Stop wasting your time on workouts that take hours or you hate doing. Instead, find out how to get the most out of your workouts today!
Stop wasting your time on workouts that take hours or you hate doing. Instead, find out how to get the most out of your workouts today!You are not alone. As the days get colder and darker, finding incentive to exercise can be a tough sell. On top of that, most people outsource their exercise to a gym, class or studio. This outsourcing costs at least an additional hour to their already busy day, if not more. There are the rare few that try to get sweaty during their workday, but then they have to return to their desk winded, flushed, and damp.
That doesn’t sound invigorating to me. That sounds exhausting.
“I don’t have the energy for exercise” is what I hear most often from friends and family. For them, exercise is a chore to be marked off a to-do list. There is nothing interesting or invigorating about it. It is simply something one must do, especially as the New Year rolls in. So, they hop on a hamster wheel (aka treadmill) and pat themselves on the back after 40 minutes of clocking time.
That is NOT exercising, it is being active.
[bctt tweet=”Being active is great, but you can’t get fit without #exercise. How do you find energy & time to exercise?”]
Here’s are some interesting numbers:
- You sleep about 6-7 hours a night
- You work about 8-10 hours a day
- You spend about 3-4 hours to prepare and eat meals (unless you go take out)
- You watch 3 hours of TV a night (if you’re an average American)
That is a 24-hour day. Really creative multi-taskers put a treadmill in front of their TV or use an exercise bike while reading a magazine. Honestly, I have no clue how these folks are able to do this without some serious injuries. Plus, we are already suffering the consequences of too much multi-tasking in our society (stop the madness!)
Most people believe that they have to devote 4-5 hours a week to exercise. For most of us, those 4-5 hours are a WASTE OF TIME. Unless you make an effort to move constantly throughout your day, exercising for longer than 30 minutes a day will not help you lose weight or break a plateau.
Can you believe that research studies have shown that just 5 minutes of explosive activity could be more beneficial for your heart than leisurely walking for an hour?
This is great news for office warriors and cube dwellers! This is a clarion call for busy professionals and multi-tasking moms!
Here are 3 ways to get energized and excited by exercise and stop wasting your time.
- Start with an activity you love. This could be walking, running, dancing, swimming, sports, or any activity that inspires you. The most important thing is that it is fun for YOU.
- Do it faster for fewer minutes, or incorporate compound movements. Compound movements are movements that simultaneously work more than one part of your body.
- Find ways to lift, bend, or squat while doing it. If you can hold weights or resistance bands while doing it, even better! Women over 35 benefit the most from strength training.
- If you are really looking for a challenge, then set a specific goal for your particular activity and give yourself a timeline to take it up a notch.
For example, if you normally walk for one hour 3 times a week, set a goal to be able to run the same distance in intervals by the end of the month. If you are just starting a plank or push-up challenge, try to do a more challenging variation or hold the pose for longer or with your child sitting on your back.
These are all strategies that I share with my coaching clients. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t exercised in 15 years or just finished an ultra-marathon, you might still struggle with your exercise goals. Checking in with an accountability partner (other than your dog) might just be the kick in you pants you need to succeed.
Besides, who wants to fight the Lululemon-wearing gym rats for time on the hamster wheel when January rolls around? Or struggle to figure out what to do with those machines?
