Finding time to exercise......

I was giving a bit of advice a while back. Choose something that you can do when you have very little time.. The minimum that you know you can complete. Mine happens to be a walk around the lake near me, That equals two miles. You will find when you do it you will always add to it. I have also now added a half hour walk in a local park during my lunch hour.. Use that time to call your mother or some friend. The time will fly by.

Make time and plan it into your schedule. I get up early to do a workout before school(dvd video or treadmill) and then do another 30 min in the weight room or around the track before going home.

I can speak for the not motivated part. I hate working out -- the feeling of not eeing able to breat and the soreness in the morning. Luckily for me, my mom signed me and the rest of my family up for a 5k. I totally didn't what-so-ever want to finish last. I started by walking 20 minutes 3 times per week to get into it. Once I started feeling/noticing improvement in that, I got more motivated and wanted to do more. It's helped my mood and, really, it's 20 mintues.

Find time for it. Even if it's ten minutes, five, do it. Also, i've started using a smaller water bottle so I'd have to walk more steps to fill it. This helped me drink more water which made me have to walk to the restroom more...I've started taking the stairs at university, taking the longer rout and walking faster, just anything I can find to squeeze a few minutes in.

Don't stop, either. I caught myself, due to the weather, cheating myself and finding it way too easy to just not do it. I'm paying for it with sore muscles and annoyence at myself. Hope this helps -- my own personal method. You'll find something that works for you if you truely want to! Best of luck to you!

schedule it.

ninerbuff wrote: »

Say you have 16 hours to find time. Let's take off 8 hours for work and 3 hours for commuting and getting ready time. That's still 5 hours to find time. Add in 2 hours for morning and dinner prep. You still have 3 hours. And even if you wanted to take an hour off to just veg out, that's still 2 hours to find time. So is it really time or lack of wanting to do it altogether?

Please add two children to your calculation.

I work from home and have days where I have to sit for 8 hours or more and type, so what I try to do is every hour, get up and walk 1/2 mile. If I can't squeeze in 10 minutes, then I'll do 1/4 mile, which takes 5 minutes or less. I have a treadmill, so this is easy for me to do but if I didn't have that, a quick walk around my block is roughly .4 miles, so I have done that sometimes, too, especially on nice days. Anything, if even for a few sporadic, quick minutes, is better than nothing!

You do it whether you have the time or not. I have been waking up at 5 am to go running, and then I typically work out right after work as well.

You'll never "find time" to do anything. What you've gotta do is figure out your priorities, and make the time accordingly for the activities you feel are important.

I figure an hour a day adds days to my life, so in the end, I make the time to exercise daily. I will hazard most everyone on this forum is on the internet for at least 1 hour a day, and watches 2 hours a day of TV.

sijomial wrote: »

jendmcloud wrote: »

Does anyone else have a hard time squeezing in time for exercise during the day? I think for me it's a combination of being short on time as well as motivation. Any tips?

If it's a priority then you will do it. Plan it. Commit to it. Set goals.

How much TV do you watch? Watch less!

Even if you struggle to find a large time slot for exercise shorter slots are very possible for almost everyone.
Building incidental activity into your routine is also very valuable - walk/cycle instead of driving, stairs whenever available, spend less time on your *kitten* and more time on your feet.

If you are physically capable, you can even jog in place while watching TV instead of sitting on the couch.

I once heard a quote (I'm paraphrasing here) that said -saying that you don't have time for something, is really saying that it isn't your priority. You make time for what is important. If it isn't important to you, you'll find an excuse. I think struggling with motivation is why you can't find time. Look at your day and think of all the things you do that are unnecessary. Consider-could you wake up earlier and get in a workout? Could you get in something on a lunch break? Could you do something immediately after work? Could you prepare better for your week on Sunday's so cooking and household duties don't get in the way? A lot of having time is also preparation. Make a plan and stick to it. Recommit daily and remember why you are working out in the first place.

I used to feel the same way, that I didn't have time to make exercising a priority. What is really was though was that my schedule does not accommodate going to the gym during the week, and I'd always associated exercise with the gym.

Now, I've made it a habit to go for a walk or run after dinner. Even on nights that I don't really feel like doing it, I tell myself to just do a mile and I can come home after that. I usually end up doing a bit more, but sometimes I do come home after a mile. My typical walk/run each night is 2.5ish miles, and I'm only gone for about 40 minutes. Getting out there is a priority every night, because once I made it a habit I found that I really enjoyed that ~30 minutes to myself away from the house.

When the weather is bad, I've even done walking or running YouTube videos in my living room. Or, I'll jog in place while I watch TV. Pretty much anything that keeps me moving.

Now I go to the gym for strength training and additional cardio on the weekends. I've refocused how I think about exercise away from the gym and I found that I can definitely fit in time to exercise. Figure out what works with your schedule and do it long enough to make it a habit.

75in2013 wrote: »

ninerbuff wrote: »

Say you have 16 hours to find time. Let's take off 8 hours for work and 3 hours for commuting and getting ready time. That's still 5 hours to find time. Add in 2 hours for morning and dinner prep. You still have 3 hours. And even if you wanted to take an hour off to just veg out, that's still 2 hours to find time. So is it really time or lack of wanting to do it altogether?

Please add two children to your calculation.

I have two small boys...I still make time...when it's a priority you make the time.

coreyreichle wrote: »

You'll never "find time" to do anything. What you've gotta do is figure out your priorities, and make the time accordingly for the activities you feel are important.

I figure an hour a day adds days to my life, so in the end, I make the time to exercise daily. I will hazard most everyone on this forum is on the internet for at least 1 hour a day, and watches 2 hours a day of TV.

I wake up an hour early in the morning to be able to get my hour workout in. If I just have to sleep in, I will make it up when I walk in the door from work before getting comfortable.