How Cardio is Like a Savings Account....

Feeling free to run on the beach (& save $)!

All right, I admit that living in NYC has given me more time to think about saving that green stuff ($$$, not green smoothies…). But, I had a thought today that staying on top of your cardio is a lot like making sure that you are contributing to a savings account monthly. To improve your fitness and start to lose weight, the average person should do 100-150 minutes of moderate cardio each week. Think about it as a percentage of your day devoted to improving YOU (your body, your mind, your self-discipline). Depending on your financial goals, the average person should also contribute a percentage of their income to savings, 401k and investing.

I have recently been reading a book called “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi, a down-to-earth indian entreprenuer in his late 20’s who cracks jokes throughout the entire book. Reading this book on the subway on my way to the gym each morning has given me a completely new outlook on money and saving, and I have to say it is quite empowering. The book offers you a 6-week program to getting your finances in order (do you see the congruencies with personal training and fitness yet??).

The book’s first chapter has you take care of your debt by aggressively paying off credit cards one by one, and limiting your spending to do so. I draw a parallel with the first month of working out. In order to see results, you must aggressively put in the time at the gym and limit your eating. You are essentially trying to create a deficit between calories taken in and your output of energy. The more you put into your little bank, the closer you are to being out of debt.

So next time you decide to do your cardio, your flow fit, your yoga, your nintendo Wii, think of it like you would if you were saving for something important like a house or vacation. Your end goal is what motivates you to do the work, but your weekly input of effort will determine how much success you will have.