Whether our goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, stick to a new eating plan, be heart healthy, or simply maintain our current level of fitness, we all face one common obstacle – TIME.
For most of us, the number one challenge in the quest to stay in shape or lose weight is not exercising itself, but actually being able to fit an exercise program into our busy schedules.
So what’s the answer? How do you balance the demands of family, career, and other relationships and responsibilities, while still taking time to work out? Well, here are a few of the keys that I’ve found help people stick to a consistent workout plan despite their busy and hectic lives.
Commit to a specific schedule.
We’ve all heard the saying, “When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Well, it’s true! So, don’t try to haphazardly cram your workouts into your schedule whenever you see a block of time, because some days there won’t be a free block of time.
Instead, set yourself up for success by literally writing your workouts into your weekly schedule. And make sure you’re scheduling exercise for at least three days per week. Anything less will not be effective to facilitate weight loss or create the other health benefits you are seeking.
Utilize the weekend.
Take advantage of the weekends when scheduling the three to five days per week of exercise you need to establish an effective workout plan that produces results. If you work out at least once on the weekend, you will only need to work out at least two days per week. Want to kick your results up a notch? Work out on both Saturday and Sunday, in addition to working out two days during the week.
Make your workouts a high priority.
Once you go through the process of scheduling your workouts for each week, it is important to make them a high priority. That means not allowing exercise to be bumped off your schedule every time something else comes up, which is one of the biggest mistakes that many people make.
Of course, other things will sometimes come up that leave you no choice besides rescheduling a planned workout. But you must stay vigilant to make sure that you only allow the most important of emergencies to bump a workout off your schedule. And even then, make a point of rescheduling that workout if you can. If you can’t, get right back on schedule as soon as possible.
Don’t be too tough on yourself.
No matter how committed you are, there will be times when you simply cannot stay on top of your workout schedule. Maybe outside demands have temporarily thrown you off track. Or perhaps you’re under the weather for a few days and don’t feel well enough to exercise. Don’t beat yourself up when that happens.
Remember, fitness is a lifestyle. And it’s what you do consistently over a long period of time that matters. So, just make sure you get right back on track as soon as you possibly can and continue to press on.
No matter what goals you have for health, fitness, or weight loss, you CAN fit an effective exercise program into your hectic schedule and be successful at getting the results you want!
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