In today’s fast-paced world, where downtime feels like a luxury, exercise often seems like just another thing to add to the already overwhelming to-do list.
I totally understand. I often find it incredibly tough too! It’s not always easy to fit exercise into my routine, and truth be told, there are days when I don’t manage. But what if staying active didn’t have to be a huge time commitment?
Personally, I try to set up my schedule in a way that carves out a little time for physical activity most days of the week. It’s not a lot of time, but it’s regular. And regularity and consistency beat long, intense one-off sessions any day.
Ever heard someone say “consistency is key”? It’s not just a mantra people repeat to encourage you to exercise. Yes, an acute bout of exercise can be beneficial, but the cumulative effects of many bouts of exercise offer far greater benefits (Rivera-Brown & Frontera, 2012).
So, how can you make exercise a priority and fit it into your daily routine?
Here are a few tips that I’ve found help me make the time.
1. Come Up with a Strategy You Can Stick To and Review It Periodically
Let me start by saying this: different seasons and times of the year will call for different strategies.
For me, when I’m at home with family for the holidays, it’s easier to plan exercise with them. My mum and I will wake up for early-morning walks – that way, we motivate each other to stay active.
When I’m in the middle of a particularly intense period of study, I need evening exercise sessions to de-stress after hours of cramming information into my brain.
If I’m dealing with the daily grind of a 9-5 job, I need to do my exercise in the morning, because otherwise, it just wouldn’t get done.
So, my first tip is this: be flexible and think of new ideas for whatever situation you find yourself in.
2. Plan Ahead Using a Calendar
Do you use a calendar app or write your appointments and meetings in a diary? If you do, then this next tip won’t be that difficult for you…
At the weekend, I like to look at my schedule for the next 7 days and figure out the best time to exercise and what I think would be manageable to fit in on that day. If I have a relatively slow day at work, I might schedule in a heavy lifting session. If I know I have some stressful meetings, I’ll plan a de-stressing bike ride in the evening.
Whatever I plan, the very act of fitting it into my calendar means I’m more likely to do it because it’s a set appointment. Just like I can’t skip a meeting that’s been scheduled, I can’t skip my training session if it’s in my calendar.
3. The Power of Morning Workouts
Next, I’d recommend fitting your workouts into your morning routine – before work or university – particularly if you have a consistent and tiring schedule.
Look, I’ve been there. After a 9-5 job, the last thing you feel like doing is heading back out to the gym. I always need some quiet, relaxing time to myself because I’m often exhausted and have no energy left to train.
During times when my routine looked like this, morning workouts were the best option for me. Once I was up early, it made sense to head to the gym, get my workout in, and then be ready to face the day. Consequently, after a full day at work, I didn’t have to feel guilty about heading home to watch a film or read a good book because I’d already fit my exercise into my day.
So, in order to stay consistent, morning workouts are the way to go (Schumacher et al., 2020). They’re a game-changer!
4. Wake Up Early for a Quiet Workout
Similarly, while it may not feel convenient, waking up early to exercise is a great strategy if you have young children. Once they’re up, your day revolves around them, right? So waking up before they do and carving out some time for yourself to clear your mind and stay healthy is a great strategy – both for you and, in the long run, for them.
You could also head to the gym after they’re asleep. But honestly, after putting the little terrors to bed, who has the energy to drag themselves out for a night-time exercise class?
5. Short but Consistent Workouts Are Key
My next recommendation is to stick to short but consistent workouts. 30–45 minutes is enough to stay fit and healthy and is short enough to remain sustainable.
If you were a powerlifter or a bodybuilder, I’d understand needing longer workout times. I’ve heard friends talk about 5-minute rests between sets, with workouts taking 3 hours to complete. But that’s not feasible, realistic, or even necessary for the majority of us.
If your goal is to stay fit and healthy, the American College of Sports Medicine and the WHO recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, along with a couple of resistance training sessions.
