How Do You Find the Time?

Whether you have a busy career, a family, pets, travel, volunteer commitments, a household to manage or a host of other responsibilities in your life, it’s tough to find the time to work out, isn’t it? It’s easy to want to hit the snooze button in the mornings, power through lunchtime at work instead of hitting the gym, or change into your sweats and relax when you get home in the evenings because you’re so incredibly tired. And the weekends? Don’t even talk about the weekends! I get it…I’ve been there many, many times. 

However, exercising for as little as 20-30 minutes each day, still has major health benefits and can often seem less daunting to fit into a busy schedule. According to a research study conducted by the Mayo Clinic and featured in ScienceDaily, “Moderately strenuous exercise, about 30 minutes a day, can lead to enormous benefits in terms of your mood, health, weight and the ability to lead an independent and fulfilling life.” Some specific health benefits mentioned in this Mayo Clinic research study include:

1. Prevention and management of type 2 diabetes
2. Lower blood pressure
3. Manageable weight
4. Improved cholesterol
5. Prevention of osteoporosis
6. Prevention of cancer
7. Improved mental health and well being
8. Increased stamina and alertness

These are some pretty compelling reasons to exercise regularly if you ask me! It’s all about your mindset and priorities and if you want to make it happen, you will! Here are some ideas for squeezing in quick, efficient and effective workouts in your day, especially if you don’t have time to hit the gym regularly…and if you can do even more than this, great!

Consider home workouts: This is especially helpful for busy parents. If you want to invest in a treadmill, elliptical machine or stationary bike, that’s great and you should go for it if you can. If you don’t want to spend too much money, buy some dumb bells, a medicine ball, a swiss ball, a yoga mat, resistance bands and home workout DVDs. These are great options to have around your house so you can be more flexible in deciding when and how you want to workout each day and still be around for your family. We have many of the above mentioned options in our house and they work really well.

Add a little walking into your day: Go for a walk during lunchtime at work or better yet, turn a 30 minute meeting in a stuffy conference room into a walking meeting outside instead (many people do this at my company and love it). Another idea is to put the younger kids in a jogging stroller and take an after-dinner walk with your family in the evenings so everyone gets some exercise and fresh air.

Play sports with your kids: My husband and I do this often and I did it recently when I played soccer for about 30 minutes with our boys in the backyard after work…they both gave me quite a workout!

Use YouTube: This is a great option for those who travel or are always on the go. There are so many free and amazing workouts and fitness channels available on YouTube, that you could pull one up on your mobile phone, tablet or laptop, wherever you are. I did this recently in my hotel room when I was on a business trip to NYC and it was an easy and fun way to fit in a quick workout before my meetings. Something is better than nothing, right?

Bring them along: Whether you’re signed up to do a race or simply want to go for a run, hike or bike ride, bring your kids or pets along!

Featured above is a picture my husband took of my boys with me after running a 5k race in Northern CA a few years ago. They had fun and I loved having them cheer me on!

Well…that’s a wrap for tonight…talk to you all next Friday. 🙂 Enjoy the weekend and think about getting in your 30 minutes a day so your friends and family will start to ask you, “How do YOU find the time?” 

Works Cited: Mayo Clinic. “Moderate Exercise Yields Big Benefits.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 January 2008. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080104123421.htm>.