THAT'S COMMUTE TIME STUPID!
The single most critical factor though that accounted for the most failures in sticking with a regular exercise routine was commute time. On average Americans commute about an
hour a day, which is just enough time to get your proper amount of daily exercise.
In addition, this one hour usually spent in a car is particularly unhealth
y in and by itself as the driver sits still in a frequently less than ideal posture. It is therefore only logical that the best solution to fit more exercise into your daily routine is to reduce your commute time.
This major adjustment may not be feasible for all those who are reading these lines.
As far as I am concerned, commute time has always been a major
decision criterion in accepting a job or deciding on a career (actually my typical commute time right now is zero as I mostly work from home).
The absolutely ideal solution though is to commute on a bicycle, assuming the distance to your workplace is short enough. I know a 45-year-old friend , whose level of fitness and physical appearance changed dramatic
ally within 6 months after he quit driving to work (a 5-mile urban commute) two years ago. His beer belly is absolutely gone even though he is still drinking as much as ever.
An additional benefit is the money he is saving every year on car expenses (actually his employer is paying him to use his bike to work, but this is the Netherlands).
Conversely, two years ago my 48-year-old sister was transferred to another work facility 6 miles from her home after having walked 4 miles a day to her job for the last 10 years. She now has to drive daily. The changes I witnessed were equally dramatic, in a negative way that is. She probably put on 20 pounds in a single year and her health has significantly deteriorated (higher cholesterol and blood sugar). I have consistently prompted her to ride her bicycle to her job at least a few times a week, which would be quite possible as her itinerary is almost totally flat (if it is too hilly you can still get yourself an electrically-assisted bicycle). To no avail. I now really fear she is going to experience serious health problems in her 50's (our father was a type 2 diabetic).
My observation is that the way you commute and the duration of your commute are very good predictors of your level of fitness , especially if you are in your 40's and beyond.
To summarize my thought: driving your car to work on a daily basis will kill you slowly but surely. It is no exaggeration to say that cars driven to work are responsible for tens of billions of dollars in increased health care costs in the US alone. Commuting by car also destroys our planet while subsidizing terrorism (but I am digressing here).
THE SQUEEZE-IN RESISTANCE TRAINING ROUTINE
As for weight training, I suggest you work out even as little as half an hour during your lunch break several days a week. Negotiate this with your future boss BEFORE YOU TAKE A NEW JOB. Make it a deal-breaker. You can save a lot of time by eating out of a lunchbox right after completing your exercise routine with the added benefit of perfectly controlling what you put into your body (as opposed to eating at a Mac Donald's or similar eateries that are highly hazardous to your health).
These are just a few ideas that I have experimented with myself for the last 25 years.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to this: do you really want to make healthy living a top priority for yourself? If so, the preceding recommendations should not sound too radical.
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