With everything that is vying for our time these days, being time poor is a common feeling among the women that I coach. Do you find that actually fitting exercise in to your busy day is one of the biggest reasons for not bothering to do it? There usually isn’t enough time in the day between work, school runs and meal times to get to the gym, walk around the block or heaven forbid see your trainer!
You know that you should be doing some kind of exercise .. you know it’s good for your health, you know it will give you more energy, you know it might even help lose a few kilos and you know you will feel better if you do but, you are so busy that you don’t even know where you would fit it in and then it all seems too overwhelming.
If you just had a little bit extra time fitting in your workout would be so much easier.
It’s kind of a catch 22 really .. you are busy and finding extra time is not easy, but if you do include a workout into your day you will feel so much better, and maybe even much more organised! Here’s the thing ..
it’s not about finding the time .. it’s about making the time
Creating a new habit is key in making time regularly to fit in more activity in your day.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about finding hours for a long & complicated workout each day. It doesn’t need to be like that. It can be as simple as a quick 10 minutes, enough to get your heart rate up. I’m pretty sure that you usually have your day planned down to the last few minutes .. so as a master planner I know that you would be able to find 10 minutes for a quickie workout.
Sometimes a short, sharp workout is better than a long winded effort and they can be just as effective! A quick walk around the block will work wonders .. both physically & mentally!
Keep it simple and you are more likely to make the effort and keep it up!
Here are a couple of ideas to find that extra bit of time …
In the morning Making that extra effort and finding 15 minutes at the start of the day means that you don’t have the pressure of finding time later on when you are in full swing. You don’t even have to get out of your PJs! Set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier, don’t think about it when the alarm goes off and get out of bed. This super easy workout would be perfect
While the kids are having afternoon tea When the kids get home after school instead of sitting down to afternoon tea with them, get them settled and get onto your workout. If they are arguing with each other like my kids do, then you’ll be able to tune out. If they still won’t leave you alone, get them to count the reps you are doing! Try using the workout above.
While the kids are at sport Sometimes this won’t work as you may do a dump and run to ferry another one off to the other side of town ( that’s what it feels like anyway ) or run errands but on those days where you are able to, take the opportunity to move for yourself. A couple of laps around the oval or the block is better than sitting scrolling through your phone. You could even grab one of the other mums to join you so you chat while you walk.
On the weekend I know this can sometimes be a busy time with sport and social schedules but at least one of the days there will be a window where you can fit in a workout. This window is usually a bit bigger than those you have during the week so 30 minutes of activity is a little easier to fit in! I always make some kind of run or walk for about 45 minutes on the weekend a not negotiable. It doesn’t always happen at the same time each weekend, it all depends on what we have on and yes, most times I have to force myself out the door, but I know I won’t regret the extra activity.
Incidental exercise As we get busier this can make a really big difference to our ability to fit in a little extra activity in our days .. not to mention keeping our metabolism firing. We all know that we are supposed to take 10,000 steps per day but honestly how many of us actually do this? It’s not easy if you aren’t making that effort, but you can add a few more steps with the usual suggestions .. park a little further away from the shops or work, take the stairs instead of the lift. A quick walk before you sit down to lunch. If you do a lot of sitting during the day, make sure you take little breaks to walk around the office or the house. On the days that I do my admin in the office I take little breaks to go outside and hang out with my dog .. getting a little fresh air helps too! Just move as much as you can.
What can you do today to fit in a little bit of extra activity?
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