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Blog
March 31, 2023
How to Get Started with Fitness When You Feel Like You Have No Time
Well, hello there!
If you don’t know who I am, my name is Dusty, and I’m the operations manager here at Hybrid Fitness. I also coach & train from time to time. As a coach, I find it extremely important to be able to have those really tough conversations with members and clients (and to be quite honest, even myself) when needed. This is generally in the sense of helping someone overcome an obstacle when they think all hope is lost, all while keeping their best interest in mind. These conversations aren’t always easy to have, nor are they easy to accept. But, that’s part of the growth process and why you have a coach; to guide and challenge you in order to reach your goals.
So in the sense of trying to help more people, I figured I would touch on some topics from time to time that are generated around these tough conversations. Now I’m sure that not everyone will agree with what I have to say, and that’s okay. I just ask that you be open to challenging your current way of thinking and maybe, just maybe, it will help you start a revelation of your own!
If you are, let’s dive into this week’s topic!
When it comes to personal fitness & overall health, there’s generally a barrier to getting started for the majority of people. And, if I was to pick, the number one excuse has got to be “I don’t have time”. While it may seem like a valid excuse in the moment, the truth is that lack of time is rarely the real issue.
Yes, I’ve labeled it an excuse and this may not sit well with some.
Don’t get me wrong, not everyone’s 24 hours is the same. I understand that. But, we all do have 24 hours in a day. What you CHOOSE to do with those 24 hours is completely up to you. Whether you are a busy parent juggling multiple jobs all while continuing your education, or a business owner wearing multiple hats just to keep the doors open (yes, those are both choices), if you truly value your health and fitness, you’ll find a way to make time for it.
It all comes down to whether or not you value it enough to make it a priority.
Why is it that you keep telling yourself that you should start going to the gym or improve your nutrition?
Is it because you want to lead by example and be a positive influence for your family?
Maybe you want to be around long enough to watch your grandkids grow up?
Perhaps you enjoy things like traveling, hiking, or playing sports and don’t want anything to get in the way of being able to do it?
Or maybe you just want to feel better in your own skin?
Uncover your why and use it to drive you!
Here’s the thing. Exercising doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. If you currently aren’t doing anything, even just 30 minutes one day per week is going to be 100% more than what you’re doing now. Start slow, start small, and slowly build upon what you can be consistent with. It’s not an all or nothing thing. Meet yourself where you currently are and just try to improve upon it over time.
Even then, you don’t need to exercise 2 hours a day. In all honesty, you don’t even need to exercise every day to see benefits or results. If you could eventually work your way up to 5 hours per week, you’d be doing better than most. 5 hours. That’s 3% of your entire week. 3%!!!
Not so daunting when I put it like that, is it? And I would even bet my life savings on the fact that once you start noticing positive changes due to your increased activity, you would automatically begin prioritizing it and it would somehow find its way into your busy life without you even having to force it.
But, let’s assume you’re not quite there yet, or you’ve even proven me wrong and I currently have nothing left in my retirement accounts. What are some actionable things you can do to open up your schedule for what’s most important to you?
In some cases, it’s not that we have to find time for these things, but rather we need to MAKE time for them.
“I’ll just start going to the gym once my schedule opens up”.
This would be fantastic if that were actually true, but what I typically find is that how someone manages their time is very unlikely to change. Most of us will just find something else to fill that void because we’ve established a particular workload threshold so to speak. That, or we’ll establish and fill it with poor habits such as scrolling through TikTok or binge watching the top trending show on Netflix (Stranger Things, am I right?!).
Anyway, back to the actionable steps…
They really come down to simply just auditing how you spend your time. The first one is much simpler, but if that one doesn’t get the job done (I can’t imagine it won’t), perhaps the second will.
Numero Uno!
We are surrounded by tech and for some of us, it can be all consuming. Luckily, not all use their powers for evil! Whether you’ve got an iPhone or an Android, you’ve probably got a cool little app already installed on your device that will tell you just how much time you spend on it! Not only that, but it will even break down how much time you spend on individual apps (for Apple users, it’s called “Screen Time”. For Android users, “Digital Wellbeing”)!
Now, these apps are only going to tell you how much time you spend mindlessly scrolling through social media, playing mindless games, or watching cat videos. They won’t actually provide any value unless you actually use that information and make the change yourself by replacing the hours of screen time with hours of gym time.
“But Dusty, I don’t spend time staring at a screen”.
Well, grab your quill and ink, because we are going the old fashioned way for step number two!
Create a written log for how you spend your time everyday. You can start by writing down what you do during each hour of the day. If you still can’t uncover areas of wasted time, knock it down to 30 minute blocks or even 15 minute blocks.
You might find that there are blocks of time where you are just wasting time doing mindless things, or that you actually do have time, but just in smaller chunks throughout the day. Managing your busy blocks closer together might open a bigger empty block at other times.
I know it doesn’t sound fun, but just remember your “why” that we talked about earlier. That should make it worth it. If not, and this might sound awful, but you probably just don’t care enough (see what I mean by “tough conversations”?).
Creating awareness is the key to change. It may be a tough pill to swallow, but it’s the catalyst that could very well change your life for the better.
Ultimately, not having enough time is generally a terrible excuse when it comes to exercising (hell, it’s a terrible excuse for anything if it’s something you truly value doing). There are plenty of ways to fit exercise into even the busiest schedule, and it’s up to us to make our health a priority. By making a commitment to exercise regularly, we’ll not only improve our physical health, but also our mental and emotional well-being. And when you take care of yourself, you have more to offer to those you care most about.
Don’t sell yourself short. You’re worth it.
I appreciate the time you took to read my rant, and I hope you were able to take something positive from it. If you’d ever like to ask me a question or even have one of these “real talks” yourself, shoot me an email at Dusty@Hybridfitnessgym.com
Much Love,
Coach Dusty
Growing up, Dusty dealt with weight and confidence issues. Through proper strength training and nutrition, Dusty has changed his body composition, gained confidence, and has reached a much healthier and happy mental state of mind. Having gone through the struggles of obesity, poor relationships with food and exercise, and dealing with insecurities, Dusty has found a passion in guiding those who are going through similar challenges, and help them reach their own goals through personal training and coaching.
March 23, 2023
Coach Brandon Pictures from Egypt
I recently took a trip to Egypt & have a few pictures & thoughts to share.
The Great Pyramids of Giza. The Pyramid of Khefru (481ft) was the tallest structure on Earth from the time of its completion around 2,500BC until the construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1887! Since I was a small child I have been amazed by these pyramids. After seeing them in person I am somehow even more blown away by them than ever before.
The Great Pyramids with the Sphinx in front. The Sphinx has been dated back to around the time of the construction of the Pyramids but new research is showing it potentially could be much older and predate the Pyramids by up to a couple thousand years!
One of our earlier mornings. A sunrise hot air balloon ride over the farmlands of Luxor. Luxor was once called Thebes and was the first ever capital of ancient Egypt. Definitely a unique and wonderful thing to experience.
Temple of Hatshepsut. Built sometime between 1,500-1,400 BC.
This temple was built for a Pharoah with a very interesting story of how she gained and kept her rule by sending her stepson (the rightful heir to the throne) to Sudan. She ruled for multiple decades after. After she passed away her stepson came back to Egypt and destroyed many of her statues and temples as to try and not let history remember her. He failed, as Queen Hatshepsut was loved by most people she ruled over.
Inside one of the tombs at the Valley of the Kings. Around 1,600BC kings stopped building pyramids and started building chambers in the caves and cliffs of Thebes in an attempt to keep grave robbers out.
The pictures in this tomb are approximately around 3,300 years old but have kept the paint incredibly well due to being buried for so long.
I personally did not have high expectations for the Valley of the Kings but left Egypt with it being one of my favorite stops we had.
Brandon started working out as an athlete in high school, striving to push his limits and reach his full athletic potential. As he spent more and more time working on his own goals, he found a passion in the science of strength & conditioning, and using that new-found knowledge to help others. Brandon is exceptional at giving his clients the extra push to get stronger in a safe manner, while going above and beyond to making sure they feel comfortable and safe.
