When finding an excuse not to exercise we usually don’t have to try hard, especially if you have a busy lifestyle already. But if you have decided that getting back into shape is going to be a priority. You will have to find the time needed to make it happen. There are a lot of factors that define fitness, and you will have your personal goals, but at the very least your new routine will include diet and some form of additional physical activity. Fortunately, you already eat and move around, so now you need to make these activities more effective
- Get a Fitness Tracker: There are many devices these days that track your activity and let you know how many calories you burned, steps taken, heart rate, and various other things. Before you begin to change your lifestyle. It would be a good idea to first find out the baseline of a normal weekly routine. From there you will be able to track any changes and see if they translate to actual increases in performance.
- Be Prepared: Keep a bag of gym clothes with you, in your car or your office. This will give you the ability to take advantage of inactive parts of your day. You might want to add some stretching gear in that bag and perhaps a yoga mat too.
- Avoid Convenience: Modern food and modern conveniences are why you are in the shape you are in already. Learn to identify the enemies of your fitness. Elevators steal valuable moments of exercise. Short rides on taxis and other modes of transportation cause you to miss out on a brisk walk or even a run.
- Find a Nearby Gym: It doesn’t matter if a gym has all the modern gear or what it looks like. What you are looking for is some place you can get to quickly and engage in some form of exercise. If it is out of your way you will eventually use that as a reason not to go. Making things as easy as possible will help you keep a positive mindset and develop good habits around exercise.
- Bring Your Own Food to Work: Sure, there are healthy choices out there for diet conscious people, but how often are you going to choose those options, versus how often are you going to have the French fries. A good plan is to prepare a week’s worth of lunches at a time, this will save you time and money, and you will be guaranteed that you are sticking to the plan, at least at lunchtime.
- Start a Spreadsheet: People have a better chance of sticking with a program if they can observe their progress. If you start a spreadsheet you can add as many categories as you like. Weight loss, inches lost, calories burned, and exercise stats from the gym.
You will find, if you stay with it for a few weeks, that you will begin to enjoy the challenge of making the whole day an opportunity to improve your fitness. Don’t forget to set goals and reward yourself accordingly. Don’t give yourself food rewards though. It is better to have a regular cheat day instead to satisfy those cravings.