It’s no mystery that it’s important to fit fitness in your regular daily life. We all know that it’s vital for our good health, including weight loss, weight maintenance, mental health, heart health, muscular health, skeletal health, digestive health and even avoiding certain cancers. And that’s only the short list of the potential benefits.
However, when our lives are as busy as they are these days, being able to fit fitness in is easier said than done. We have so much going on in our lives that it’s tough to imagine a way to add anything else; particularly something as time consuming as a trip to the gym or a workout class.
Believe it or not, it is possible. No matter how busy you are, you can fit fitness in. Use the following tips to make sure you don’t miss another minute that you could be exercising:
1. Be efficient – If you don’t have a lot of time in which to work out, pack as much into every minute as you can. Great options include running, high intensity interval training (HIIT), bodyweight exercises and Tabata training.
2. Do what you like – If you can’t stand a certain kind of workout, that’s alright. It doesn’t mean you don’t like all exercise. Try to focus on doing the activities you’ll really enjoy. You’ll be far more willing to make time for them.
3. Compete to motivate yourself – This can mean that you’re competing against yourself, friends, or even strangers. Join a sports team, track your fitness and set goals to beat your personal bests, or join challenges with friends or family members and see who will win.
4. Set a schedule and stick to it – Work out a time when it will be best for you to exercise and make it a priority. If you’re likely to skip a spin class after work because you’re too busy during the day, then get up a little bit earlier and work out from home or attend an early class. Decide that exercising is important, choose the best time and stick to it.
5. Track your fitness – Either get a fitness tracker device that you wear or track your workouts manually. This is an exceptional motivator and you’ll find yourself staying active just to keep up your tracked results. Tracking it makes it “real.”
6. Anything is better than nothing – Ideally, you should be getting at least 30 minutes of activity per day, but if it’s between 15 minutes and nothing at all, take the 15 minutes!
7. Add activity where you can – If this means running up the stairs at work or getting off the bus one stop early, go for it. Walk to the corner store instead of driving. Even if it’s only a few minutes of extra activity, it adds up.
8. Use your lunch break – Even if you only have time to head outside and walk around the building a couple of times after you eat, go for it. It will add to your daily total and it will make you feel more awake and positive, too!
9. Make it a family affair – If you’re struggling to fit in family time and a workout in your day, then combine them. Exercise as a family. It’s a great way to work fitness into your day and build healthy habits in your kids, too.
10. Move around during TV time – If you’ve been skipping a workout so you won’t miss your favorite TV show, it’s time to start watching TV from the treadmill, stationary bike or yoga mat as you do Pilates.