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Busy, busy, busy. Everyone is fighting the time crunch these days, and in the rush to fit in the
rest of our lives, our workouts often get short shrift. But it’s possible to have a career,
a family, mow the lawn, get groceries, and still find time for exercise. Here are 10 timesaving
tips to help you get your daily dose of sweat.
Schedule your workout like an appointment. When you have a dentist appointment, you write it in your planner. Same with business meetings. Why not schedule a time for your workout? Put it in
your planner, and keep that time slot sacrosanct. And a workout is more fun than a root
canal.
Look for small blocks of time. You don’t need 60 or 90 minutes to get a good workout. A simple resistance routine can take as little as 15 minutes, and 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise, such as walking and biking, can help you build and maintain fitness. So don’t worry about liberating big time slots. Instead, search your daily routine for small periods of downtime, then make them count.
Take the hard route. We humans are essentially lazy creatures, hence elevators and automobiles. But every bit of exercise counts. Climb the stairs to that meeting instead of riding the lazy-lift, walk to the corner store for a gallon of milk (then tote it home), park your car eight blocks from the office and walk the rest of the way, or bike to the coffee shop on Saturday morning. It all adds up.
Early bird workouts. Most people have one time slot in their day that will never be
interrupted—early in the morning. Unfortunately, most people spend it in bed. Set the alarm
one hour earlier and go for a walk, run, or ride. Go the gym to lift or set up a simple home gym
. It will take about a month to become accustomed to the new schedule, but you may
discover you enjoy greeting the dawn.
Take a lunch break. No one gets fit sitting in the company cafeteria, even if the food is
nutritious. Brown bag it and eat half of your lunch at your desk during your mid-morning break,
the other half in the afternoon. That will liberate the lunch hour for exercise. Added bonus:
Instead of the usual post-lunch coma, you’ll feel invigorated all afternoon.
Night owl. Modern lighting systems as well as reflective clothing have made after-dark workouts safe. Eat dinner, spend time with the family, then head out at 9 p.m. for exercise. If you have trouble falling asleep, you may find that an evening walk, ride, or run quickly sends you to
slumberland.
There’s no place like home. Health clubs are great: impressive weight rooms, high-energy classes, and a thriving social scene. But it takes a big chunk of time to drive to the club, change clothes, work out, shower, and get home. Why not work out at home? All you need is a cardio machine such as a stationary trainer for your bike, an inexpensive set of weights, and a pullup bar. Instant workout, anytime. Tip for people who work at home (you lucky dogs): Take periodic 10-minute breaks from the computer and do one or two exercises. By the end of the day you’ll have worked the whole body—hard.
Commute to work. Think of all the wasted time spent getting to and from work. What if you
could miraculously convert it to exercise time?
Get in the bike habit. A bike is the best limited-time training device ever invented because
it’s so versatile. You can ride for errands that are too far away for walking or running.
Get in the habit of hopping on the bike for all trips less than three or four miles from home or
office. Afraid of getting sweaty?
Dress for sweat-cess. Okay, fitting exercise into your busy day means that you either have to
change clothes frequently or risk getting your usual garb sweaty. The solution is to take
advantage of the workplace’s increasingly casual dress code. You’ll feel a lot more
comfortable doing errands on your bike if you’re dressed in jeans and a T-shirt rather than
a gray flannel suit. Check out any casual clothes store for a variety of styles in easy-to-care-for
nylon blends or faded and comfy cotton.
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