Lifestyle
Food & Nutrition
Fitness
Your job, family, and social life all take up a large portion of your time, which leaves less and less to spend on exercise. It’s too bad that working out regularly is one of the most important things you can do for your health and well-being. While it’s hard to find the time to work out, it’s important to remember that you don’t need to spend hours at the gym in order to be fit. Here are some quick and easy ways you can stay fit while leading a busy lifestyle.
Hit the Ground Running
When you’re trying to get in shape, it can be difficult to find the time—or motivation—to go for a run or visit the gym. It is important, however, not to become sedentary; doing too much sitting will encourage weight gain and ill health. Instead of becoming discouraged when life gets hectic, set aside short chunks of time so that you can still live an active life. Be prepared ahead of time by packing your gym bag with essentials like deodorant and clothes (this will help if you’re stuck at work later than planned). You can also find ways to make fitness part of your daily routine: park further away from the store or take the stairs instead of an elevator.
Manage Your Time
One of the biggest reasons why people don’t make time for fitness is because they feel overwhelmed by their work or school schedule. After all, an active lifestyle requires time—time that many Americans just don’t have. But let’s face it: no one likes being overweight and out of shape, and it can lead to dangerous health conditions down the road. The key is learning how to manage your time so you always find some for yourself. Here are three tips for doing so: Make sure you have some sort of activity plan in place every day.
Start Small
When starting an exercise routine, it’s easy to start out too aggressively. You don’t want to hurt yourself or overtax your body, so it’s best to give your body time to adjust. Try adding in just 10 minutes of activity at first—then build up from there, increasing reps or duration as you go. Small steps keep you motivated and prevent injury that might keep you out of action for weeks at a time.
Set Goals for Yourself
Now that you’ve set your goals, it’s time to figure out how you can achieve them. Whether you want to start a new diet and exercise plan or simply spend less time on Facebook, you’ll need to figure out what steps are best for reaching your goal. This means setting smaller milestones and giving yourself rewards for completing those steps along the way. To help keep yourself accountable, consider telling friends or family about your goals. Additionally, avoid other distractions that might stop you from reaching your end goal, such as spending too much time watching TV or playing video games. These unproductive activities can take away valuable time otherwise spent working toward achieving an important goal of yours.
Get Support From Others
Getting support from others for staying fit can also help you avoid being stuck in a rut. Set up group training sessions with friends or find an accountability partner to keep each other motivated. Think about where your social circles are strongest, and then see if there’s any way you can involve them in your fitness goals. Staying healthy doesn’t have to be done alone; enlisting others can help lighten some of that mental burden!
Don’t Be Afraid To Fail
Staying healthy doesn’t have to be hard. Just because you don’t have time for a gym doesn’t mean you can’t exercise; get outside and walk, climb stairs at work or make walking meetings a regular thing. Even if you only have time for five minutes, it’s enough time to get your heart pumping and benefit from all of that extra oxygen circulating in your system. Your body needs exercise just like it needs water and food so remember that finding even small windows of time is worth doing! Stay safe while working out, but don’t let fear of failure keep you away from any type of exercise; trust us—you’ll feel better when you get up off that couch!
Keep Motivated By Reminding Yourself Why You Started in the First Place
It can be hard to find the motivation to get started and even harder when you’re in the middle of a project, but the best way is just by remembering why you wanted it in the first place. After all, if it isn’t something that excites you then doing it is going to be difficult. Pick an image or person that reminds you of your goals and create an anchor for yourself. Post it in places where you will be constantly reminded like your mirror or on your computer at work so you can keep on top of your goals and remind yourself why starting was so important! Reminding yourself why getting started was important in the first place can do wonders for staying motivated.
