life

legit had 8pack abs for the first time ever and it all felt effortless


Diet doesn't take much time IMO it just takes priority and self control (especially if you have the money to buy wholesome ingredients)

[rynosaurus1234]

Thanks all for the great feedback which also resulted in encouragement for myself.

Wishing you all success in your fitness journeys.