When you are juggling children, a spouse, a job and a life, taking the time to exercise might be the last thing on your mind. It can seem impossible to fit in a workout every now and then, let alone several times a week. However, there are many ways to carve out a few minutes for a workout if you are willing to get creative. Here are some great ideas for making it happen no matter how busy you are.
Change Your Mindset
Many of us believe that a workout has to be at least an hour long in order to be of any benefit. But you can still feel the effects of fitness even with 30-40 minutes of strenuous exercise if you really concentrate on making every minute count. Try power-lifting weights for 15-20 minutes followed by 20 minutes of jogging. Or, consider a 30-minute circuit that includes both strength training and cardio.
Get Your Kids Involved
Many gyms have available childcare, and some also offer parent-child fitness classes that might focus on dancing or even old school aerobics. Or you can get in your workout at home by involving the kids. They will think it’s fun to be lifted over your head 15 times while you will be strengthening your arms.
Short and Sweet
There are countless exercises that can be done in a small amount of time and space – think crunches, lunges, mountain climbers and pushups. Create your own routine and do the same movements each day. With time, you can add repetitions or make the moves more difficult, such as holding a plank for a longer duration.
Go Incognito
Isometrics are a very simple way to work your major muscle groups, and they can be done any time or place. These are exercises where you hold a contraction for a long period of time. For example, if you are at the office and are headed to a meeting, you can contract your abdominals and hold them in while you walk to the conference room. If you are a stay-at-home mom and have to do the grocery shopping, squeeze your glutes with each step as you push the cart around the store.
Tune In
If you need the inspiration of an exercise instructor but don’t have time for the gym, try using exercise videos at home. Before you buy one, check out the selection at your local library. That way, you can try several before deciding which one you like enough to want to purchase.
