How to create time to exercise even when you’re super busy!
I totally get that life is incredibly busy. I have 3 young kids and I work from home, and there have been periods of my life where exercise has felt almost impossible to fit in. There have been a few things that I have implemented that I wanted to share with you that have made exercising regularly possible for me, and I hope they help you as much as they have helped me. I put up a question box on my Instagram stories on how I could help you this year, and an overwhelmingly majority of you said that you wanted help to find time to exercise consistently.
How to Create Time to Exercise
- This one can be easily overlooked because it’s actually not super hard, but the impact is huge, and I promise that if you do it you will be much more likely to make exercise a regular thing for you. Set out your workout clothes the night before. I’m talking shoes, socks, top, workout bra and leggings or shorts. Make it as simple as possible for yourself to not have to think about it when it’s time to actually work out. I set my clothes out the night before, and before I go downstairs into my office for my morning scripture study and spiritual time, I put on my workout clothes. If need some really affordable leggings, try these (they are 4x less expensive than Lululemon and I genuinely like them more). Putting on your workout clothes signals to your brain that you are serious about working out and you are less inclined to skip it when you are already dressed for success.
- Create an at-home workout routine. There have been times in my life when I have loved working out at group classes, but I’m in a phase of my life that if I tried to commit to that, it just wouldn’t be sustainable. I need to be able to work out during my baby’s nap time, and sometimes at odd hours in between meetings. I have a Peloton in my basement that I love, and I rotate between cycling and weight classes. The Peloton app can be pricy however, so I would recommend this crazy amazing deal from Get Healthy U TV where you can get a membership for just $.65 for the entire year. If you don’t want to continue it after that, simply cancel before your subscription renews. You can get incredible at home workout classes which keep me much more motivated and are more fun than working out entirely by myself. I have LOVED my at-home workout routine. By the time I could drive to the gym and back, I am completely done with my workout! Tap HERE to snag the deal – it expires at the end of January.
- Find ways to exercise that are more untraditional. I got this walking pad for Christmas and I absolutely love it. It is SO MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE than other walking pads I’ve seen online and it’s very high quality. I work a lot on my phone, so instead of just sitting at my desk or in the chair in my bedroom, I will go down to my walking pad and walk while I work on my phone. You can also do this while you’re listening to audio books or podcasts.
- Tie in something that you like to do with exercise. Maybe you love listening to audiobooks or podcasts, so make it a rule for yourself that you can only listen while you’re on a walk or while you’re working out in your home. Tying things you love to do with things you don’t love to do will make it much more likely that you’ll have motivation to continue the habit.
- Decide what your workout routine will be ONCE and then don’t give yourself the option of making that decision over and over again. You’ve already made the decision! Now use your energy to put it into practice instead of using it to “decide” over and over again.
- Change your mindset and realize that either way it’s hard – not being fit and not being happy with how your body feels is hard and exercising is hard. Only one way helps you grow and become the person you want to be but both are hard. Expect yourself to not want to do it.
- Change your expectations of what your workout needs to look like if what you once did is no longer sustainable. I was talking to my emotional performance coach Natty, and she helped me understand that a full hour workout was not going to work for me any longer at this stage of my life. I now work out for 30 minutes every day, and I actually do it because it is sustainable for me! Ironically enough, I burn more calories because during that 30 minutes, I give it my ALL and I’m fully committed.
I hope you enjoyed this post on how to create time to exercise! If you can’t tell, I’ve been focused on this for years and have really found what works well so I hope these work well for you, too.
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