This Badass has never much liked math - hence my college degree and career focused on writing and communications. But a colleague finding her way to a stronger Badass recently gave me a calculation worth mastering.
It goes like this: (7 x 24) - (7 x 7) - (50) = 69 = ZERO excuses.
Translation: In any given week, there are 168 hours (7 days x 24 hours). Subtract approximately 7 hours of sleep for all 7 nights, then subtract another 50 hours for work, and you get 69 hours. That is equal to ZERO excuses for why you "don't have time" to work on your fitness and health.
Even if you did just three one-hour workouts a week, you would still have more than 60 hours of free time left. And yes, I know it takes time to commute, clean the house, chauffer the kids, feed the babies, etc. But it doesn't take 69 hours.
So there it is: The Badass Math you can't discount.
My colleague admittedly discounted the math for a long time, convincing herself that with her young child and husband and intense job, she simply "had no time." But finally, in recent weeks, something clicked. She did the calculation, and it left her with a lot of hours.
She realized that "no time" was code for "not ready" and "afraid," as in afraid to try for fear of failing. And "not ready" because, well, sometimes we're just not ready yet to get on the Badass path. Being afraid to get out there for the first time and jog or take a cycling class or lift dumbbells is totally OK - we've all been there.
But there comes a time when we have to be realistic and honest about the time we have and how we're using it. The fact is, as a whole it's human nature to waste time and make excuses.
How many hours do you spend watching TV or surfing Facebook, and could one of those hours be spent at the gym or doing a home exercise session via DVD? For all the time you spend on the phone, could you be (speed) walking and talking at the same time? Could one of those happy hours with the girlfriends or guys be spent taking a kickboxing class together or at least dancing at a nightclub until you break a good sweat?
Being active and healthy doesn't have to mean going to the gym and getting on the treadmill every day. It doesn't have to entail monthly membership fees or checks to a personal trainer. JUST MOVE. Find what you enjoy, whether it's rollerskating or surfing or hiking or cycling, and DO IT.
That's my challenge to you this weekend: Calculate how you're spending your time, and find at least one hour to do something active.
Because if you keep making excuses and sitting on your Bad(or not-so-Bad)ass, before you know it you'll be overweight and plagued with all of the things that come with that label - diabetes, high cholesterol, zero energy, low self esteem and general discontent and unhappiness.
And we all know there's nothing Badass about that.
Coming next week: Monday's Move; a new recipe or two, and a Butts and Gutts routine!
