HOW TO FIT WORKING OUT INTO A BUSY SCHEDULE
Life seems to be getting busier and busier, am I right? But I don’t think it is necessarily that we are more busy, I think it is more that we have prioritized things differently in our lives.
Think about it, we all have the exact same number of hours in a day - 24. No matter where you live in the world. Exactly the same number. It is how you chose to spend those 24 hours that is different for each individual.
Certainly some people are busier than others based on their jobs or their family situations, but we all have a certain amount of hours in the day that we decide how we want to spend it. For example, I’m not working out at the moment, I’m spending time writing a blog, updating my website, reading and studying. I’m choosing that over a workout, at this moment. That said, I will make the time to get in a workout today because it is high on my priority list.
Let’s say that you are one of these super busy types … demanding job, family life … but working out and staying fit is also a priority. How do you fit it all in?
Here are some of my suggestions.
1) Take the pressure off yourself by feeling that you have to workout everyday or for a specific amount of time.
A solid workout schedule can be 2-3x per week. It doesn’t have to be every single day. However, be aware that the few workouts you do, the more structured a workout will need to be in order to have results.
2) In most cases, a workout does not have to be more than 60 mins max.
I think a lot of people feel that they need to go and spend hours at a gym in order to get in a quality workout and this simply is not true. If you are a competitive bodybuilder or fitness model, then yes, your time in the gym might need to be more often and for longer durations than a normal gym goer.
Great workouts can be done in 30-45 minutes, but I would generally say 45-60 mins is a proper amount of time for a solid workout.
Here are some tips to get in your workouts when you are crunched on time:
In order to reach your goals, could you workout more days, but for less time? Say 4-5x per week for 30 mins instead of 3x per week for an hour? The consistency with 4-5 shorter workouts might help you to achieve your goals faster than the 3x per week schedule for an hour, because if you miss one workout, that can stall your momentum.
How close is your gym to your home or office? I think everyone would agree if the gym is not on the way to work or on the way home it will generally be skipped if time is tight.
Does the gym have facilities to shower and change? This can be a huge time saver if you don’t have to go back home after the gym to get ready.
Does your office or company have a gym onsite? Many people don’t know that their company might have an onsite gym. Don’t have one? Would your company be open to having one built out? Even a small gym with some dumbbells and a bench??
Have you considered building a home gym? To be honest, I’m not a big fan of public gyms. They can be gross. They can be crowded. If you have the space at home could you build out a guest bedroom, study or garage area to make a nice, small home gym? Could you fit in a treadmill or rower, a squat rack, a bench, barbells and dumbbells? You can get in a really solid workout at home with minimal equipment. No travel. Clean-up and dress at home. Make some food and away you go on your day!
Finally, take a hard look at how you spend your time during the day. Do you wake up and spend an hour scrolling social media? Do you come home and work on the laptop for 2-3 hours or watch your favorite TV shows all evening? These are two huge time wasters in your day. You could easily carve out some workout time by eliminating or reducing a lot of these habits.
It’s all about time management and rarely is it about not having enough of it. We chose where we spend it, so manage it well.