How best to exercise as a busy business owner

First let me say that I strongly believe, the best way to train, is to do whatever means you are regularly moving. To a similar point, “what is the best time to train”, well it is whenever you can fit it in (get it done).

If we have a passion for a style of training or a sport, then that is awesome. If you love tennis, play tennis, if you love to swim, swim, if you love soccer play soccer, if you love lifting heavy things then lift heavy things. What is critical to maintaining movement over the long term, is to do what you enjoy. Classic example of what highlights this point is when a person says, “I am going to get fit” and they join a gym. However, they do not like the environment of being in a gym, so when they decide to even show up, they give about 60% effort.

As a busy business owner, time is often a luxury and there can be travel demands that come with the territory. So what are the rules I believe are critical to maintaining your health, fitness and strength as a busy business owner:

1. Well, I have to go back to my first point. Do what you love. If you only get to do this once a week, that is ok. It could be riding or playing a team sport on a weekend for example. But spending time on things we are passionate about is so important to joy and happiness. Not only this, when you show up, you show up happy and engaged. This is noticed by other people and helps build friendships, networks and may even create business opportunities.
2. Again, I have to mention my second point and that is, do not get fixated on time of the day to train. Set yourself a number of training/sports sessions and make that the goal. Structure is fantastic for building a commitment to anything, it helps build the routine, but sometimes these routines are challenged. The strength is then in re-allocating that training/sport session to another time in the day or another day of the week. If it works, you can even split the gym style training or running (examples) up over two smaller sessions in a day if that helps in getting it done! Same benefits. Yes, there is some evidence that weight training later in the day after a period of waking and fueling may yield better results (lift heavier) but reflect upon the goal. Is it to get the training done, or smash PB’s constantly. Some will say cardio in the morning is the best as you can easily do this fasted. Again, what is the goal?
3. Diversity is the key to long term adherence to fitness. What am I saying here? Well, sometimes we cannot do the style of training we had planned. We may have family commitments comes up, the weather may be a factor or, common for those who travel for work (like me), you may not have access to the equipment or modality you would like. If your love is cycling, CrossFit, powerlifting, swimming etc. the hotel gym may not be able to accommodate this, and sometimes there is not a facility close by. So, here is the perfect example of being able to diversify. Hop on a treadmill, use a rowing machine, do a dumbbell full body workout or go for a walk/run. The key objective should always be to just MOVE. Having the ability to be diversified in training is key to longevity of adherence as it prevents ‘lost movement days’.
4. Duration V Intensity. Each modality of training comes with its own physical and mental benefits. The mental and physical reward of hitting a PR on your 1RM (rep max) deadlift can be just as rewarding as achieving your fastest time for a 24km trail run. They also both come with their independent physical/health benefits. When time availability is varied in a week, be open to spending time across various segments of training structure. E.g.

• Low Duration & High Intensity e.g. CrossFit/ HIIT: 5min – 21min workouts
• Medium Duration & Medium Intensity e.g. Team sports or self-training in a gym setting, ride, run, swim: 45min – 90min
• High Duration & Lower Intensity e.g. Long flats ride, slow paced run, hike, walk: 90min++

Be open to exploring all areas of the spectrum and experiencing the benefits they all have to offer. This also enables you to maximise the time available to you.

Fitness is something we must all make a realistic commitment to each week. 3 days, 4 days, 5 days or 6 days. Be honest with yourself and be totally present and focused on the days/times you allocate to movement. Little to no benefit will be made if you are not present, engaged, and focused, instead you are distracted, time constrained and not engaged in the movement. Do the style of training/sport that you enjoy when you can. We must spend time on the things we love. When you cannot do it/play it, immerse yourself in it via podcasts, videos, and articles. The times you need to move, but cannot play your chosen sport or fitness type, be malleable with what you can do. Be able to run, be able to swim, be able to lift weights. All will provide you benefits over the long term.