I'm sure a bunch of you have heard about the 80/20 rule or Pareto's Principle.
Pareto noticed that over 80% of Italy's land is owned by only 20% of the population.
80/20 is everywhere in our life.
Pareto Principle: 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the outcomes.
Before we see how this ties to fitness here are a few "real world" examples:
80% of a businesses revenue comes from 20% of its customers.
80% of the worlds wealth is owned by 20% of people
80% of your results come from 20% of your actions
That last one is HUGE.
Think of how many aspects of life you can relate that to; time management, work life, family life, fitness, and nutrition.
Just to give you an example for fitness to make you think...
Let us look at one hour at the gym:
5minutes: saying hi, checking in, getting organized.
10minutes: warming up, stretching, etc
30minutes: The meat and potatoes of your workout.
10minutes: cool down, stretching, etc
5 minutes: saying bye, checking out, etc.
Now, it's not to say that the other 30 minutes aren't valuable, but it's really those 30 minutes in the middle in which the physical results happen.
If we break those 30minutes down, let's say that's 10 exercises.
Each exercise you do for one minute, and then rest.
Plus factor in the time you take to set up the next exercise.
10 exercises = 10 minutes of actual work, 10 minutes of resting, and 10 minutes of transition/set-up time for the next one.
So...
80% of your results comes down to those 10-12 minutes of actual work!
Mind blowing, huh?
And guess what?
That same concept applies to nutrition.
There are 24 hours in a day, 20% of that is roughly 4.8.
Guess how much time you spend on nutrition each day? About 4.8.
80% of your results come from 20% of your actions.
So, what does all of this mean? Here are my big 3-4 takeaways:
Focus on the 20% and you'll see the results.
Really dial in the 4 hours a day that you're focusing on nutrition.
Make sure when you are working out that those 10-15 minutes of actual work is your best work, whatever your best looks like.
Focus on what actually matters. Don't get caught up in the sands and pebbles, focus on the big rocks.
And Most Importantly...
Most people will tiptoe around your feelings, feel sorry for you because of how long your workday was, or tell you “you deserve a break”. If you sit down on the couch and watch one 30 minute show, you could have knocked out some strength training today. Funny thing is, you will not regret training when you just don’t feel like it. You will, at some point, regret sitting on your butt too much and too often.
If you can understand and master the 80/20 rule, your life will expand ten-fold.
Dedicated to Your Success,
Doug Spurling
PS ~ Our 15 Day Jump Start includes all the meat and potatoes to get your fitness journey started, just the essentials, no fluff. If you're interested, click here to reserve a spot in our next 15 Day Jump Start.