Unlike my brother-in-law, I didn’t read comic books as a kid. Since Ironman came out in 2008, I’ve become quite a fan of the whole universe. My whole family is.
I’m partial toward Thor because he’s a badass and wields god-like strength. In addition, he can fly across space (this one I can’t explain and scientifically it makes no sense, but I just somehow think it fits) and throws frickin’ lightning. If that doesn’t get girls, I don’t know what does.
Anyhow, as much as I dig Thor, Doctor Strange is the one I’m most envious of. Yeah he’s just a human doctor—although supposedly one of the world’s best who drove collector edition sports cars—and he’s normal looking dude. But he’s essentially the world’s time keeper.
I can’t—and won’t—spend words conveying the significance of the idea of manipulating time. It would take too long. But time here on Earth is a law that we have to abide by.
If only we could pause the clock for just an hour a day and get a chance to fit a 25-hour day a few times a week. That’s all, right?
I get it. One of the biggest challenges in our world today is the difficulty in fitting everything into our 24-hour day. Our schedules are unforgiving:
—Work a full day
—Take care of kids
—Doing daily chores and tasks around the house
—Making time for our significant others
—Getting a full night’s sleep
And, of course, working out and getting programmed exercise in.
I realize that for many people, working out is not at the top of the laundry list of things to do. It tends to lose its way onto our schedules when we see all the other things we need to do.
Even worse, it has a tendency to snowball into consecutive days and even weeks of dormancy when we fall behind. It becomes a mind game and gets even worse when we don’t know how to get back on the horse.
I think the most important thing to consider is getting some sort of exercise in at least 5 out of the 7 days of the week. Even a half-workout is better to do than none at all. You don’t need 60 minutes to workout. Sometimes an intense 15 minutes is all you’ve got time for. That’s cool.
There are a few days a week the max time in my windows for working out are two 15/20 minute segments. That’s it. So that’s what I do. And I’m telling you it’s ok for you to follow that idea too.
I break up my workout and do half in one 15/20 time period and the second half in the other 15/20 time minute period some of the days of the week.
Other days I only have one 15-20 time window. So I get in whatever I can get in that’s allowable.
One of the key factors to making this work is being ok with the idea that you can’t have a perfect workout every day. If you stay on course with your nutrition, sleep and stress levels, you’ll be ok if a couple days a week only allows for a 15-20 minute workout.
Getting a bodyweight workout in on the floor at home can be very challenging and fulfilling. It can even be cardiovascularly intensive.
Stick mobility and Kinstretch are excellent joint strengtheners and energizers for the rest of your day and are a nice alternative to the garden variety workouts on social media.
Even going for an intense high intensity interval run for 16-18 minutes or skipping rope next to your desk can be exactly what the body needs for the day when time is of the essence.
The crucial element of successful small incremental workouts is knowing the day before how limited your time is. If you know a full 60 minute workout isn’t in the cards, schedule a small break in the lunch hour of your day that permits an intense, uninterrupted 20 minute workout described above. Just make sure to adhere to the plan.
It does’t have to be perfect. Only intense and focused. All this without the talents of Doctor Strange. I dig him. He’s got the greatest gift there is in the universe. But he’s not walking through your door. And neither is his Time Stone (for you Marvel geeks out there—you know what that is).
But once you’ve mastered the mini-sessions, you’ll see staying on course throughout the week becomes easier. It’ll help you stay on target with your nutrition and other health habits to keep you consistent.
And you won’t need the good Doctor to manipulate a thing.
