Peace with Inches...: Puma v. The Cubicle

If you’re anything like my parents, you’ve probably read this blog and thought to yourself, “This Puma fellow has way too much time on his hands,” and also “I’m pretty sure the doctor gave us the wrong baby when we left hospital” (Now that I think about it, this one might be unique to Mom and Dad). Well, up to two days ago, you would have been correct. A little background is probably appropriate here.

Justice may be blind, but at least
she has a kick-ass sword. That's an
adequate substitute for eyesight.

While I don’t like to discuss my life outside the realm of endurance training and competition, a quick summary of my professional experience is appropriate to today’s topic: balancing work and exercise.

Last year, I graduated from a top-tier law school with a very respectable GPA and passed the California Bar Exam (despite computer sabotage!), which, in this economic climate, is apparently worth diddly-squat. While fruitlessly pursuing permanent employment positions, I resorted to working as a Contract Attorney on temporary litigation projects whenever possible, because, well, I’ve grown accustomed to living indoors. When I launched Peace With Inches (you’re welcome, by the way), I’d just wrapped up a 3-month project and possessed some newly discovered free time. That luxury, however, has given way to the need to purchase food and keep a roof over my head. So watch out Lady Justice, because Puma just suited up (see: clipped on a piano key necktie), and he's going to rock that blindfold right off your face!

Like the majority of this blog’s readers (who are currently skimming this post at work), I now have to find time for my extensive endurance training while working at least 40 hours a week. Unfortunately, this means that I’ll be waking up between 5 and 6 a.m. most weekdays to workout. This may seem like an ungodly hour to many of you, but to me, that sounds a whole hell-of-a-lot better than working out at 7 o’clock p.m. after putting in a full day of work. This is my personal preference, because I like to relax and decompress after work (see: take a bubble bath in the candlelight and enjoy a good cry…”I did my best!”)

Here are some quick tips for finding some balance between work and training:

· Set a firm schedule—If your workouts are written down in your calendar, you will be less likely to blow them off. In addition, you'll feel a slight twinge of shame as you delete that appointment from your schedule.

· Know Thy Self—Don’t plan to workout early in the day if you aren’t a morning person. Your grumpy demeanor will make exercise less enjoyable, and thus, make it more difficult to keep up in the future. Likewise, if you're typically exhausted after work, suck it up and set that alarm. Those are really your only two options (unless you can take an extended lunch and have access to a shower at your office…or you could not shower. I don’t care. I don’t have to work with you).

· Prepare the Day Before—You’re more likely to workout if you prepared all of your gear the night before. The less logistical steps you have to take to exercise, the more likely you are to actually get out there and break a sweat.

· Blab About It—Tell coworkers and friends that you’re planning on working out. If you actually care about what those people think of you, you’ll gain just a little bit more motivation. You don’t want to be a liar, do you? DO YOU?!

I’m sure I could think of a few more, but time is short these days. To conclude this post, I included a video that symbolizes the perfect blend of the corporate and athletic worlds: