How to Consistently Workout with a 9-5 (Tips on balancing a tough work schedule with consistency at the gym)

It's Thursday morning, practically the end of the week, and you are bothered by the fact that you were not able to hit the gym this week (yet again). You promised yourself you would make time this week but, per usual, you couldn't make it because work or life got in the way.

My Journey to Consistency

I grew up a small, scrawny kid up until college where I really dialed in working out. It was there I found my love to consistently chase progress at the gym, whether it'd be adding 2.5 lbs every other week to a certain lift or losing/gaining weight based on my short term goals. I dived so deep into the fitness world that I ended up competing at the Muscle Beach Physique Competition in sunny Venice Beach, California standing where the famed Arnold Schwarzenegger once stood. My love for the gym put me on a path to meet many friends at my college gym making it almost a safe haven and a fun place for me to go to. I thrived in this environment, knowing the regulars at the gym to the point where we would go out together on any given Thursday/Friday/Saturday night. Unfortunately, college ends and I'm up against the real world. I land a job as a mechanical engineer for a general contractor building world class hospitals, stadiums, research buildings, among other insane projects. This job came with other-worldly hours that were consistently inconsistent. Sometimes, there would be night shifts for cutovers that would need staffing, other times a responsible engineer would have to wake up at 2am to make an appearance on the job site to monitor their crane operations. The "static" hours started around 6am and could end anywhere around 4, 5, 6, even 7 pm on any given day due. Engineers were consistently on-call as work seemed to always be happening on the job site. In addition to this already crazy schedule, I got the green light from the company to pursue my Masters in Mechanical Engineering alongside working. While this allowed me to leave at 4:30 pm some days, this change singlehandedly destroyed my sleep schedule for the majority of nights in the week. I still made time for the gym, somehow. This crazy schedule did prove to be a monster to tackle when trying to find a time window to consistently hit the gym as I did in college. I developed such a love and passion for working out, improving my lifts and chasing aesthetics (lean / toned body) that I made it one of my biggest priorities to never quit.

What I Did

Since the gym was extremely important to me, I made sure to prioritize it. Sure, some days I ended up skipping if my body was screaming hard enough that it wasn't rested enough but most weeks I made it work. Most would think I would hit the gym on days that I didn't have grad classes after work, but I found the opposite worked out for a while. I was on such a productive high after work then grad classes that I would continue that positive trajectory and hit the gym late at night before driving back home. I would hit the school gym of that grad school and I slowly started befriending people there as well who went during the 11pm time window. I became a regular on the days I had grad classes and this worked for a while even though I would get home around 1 am and sleep at 1:30 am before getting out of bed around 5 or 5:30 am the next day. I had to make a lot of sacrifices during this time period whether that'd be skipping family functions, or saying no to friends once in a while. Once my class schedule started getting hectic on my last semester, I was not able to sustain my after-class schedule for the gym anymore and I had to change it up once again. The solution - wake up even earlier. This was probably the hardest "sprint" of a few months where I woke up at 3:30/4 am to hit a 24 hour available commercial gym prior to getting to work by 6 am. I would pack everything the night before, wake up earlier than I have my entire life, hit a workout where I always felt drained, shower at the gym, then speed to work. While I feel this routine was unsustainable, it showed me that if I deem something important in my life then I can trust myself that it will get done.

Your Turn

You have power. The power to trust yourself and deliver. Imagine the day when you go to sleep proud that you finally hit a solid workout after that hard day of work. What a feeling that will be. Align yourself with that ideal day, picture it, then make it happen. Once you do it a few times, you will realize that you can make it a habit especially once you start seeing potential timeslots for you to hit your workouts.

If it's important to you, you will make time. Aside from the willpower and discipline that you have within you, there are a few other factors that can help your transition to becoming a consistent gym-goer.

First, try out the gyms within your area. Find one that is not too far from your house (or work) , a 20 minute drive is very doable and allows you to zone in for your workouts. Next, while you try out these gyms, check out not only the facility and equipment, but also the people. If you can find a gym where you can befriend some of the regulars, that is a top notch gym because you will have yet another incentive to show up. Be open to making friends at the gym especially when you're a beginner. Ask for help on machines or lifts, always ask for a spot during heavy lifts, and don't be afraid to ask someone who looks experienced for their advice. The experienced folks love helping beginners and mentoring them.

Another factor that can help your newfound liking to the gym would be to hire a personal trainer. Even thought you can find an endless amount of workouts on YouTube, the fact of having another human being relying on you to show up to your workout will help motivate you at the beginning of the journey. The personal trainer will likely also share nuances that you may not have been able to pick up if you just researched yourself online. This also allows you to put your money where your mouth is.

Your Next Steps

Falling in love with the gym or at least becoming a consistent gym-goer is a long game, it takes years. The longer you stick to it, the more progress you will see.

The first step is make the commitment and promise to your self that you will hit the gym today no matter what. Deliver on this promise. Get a day pass to the closest major commercial gym then use it everyday until it expires. Then try another nearby close gym. Once you've cycled through the majority of gyms near you, choose your favorite and buy a membership. If you are really committed, opt for a personal trainer to get you started. With those initial steps out of the way, you should be well on your way. Next up would be optimizing your workout routine and diet!

So, what's the hold up?