Get fit even if you're busy
Posted by
Nikki F.
Just got this from the website: Real Muscle Online. Helpful!
10 ways to fit in a workout when you seem too busy
We all have them. Busy days where we seem like we are in too much of a rush to do a workout. However, there are some things you can do so that you can still squeeze in some kind of a workout. Here are the top ten ways:
1. Get up early
The solution professional boxers and athletes have been using for hundreds of years. In fact, any person who has ever been great at anything has got up early to better their craft. The Buddha meditated, Leonardo invented and Michael Jordan went and shot some hoop! If you really want to be better at what you do, lose some weight, get fitter, etc. then you should make some priority time for it in the early morning.
2. Lunch time workouts
If you ever come to visit my city you will see we have a big beautiful river in the inner city and around that river is a running track. It is engulfed by beautiful trees and flowers and grassy hills - it makes for a really nice jogging area. All the business men and women change into some running clothes and shoes and go for group jogs around the river. Some companies even have compulsory running days where everyone in the division goes for a jog. After the jog they head back to the office, have a showed and get back to work. Brilliant use of time.
3. Throw out your television
I know no one is going to actually throw out their TV but my point is that people spend far too much time infront of that stupid box. My family got FOXTEL (cable) last week and they have pretty much just sat there doing nothing for the last 48 hours. It is a waste of time.
Have a look at how much time you spend in front of the box and then think about how much you could achieve if you used that time to workout. In one episode of the Simpsons you could go for a run. If you did that every night, just for the time the Simpsons is on, you would be fit and healthy and no longer overweight.
4. Split your routine
If you don’t already you could try splitting your weights routine so that you don’t have to do a whole lot everytime you decide to go to the gym or do a workout.
For example, I do Chest and Triceps on Monday, Back and Biceps on Tuesday, etc. so that each muscle group gets a full week to recover. I do cardio and soccer on the off days and it works really well. My workouts never last for more than 45 minutes.
5. Make your workouts shorter
I know this seems pretty obvious but it really is quite imporant. I think people often think that in order to get any real results they need to workout for hours on end every single day of their life. This is wrong. With a few exceptions I keep all my workouts really short and really intense. I am much more into intensity than duration. If you can’t afford to give more than 15 minutes to fitness a day that is fine but make that 15 minutes hard, fast and intense. Get into sprinting, compound exercises, etc. Jumping squats, clap pushups, chin ups, dips and so on. This is where the real strength and power lies.
6. Stop being lazy!
This is a little bit harsh but for many people it is true. I have a few fat friends who are always telling me they are too busy with work and university and whatever else to do a workout but then they will happily spend two hours at the pool hall for beers after work or I’ll see that they are logged in on msn messenger for most of the day chatting. If you are too busy to do a workout maybe you should take a look at yourself and see if that is the real reason you aren’t working out. Or, are you just lazy?
7. Find a sport/workout that you REALLY love
I noticed that when I started doing kung fu I was much more likely to make time to train it than I was with other workouts that I was bored with. If you find something that you are really really in to then you will find you are more likely to make excuses TO do it as opposed to NOT do it.
8. Play sport instead of lunch with clients/friends
My uncle is known in the business world for meeting his clients at the golf course or at the squash courts. He is a pretty high profile kind of guy so he can get away with picking the meeting place but many of us could meet with friends at a healthy place as opposed for the boring old coffee or lunch.
Think about it. Lunch goes for about 1-1.5 hours. In that time you could play a game of squash, tennis, indoor soccer… whatever. Be creative with your meet ups - your friends and clients will love it.
9. Exercise at your desk
For those days when you simply are too busy to do a workout then try and do something at your desk in your breaks. I do this all the time when I am studying. I will do 30 minutes of study and then have a 10 minute break where I will get a drink, go to the toilet and do 50 pushups. Or, you can leave a hand gripper or dumbbell near your desk and do a short forearm workout whenever you can. On days when you can’t workout it is better to something really small than nothing at all.
10. Don’t sweat it
If you really are too busy and tired to do a workout then it is better to forget about it and stop stressing. Some people work themselves up into a big knot thinking that if they miss one workout all their hard work is going to vanish and they will be back to square one. It won’t. I know what it is like to be too busy to do any exercise but it really isn’t that big of a deal. As long as it doesn’t become a regular habit then there is nothing wrong with taking a day off.
