Why is Your Health the First Thing Sacrificed?

A pretty full on week for me this week with the end of semester coming up as well a fairly heavy amount of work to get done. Throw in a full on week of training as well and lets just say I am glad it is the weekend. 

I started working with someone earlier this year who wanted to lose weight. I wrote that person a weekly training program to follow and I kept it simple. An hour here or there, a little resistance training. Anything just to get this person moving. At the end of each week I would ask, "how did you go?" and for four weeks was told, "I didn't do it, I didn't have time". Now I understand that we are all busy but it made me think why is our health always the thing we don't have time for? People who are overweight always have time to eat? As I have been incredibly busy the last few weeks and have even had some cracks start to show in my study/work/training balance I have had this thought in my mind. Now I am not just talking about exercise, when I mean to say we sacrifice our health I mean we choose to buy fast food or take away because we do not have time to cook or we jump on a bus or in the car instead of the 15 minute walk to get somewhere. 

I am incredibly motivated and understand that every person is different. However, I am also someone who used to be the first one to grab Maccas on the way home or drive the 500 metres to the shops to buy a bag of chips. I always say to people that when I ride my bike I sometimes have these moments of 'absolute clarity' where I am riding hard enough that my mind is completely empty and I become aware of how amazing it is that I am able to be out riding. Well yesterday I went on a group ride with 3 of my mates and I had one of these moments. Now when I agreed to go on the ride I was a bit nervous because I had a pretty busy Saturday organised. Well at that moment on the bike yesterday I looked at my mate Rob (who signed me up for my first triathlon) and said "how good is this". I was so happy that I had made time for my health and it is those sort of moments that I think of whenever my mind starts rationalising that I am too busy or too tired. 

We are all busy, but it comes down to prioritising. I have a guy I am training at the moment who is a machine. This guy is one of the most determined people I have ever met. He trains everyday during his lunch break and then most evenings he will go back to the gym for at least 2 hours. He has chosen to prioritise his health over his favourite tv show or other things which he could be spending his time doing. It is possible, it just requires some sacrifice and like with all things, it gets easier. I train a lot but to maintain a health lifestyle I would not need to put in the hours I do. I guess what I am trying to say is that yes at first it might be tough and hard and feel impossible. But ITS GETS EASIER and the rewards are worth it. I have a quote I like to say about running but I think it is applicable to training and a healthy lifestyle "It is the hardest thing to start and once you have started, it is the hardest thing to stop.

Sorry this is a slightly more 'deep' blog this week but I think it is important. My next race is coming up in 2 weeks and I am not too sure how to approach it as it is 3 weeks before my biggest race of the year. I might go out and try and enjoy it but I also know how competitive I am against myself so I will probably end up smashing myself. Anyway, I hope you all have a great week and if someone is reading this and is thinking "He doesn't know what he is talking about or I am too busy" just try and make a little bit of time. Anything is better than nothing. See how it makes you feel, whats the worst that can happen?

Have a good week everyone and remember to TRI!

Out riding with some of MaccaX mates Brett and Gavin. Big thanks to my mate Rob for taking the pic!