Fit and Busy: How to Incorporate Exercise into a Hectic Schedule
In today’s fast-paced world, finding time for exercise can be a challenge. However, a busy schedule doesn’t have to be a barrier to prioritizing your health and fitness. With a little planning and creativity, you can incorporate exercise seamlessly into your daily routine. Here’s a few ways to make it happen!
Prioritize Your Workouts!
Treat exercise as an essential appointment and prioritize it like any other important task in your day. This mindset is hugely important — if you want to build consistency, your time for exercise needs to be a high priority that other things get built around. If you’re always trying to jam in a workout around everything else, it’s always going to be the first thing to get cancelled! This might feel really hard at first, but it’s worth it. Something else might need to get put on the back burner, to make a new exercise routine possible.
Plan and Schedule Your Workouts
Once you’ve identified available time slots, plan and schedule your workouts in advance. Treat these scheduled workouts as non-negotiable commitments. Use a planner, calendar, or fitness app to block off specific times for exercise. By having a clear plan, you’ll be more likely to follow through and hold yourself accountable. If you need support from your spouse, family, or friends to help with other tasks so your workouts can happen — ask for it!
Embrace Short, High-Intensity Workouts
You don’t need hours every day to get fitter. You can still get huge results from incorporating short, high-intensity workouts into your routine. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions, for example, offer a time-efficient way to boost cardiovascular fitness, and improve strength. These workouts typically involve alternating short bursts of intense exercise with brief recovery periods. Especially in a group environment, these workouts are also really fun!
Stay Flexible
Consistency is key to making exercise a habit. However, it’s also important to be flexible and adapt to changes in your schedule. If you miss a planned workout, don’t get discouraged. Look for alternative time slots or consider shorter workout options. Have a backup plan! Remember, something is always better than nothing. The “all or nothing” mindset is a consistency killer.
We’re Here to Help
For most new exercisers, accountability is vital. Making an appointment to work out, or scheduling a 1 on 1 session with a coach is a surefire way to increase your likelihood to actually show up and do the work! Whether it’s through group classes or personal training or both, the relationships and results we create at Ripple Effect make coming to the gym something to look forward to. Sign up for a Free Intro Session today to see how we can help you succeed.
