Hands up if you lead a busy life? Hands up if you’re too busy to stop working to put your hands up?
Time is a precious commodity. In this helter-skelter world, we just can’t find enough of it to do the stuff we love. Something has to give, and our fitness is usually the first to feel the squeeze. No matter how hectic your lifestyle, there’s always time for fitness. Here’s how:
Make fitness the first thing you do
Do you set a reminder to shower and brush your teeth in the morning? Of course not! It’s so ingrained into your routine you do it without thinking. Try fitting in five minutes of exercise immediately after getting out of bed; a few crunches or pushups will do. At this stage, all you’re trying to do is build good habits. After a week, up the duration to ten minutes. Pretty soon you’ll be getting your daily fitness fix before the kettle’s even boiled.
Do the hard work the night before
Exercise is probably the last thing on your mind before you go to bed. Don’t worry, I’m not about to suggest you hit the floor and bust out a set of burpees before passing out. All I want you to do is pack your gym gear and schedule in your workout for the next day.
Have you ever made sandwiches the night before so you could grab ‘em and go in the morning? Start doing the same with your gym gear. If you’ve got your kit with you, you’ll be far more inclined to squeeze in a workout on your lunch break or after work.
Turn your commute into your workout
In practice, not everyone can jog or cycle to work every day – aside from the time it entails, most offices aren’t equipped with showers and changing facilities. There’s nothing to stop you working up a sweat on the way home however. Try jumping off the bus or train a few stops early or parking your car a little further away. With your favourite tunes pumping in your ear and your feet pounding the tarmac, rush hour is transformed into the most productive hour of your day.
Don’t fit exercise around your job – make it your job
It’s time you started viewing exercise as an extension of your job. An unskippable extension of your job, because guess what? Exercise is critical to your job.
When you work out, it increases blood flow to your body’s tissues – including your brain. Not only does exercise make you feel better, but it makes you think more effectively too. Start scheduling workouts into your calendar as if they were a meeting or important conference call.
Less is more
Sometimes less is more…at least it is when you’re doing HIIT. No time to slog it out on the treadmill for an hour? No problem. Adrian James High Intensity Interval Training will deliver all the benefits of a lengthy cardio workout in just 15 minutes.
Everyone’s busy but no one’s too busy to exercise. Make it happen.