March 14, 2023
I once wondered….
I have the unique position of being a long-time member of Hybrid Fitness as well as a team member of Hybrid Fitness. I am thinking back to things that I once wondered about.
Is this right for me? Choosing to focus on being healthier is always a good choice because what we focus on is what we get more of. Focusing on good health helps us with more good health!
Do I have time for this? Time is one thing we cannot get more of but we can take a look at how we are currently spending our time & make our decisions accordingly. Is how you are spending your time now in alignment with where you want to be in the future?
What if I can’t do the exercise? This was me to a tee. I got winded quickly, had bad knees, and a slipped disk in my back. I couldn’t do squats & had to be careful with my back. Hybrid was perfect for me because of the professionally trained coaches that knew how to tell me to do each exercise correctly or which exercises to do instead. It snuck up on me, but as I got stronger, I could do squats and other exercises I couldn’t do at the beginning!
Can I afford this? Hindsight is 20/20 and I realize now that battling cancer is way more expensive (mentally & physically) than Hybrid rates plus it’s a lot more fun, you get coached by caring professionals, the workouts are designed for you, and everyone wants you to succeed. I walk in & do what I’m told – lol!
I don’t know anybody. Will I fit in? Your gym time is what you focus on, what you want it to be. It can be solitary, quiet time or it can become a group of friends-fun-time or anywhere in between! We’ve had more than one instance of members meeting, dating, & getting married! We’ve had many instances of best-friend relationships formed. It’s a judgement-free zone & you make it what you want to make it – with a smile, you’ll fit in just fine!
No question, I’m biased! Hybrid is now deeply entwined in my life. It’s my family, passion, and career & I couldn’t have imagined any of this when I had all of these questions back in 2018!
After two years of contemplation, Royan walked through Hybrid’s doors in 2018. Even though she was battling cancer & a slipped disk, walking through that door to ask for help was the hardest thing she had ever done. The Hybrid team of coaches took it from there and the rest is history! Royan is now a Hybrid member as well as a team member, supporting Hunter and Dusty and all of the coaches as needed.
March 2, 2023
Cheeto Fingers will be just one chapter of my life story
Growing up, my Dad worked for the Frito Lay Company…
Which meant that we would have boxes and boxes of the stales (product that had gone beyond expiration date) in our garage at home.
Whatever chip flavor you could imagine, there was an unlimited supply within a few steps from my kitchen.
And sometimes… every couple of months… we’d even get the leftover bags of beef jerky.
What a treat.
I remember playing video games all day in the summer, and sprinting into the garage in between games to grab my next bag of choice, pebbles stuck to the bottoms of my feet because I couldn’t take the time to even slide crocs on.
Often, that bag of choice was Cheetos.
This was when I learned about the irreversible damage Cheeto dust can do.
Not only does it stick to your fingers, but it’s a magnet to everything you touch, including your Xbox controller.
Some lessons you have to learn the hard way, I suppose.
In this story, one might describe me as a Junk food eater… a Video Game nerd, perhaps?
Call me what you want, this story isn’t a fair representation of who I am today.
And it certainly doesn’t dictate my actions today.
I say this because…you may have a story you remember.
Maybe it replays in your head quite often.
A story from long ago, or maybe more recently.
Know that that story doesn’t define who you are today.
Every day you have a decision. A fresh start.
To decide what actions you will take today.
And who you will become.
Who you are.
And you don’t have to feel guilty for those old stories.
They are a old chapter in a book you are still writing.
Chose to be 1% better today, whatever that may be for you.
And look back on those chapters, proud…
proud because of how far you’ve come.
So, what story will you write today?
Love,
Coach Hunter
#SmallStepsBigResults
Hunter grew up using fitness as a way to boost his low self-esteem. This led him to later found Hybrid Fitness in 2014, where him and his team create a fun, safe training environment for busy adults looking to better their health without doing crazy crash diets or excessive burpees.