Most people into fitness have either said it or heard it, the time old excuse ' I don't have time to exercise '. I'm not speaking for everyone here but in my experience I feel a lot of people think or say they don't have time to exercise when they actually do. If your truly keen to start getting fit, shedding those pounds or getting that beach body you’ve always dreamed of then one must put in the extra effort to find this elusive so called non existent extra time in our days to exercise. The hard and simple facts are If you can't find the time in your day to fit in exercise then your body and fitness levels won't change. This change of routine is what puts people off before they start.
As human beings we all need change, remember ' change is for the better ', if you can get past this hurdle of change then your past the first step to getting fitter. Once you've broken free from the chains of routine and decided to change things up in your lifestyle you can look at how to better fit exercise into your day.
If your reading this blog post then you most probably have a busy schedule, therefore the best part of the blog comes next. To save you more of your precious time Iv'e come up with some pointers to get you started on the road to fitting exercise into your day. You probably won't like some of the things you read but if you really want to change, get fitter and healthier then this is what you have to do. Trust me, You will feel better for it in the long run both physically and mentally.
I know its difficult and we all love our sleep but one the best ways to fit exercise in is to Wake up earlier in the mornings. It's not rocket science - Set that alarm clock earlier, get your bum out of bed and do your exercise before anything else in the day. I regularly use this method to fit exercise into my day and I swear by it. Yes, it's tough sometimes, especially in the winter months when it's cold and dark and your heading out for a run but you will get used to it or you can choose the easier option of doing a workout indoors if you have the space. From my experience the benefits of an early morning outdoor workout massively out weigh the negatives. Exercise early in the morning can be both invigorating and calming at the same time, when your heading outdoors as the sun comes up, birds are chirping, the roads are quiet, its an amazing experience. Afterwards you feel energised and alert both physically and mentally and then ready to tackle the rest of your day head on. Your metabolism should also be high after your work out which will keep you burning calories more efficiently throughout the rest of your day.
Now onto doing your Exercise at home. I understand that going to and from the gym can waste precious time especially when you can't even get onto the equipment you want to use upon arrival as someone is hogging that bench or treadmill. So what we do now is - Workout at home instead . Most exercises can be performed in the privacy and comfort of your own home with little or no equipment and a little imagination. You can in fact train most muscle groups of the body using only your own body weight. All you need is a clutter free space and a bit of exercise knowledge. You'll also save a pretty penny on gym fees which is always an added bonus. I won't go into all the exercise you can perform here and now as that's probably best kept for another blog post. All I will say is use what equipment you have around you such as chairs, stairs and heavy objects or get yourself a set of cheap dumb bells or resistance bands for your resistance exercises as this will give you more options to perform different exercises and help to keep your workouts fresh and different each time.
Next, my children leave me no time to exercise. I myself have a 4 yr old boy and I have managed to exercise from when he was a baby up until the current day. I exercised both during his nap time and when he was awake and playing in the same room as me, he actually quite enjoyed watching me and now tries to copy some of my moves and tells me to do this exercise when I go to work..it's very charming. Things then got even easier once he was at nursery as that left more time for me to exercise . Not all children are the same but mine was happy to play around me whilst I exercised and now as I said before he's telling me what exercises to do! There little brains are like a sponge and watching us performing strange moves on the lounge floor will probably seem both fascinating and hilarious to them. There’s also plenty of information out there about exercising with your bundle of joy (safety in mind of course). There are specific parent toddler exercise classes you can attend. I’ve seen many a mother racing around the local park at almost 100 mph pushing a rather bemused looking child with wind swept hair. So don't use children as your excuse to not exercise, Get them involved and they will probably enjoy it as much as you and it's a great early introduction to exercise for them.
Last of all I'm to busy and my work gets in the way of me being able to exercise. Again not an excuse, as above, wake up earlier or exercise after work. Some people I know even exercise during there lunch break at short 30 min HIIT ( high intensity interval training) training classes, now that's dedication. At one of my jobs they introduced an exercise at your desk scheme where you would take 5 mins out every hour to get up from your chair and perform some simple exercises during your day, it was just a bit of fun but also very beneficial to those who were stuck at a desk and computer all day. Find time or you will never reach those goals you are aiming for. There's a myriad of excuses out there and remember it's you and only you are the one who is able to make those changes to fit exercise into your everyday life. Find the time and you'll find everything else will follow, You will then be on the road to a fitter lifestyle. Good luck!