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Why 'I don't have time' is real — and how CFP members solve it anyway
It's the most common reason parents give for not training.
By
May 4, 2026
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'I don't have time.'
It's the most common reason parents give for not training. And unlike most excuses, this one is actually true.
Working parents manage an average of 50–60 hour weeks between employment and domestic labour. The idea that there are free hours just sitting unused, waiting to be claimed for the gym, isn't realistic for most people in this life stage.
But there is something worth looking at underneath the time problem. And it's this: exercise hasn't yet become non-negotiable.
The identity shift that changes everything
Research on long-term exercise adherence consistently finds that people who sustain training over years don't do it primarily because they're disciplined or motivated.
They do it because they've shifted their identity. They stopped thinking of themselves as people who should exercise, and started thinking of themselves as people who train.
When exercise is an identity — 'I'm someone who trains' — it stops competing with everything else for time. It becomes a fixed point, like picking up the kids or paying rent.
How CFP members actually make it work
Early mornings — 5:30am classes that are done before the school run starts.
Class structure — no planning required. You show up, someone tells you what to do, it works.
Fixed schedule — booking a session makes it a commitment, not a decision.
Community accountability — other people expect to see you there.
None of this requires finding extra hours. It requires placing one fixed hour in the right spot and protecting it.
The real cost of another year without it
Muscle loss from inactivity in your 40s runs at roughly 1–2% per year. Over five years of irregular training, that's a significant decline in metabolic rate, functional capacity, and energy.
Rebuilding from that point is harder than maintaining.
The 'right time' to start rarely arrives without a deliberate decision to create it.
Book a No Sweat Intro — come in and speak with a coach about what one hour a week could look like in your life.
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