Get fit even if you're busy
Posted by Nikki F.
Just got this from the website: Real Muscle Online. Helpful!
10 ways to fit in a workout when you seem too busy
We all have them. Busy days where we seem like we are in too much of a rush to do a workout. However, there are some things you can do so that you can still squeeze in some kind of a workout. Here are the top ten ways:
1. Get up early
The solution professional boxers and athletes have been using for hundreds of years. In fact, any person who has ever been great at anything has got up early to better their craft. The Buddha meditated, Leonardo invented and Michael Jordan went and shot some hoop! If you really want to be better at what you do, lose some weight, get fitter, etc. then you should make some priority time for it in the early morning.
2. Lunch time workouts
If you ever come to visit my city you will see we have a big beautiful river in the inner city and around that river is a running track. It is engulfed by beautiful trees and flowers and grassy hills - it makes for a really nice jogging area. All the business men and women change into some running clothes and shoes and go for group jogs around the river. Some companies even have compulsory running days where everyone in the division goes for a jog. After the jog they head back to the office, have a showed and get back to work. Brilliant use of time.
3. Throw out your television
I know no one is going to actually throw out their TV but my point is that people spend far too much time infront of that stupid box. My family got FOXTEL (cable) last week and they have pretty much just sat there doing nothing for the last 48 hours. It is a waste of time.
Have a look at how much time you spend in front of the box and then think about how much you could achieve if you used that time to workout. In one episode of the Simpsons you could go for a run. If you did that every night, just for the time the Simpsons is on, you would be fit and healthy and no longer overweight.
4. Split your routine
If you don’t already you could try splitting your weights routine so that you don’t have to do a whole lot everytime you decide to go to the gym or do a workout.
For example, I do Chest and Triceps on Monday, Back and Biceps on Tuesday, etc. so that each muscle group gets a full week to recover. I do cardio and soccer on the off days and it works really well. My workouts never last for more than 45 minutes.
5. Make your workouts shorter
I know this seems pretty obvious but it really is quite imporant. I think people often think that in order to get any real results they need to workout for hours on end every single day of their life. This is wrong. With a few exceptions I keep all my workouts really short and really intense. I am much more into intensity than duration. If you can’t afford to give more than 15 minutes to fitness a day that is fine but make that 15 minutes hard, fast and intense. Get into sprinting, compound exercises, etc. Jumping squats, clap pushups, chin ups, dips and so on. This is where the real strength and power lies.
6. Stop being lazy!
This is a little bit harsh but for many people it is true. I have a few fat friends who are always telling me they are too busy with work and university and whatever else to do a workout but then they will happily spend two hours at the pool hall for beers after work or I’ll see that they are logged in on msn messenger for most of the day chatting. If you are too busy to do a workout maybe you should take a look at yourself and see if that is the real reason you aren’t working out. Or, are you just lazy?
7. Find a sport/workout that you REALLY love
I noticed that when I started doing kung fu I was much more likely to make time to train it than I was with other workouts that I was bored with. If you find something that you are really really in to then you will find you are more likely to make excuses TO do it as opposed to NOT do it.
8. Play sport instead of lunch with clients/friends
My uncle is known in the business world for meeting his clients at the golf course or at the squash courts. He is a pretty high profile kind of guy so he can get away with picking the meeting place but many of us could meet with friends at a healthy place as opposed for the boring old coffee or lunch.
Think about it. Lunch goes for about 1-1.5 hours. In that time you could play a game of squash, tennis, indoor soccer… whatever. Be creative with your meet ups - your friends and clients will love it.
9. Exercise at your desk
For those days when you simply are too busy to do a workout then try and do something at your desk in your breaks. I do this all the time when I am studying. I will do 30 minutes of study and then have a 10 minute break where I will get a drink, go to the toilet and do 50 pushups. Or, you can leave a hand gripper or dumbbell near your desk and do a short forearm workout whenever you can. On days when you can’t workout it is better to something really small than nothing at all.
10. Don’t sweat it
If you really are too busy and tired to do a workout then it is better to forget about it and stop stressing. Some people work themselves up into a big knot thinking that if they miss one workout all their hard work is going to vanish and they will be back to square one. It won’t. I know what it is like to be too busy to do any exercise but it really isn’t that big of a deal. As long as it doesn’t become a regular habit then there is nothing wrong with taking a day off.