Fit your workout to your life – and vice versa
It can be a challenge finding time to exercise, especially if your schedule is packed. If you’re training for a race or other type of, you mind find your workouts taking up even more time. Check out the helpful tips below to strike a balance.
Make a schedule. The first part of developing a balance between your fitness regimen and the rest of your life is to understand how much time you spend on daily activities. Break down the time you spend at work versus at home. From there, go one step further and figure out how much time you spend doing various normal tasks, like housekeeping, cooking and watching TV. Logging this for an average week should give you a good idea of how much spare time you have. Going forward, dedicate a specific amount of time, preferably at the same time each day, for working out. Similarly, set a time during the day to be your “cutoff”– which is when you’ll switch over to fun, relaxing, or social activities.
Practice that schedule. Stick with the schedule you created. When you first start trying to adhere to this schedule, follow it strictly, and do so day after day. Experts say that it can take nearly a month of doing something every day for it to become a habit. It may take a while to find your groove, but it will be worth it if you can make your fitness program habit forming
Make use of High Intensity Interval Exercises (HIITs). If you don’t have as much time as you’d like to work out, it may be time to reassess your routine. Those who are short on time can benefit from using HIITs to meet their fitness goals. These exercise circuits include many different exercise moves in a short period of time. The idea is to do as many reps of a given exercise as you can in a set amount of time (for example, 30 seconds), then take a short break (10 seconds) before launching into a new exercise. In this way, HIITs can pack in an hour’s worth of exertion into a fraction of the time, giving you plenty of time to get on with the rest of your day. Not only that, research has shown that HIIT workouts are effective due to their intensity.
Reach for goals. If having a schedule isn’t enough to keep you motivated and on the track of fitness, try setting a fitness goal for yourself. Perhaps you want to shed a few extra pounds, or gain more muscle. Whatever it is, set out to achieve it through an action plan you can map out.
Be flexible. Once you’ve set a goal and pinned down your schedule, do your best to adhere to it as best as you can. If life gets in the way from time to time, don’t sweat it. At the same time, if you find yourself with a little extra time to spare, considering extending your workout a bit. This give-and-take will help you feel balanced and healthy!
No Easy Task: How to Balance Food, Fitness, and the Rest of Your Life [No Meat Athlete]
How to Balance Fitness With a Busy Life [Livestrong]