We all know that working out is good for us, yes? But did you know that working out too much can be devastating to your immune system & make you atrophy (get smaller). Yet, there are still idiots out there spending hours and hours in the fucking gym thinking that they need to workout longer instead of smarter. This is specially true for the knobheads that are trying (but struggling) to pack on some quality mass.

The general term for this is “overtraining” and a lot of people suffer from it… but because I’m awesome, I’ll be shedding some light on a concept that will make your workouts (and your freakin’ life) more efficient, focused and more god damn productive. No more dilly-dallying around like a clueless chump bucket.

Read this statement out loud three times: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

This statement was made by the British historian Cyril Parkinson after years of observation while working in the British Civil Service, and this statement sums up Parkinson’s law. There is a book on this law which goes pretty in-depth while being a hilarious read to boot, so I recommend that you check it out. The version I had lying around was old, very old (printed in 1964) but I’m sure if you hunt around Amazon, you can find something more up to date. (Like THIS BOOK
for example).

But I’m going to break it all down for you, then show you how to use it practically. You see, every task is in some way shape or form dependent on TIME. If humans were immortal (vampires?) then every task would have the potential of being allotted an unlimited amount of time and thus the progress of our species wouldn’t be half of what it is because there is no sense of urgency. But we aren’t immortal, and therefore we have to assign a certain amount of time to a given task, which creates urgency and literally forces progress.

Now, here’s where all of this gets interesting. If you allot too much time for a given task, then that task will find a way to fill the extra gap in time by increasing it’s complexity. The task itself isn’t doing this, but its you. It’s a psychological effect which were naturally bound to. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at an example.

While you’re sitting there on your computer, I decide to walk in with a Universal Self loading Pistol (USP). I then put the gun to your face and say “You have 5 minutes to write me a 500 word press release that showcases why I’m so awesome or you’re fucking dead!”. How likely are you to finish that press release in WELL under 5 minutes? VERY likely.

On the other hand, what if I come in and blurt out “I need you to write me a 500 word press release that showcases why I’m so awesome. Have it on my desk first thing in the morning.” How much do you want to bet that it’s going to take more than 5 minutes to write this press release? Hmm… I thought so.

The task was the same, yet the time allotted in each scenario was totally different… and lo behold, you magically found a way to expand the work to fill the available time. This shit happens ALL the time. Now that you know of this weird psychological effect, it’s time to take advantage of it and use it to make sure that when you hit the gym, you do what needs to be done and then get the hell out before it consumes your life.

FJ’s Law Of Fitness Workout Timing For Effective Training Using Parkinson’s (wtf?)

Don’t ask about the subtitle… Just know that yes, this is a law that I made up, and yes, it does work ridiculously well. The law can be summed up in 2 words: sixty minutes. That’s right, one hour! One hour is ALL you get to do whatever the hell it is you need to do for your daily fitness activities, and once you’ve hit that hour, you gota pick your ass up and leave. Move on with your life. Even if you haven’t done what you needed to do, just leave… Because over time and with practice, you’ll just end up finding a way to shave off the useless seconds or minutes that are robbing you of a productive workout.

It will come naturally, trust me.

You should know that the opposite is also true. For example, what if you only do 30 minute workouts? Well then still give yourself one hour, because magically… You’ll find a way to fill that extra 30 minute gap, and it could do your body some “extra” goodness. Maybe you’ll go and stretch all your muscles, maybe you’ll hit up the steam room and de-stress, maybe you’ll go and try that ab exercise you saw on TV, or maybe you’ll grow some balls and attempt my plyometrics routine. Whatever it is that you end up doing, it will expand to fill the time gap. Count on it!

-FitJerk
Flawless Fitness Book

Discuss: How many times have you fallen victim to Parkinson’s Law? And now that I’ve enlightened you, what are some other ways that you’re going to apply it to your life? Stop being the quiet kid in class and express ideas below…