Solving for Efficiency in the Wrong Way

Time has always been one of my biggest challenges with exercise.

I remember a particular season in 2018-2019 where I travelled 30%+ for work with 50-60+ hour work weeks.

Some days I just had 20 minutes to exercise.

Some days just 10 minutes.

So… I went to my buddy YouTube or Google and asked it for 10-20 minute workouts.

I guess if I had that job in 2025 I would have gone to Chat GPT…

Each time I finished a workout I liked I typed it out on a notes page in my phone.

After months of this, I built up a personal library of 30+ workouts I could do whenever, organized by time.

I did this for almost 2 years.

My workouts were as random as they came.

And so were my results. And that was frustrating.

I plateaued regularly…

I was not getting stronger…

I wasn’t losing fat…

I learned the hard way that random workouts produce random results.

Here are 3 things I wish I did.

1) Spend time getting to know the body

Our bodies are amazing… and they display the handiwork of an awesome and creative God (Psalm 139).

God designed our bodies as a very complicated interconnected web of systems.

And with workouts, our bodies respond better to structure to randomness.

Structured workouts take into account how our body systems actually work.

Here’s what I wasn’t thinking about when I wrote random workouts:

• How does the cardiovascular system work? How can I train that effectively?

• How does the muscular system work? How can I train that effectively?

• How do our energy systems work? How can I use them effectively?

• How do bones, joints, and ligaments respond to exercise? How can I train with them in mind?

I didn’t take the time to consider these questions.

But not understanding these things hindered my progress, caused plateaus, and resulted in a few injuries.

2) Spend time identifying the goal

Picking random workouts was indicative that I didn’t really have a clear goal.

I didn’t take the time to get clarity on what it was I actually wanted to accomplish.

Here are some questions I wish I asked:

• Where would I like to be in 1 year with my health?

• Where would I like to be in 5 years with my health?

• What happens in 1 year if I don’t make any progress with my health?

• What are the exercises I actually enjoy doing?

• What are exercises I haven’t tried yet but would like to?

• How can I get my family involved in what I’m doing?

• What are ways I can leverage my community or network too?

Spending time sorting this out would have provided the clarity I needed.

3) Spend time learning from other people

This was probably my biggest regret.

I wish I would have just asked for help from someone who knew what they were doing.

I’m as stubborn as they come. It’s probably pride.

Here are questions I wish I would have asked:

• Who is in my church that I can go to with questions about working out?

• Who are the guys stewarding their health well, and how can I learn from them?

• What online resources are there for Christian guys who want to steward their health?

• Are there any programs or courses I can take that help me get to where I want to go?

• In one year, would I be further along or farther back if I got some help with working out?

These days, I see my stubbornness like a guy who is lost in the woods but is unwilling to ask for a map.

Boy do I wish I called a friend.

➡️ The Takeaway

Random workouts = random results.

Here are the things I wish I would have done.

• Spend time getting to know the body

• Spend time identifying the goal

• Spend time learning from other people

Hope this serves.

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