That’s really not a huge amount, and with a bit of planning, I believe it can be manageable for us all.
6. Sneak in a Jog During Your Lunch Break
For those really pressed for time, another idea is to go for a jog during your lunch break – provided there’s a shower at your workplace. Do yourself and your colleagues a favour and skip this tip if showering facilities are not available.
It can be a great way to take a break from the stress of work and disengage for a short while.
I can’t say I’ve ever jogged in the middle of the day at work, but during my time at university, I took the opportunity to go for a midday jog on particularly stressful days – the kind when your mind is racing and you just can’t sit still. Those are the best days to go for a run. Channel your energy into something productive, and you may even feel calmer and happier after your exercise session (Vieira Pereira et al., 2021).
7. Get Active While You Work (Think Treadmill Desk!)
One of my favourite films growing up was Bride Wars, and I remember being impressed by the fact that Kate Hudson’s character, Liv, had a treadmill in her office, which she used to stay in shape for her wedding. Why not draw some inspiration from this 2009 rom-com and buy yourself an under-desk treadmill?!
This piece of workout equipment has recently gained traction and is all the rage. It’s a great way to increase your step count while being fixed in one spot at work.
If the treadmill seems like too big a splurge (or just a little out of your comfort zone), at the very least, consider a standing desk. Standing rather than sitting increases your activity levels and reduces your sedentary behaviour, which has been shown to be detrimental to our health (Mansoubi et al., 2015).
I’ve often heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking” – perhaps you have too – and given the horrendous effects it has on our health, I’m not surprised!
Part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle involves reducing our sitting time, so being more active at work, where we spend a good 8 hours of our day, is a great way to do just that.
8. Commit to a Gym Membership
My next tip is to pay for a gym membership. The number of times I’ve convinced myself to get out of bed and head to the gym in the morning “because I’ve already paid for it” is too many to count.
Spending money means you have skin in the game, and you’re more likely to want to get your money’s worth. While I can’t say I’ve found much scientific evidence for this, I certainly know it from experience. Trust me – sign up to a gym! And if you can pay for a yearly membership upfront, the fee itself might be motivation enough to show up week after week.
9. Hire a Personal Trainer or Find an Accountability Partner
Do you ever feel like you get more work done when you have a deadline, and someone – perhaps your boss – is monitoring your goals and expecting timely results?
The same principle applies to exercise. The truth is, having a personal trainer monitoring your attendance and progress means you’re more likely to work out regularly. This is something we know intuitively.
You may be tempted to skip a session, but just the thought of the look your PT would give you next time you offer excuses is enough to convince you that you’re not that tired and that the cold you were sure you had this morning was really just a small winter sniffle.
If you’re operating on a budget, a friend can also be a good accountability partner. You can help each other. I know that when I plan to exercise with someone, I’ll definitely show up for the session because the other person is counting on me as much as I am counting on them. Motivating one another to stay active is a great strategy, and it means you can both improve together too – sharing in each other’s wins is a nice bonus.
It can be very easy to drop out if there’s no one on the fitness journey with you, especially if you’re going to a gym and find it intimidating (Pridgeon & Grogan, 2012). So get yourself a friend or accountability partner – it might be just what you need to keep going.
10. Make Exercise a Social Activity
As I mentioned, exercising with a friend is a great accountability strategy, but social connections also make exercising more enjoyable. If you enjoy it, you’re more likely to do it again, right?
This makes staying fit and active good for mental health too (not that it wasn’t already), because it’s a perfect excuse to meet up with friends and create meaningful connections and bonds (Fraser & Spink, 2002).
You could also consider planning ‘active’ or ‘physical’ activities when going out with friends. For example, instead of a sit-down dinner, you could try a hike and picnic! That way, you’re fitting physical activity into your social calendar too. That’s what I call killing two birds with one stone!
11. Choose Exercise You Enjoy for Long-Term Success
Finally, my last tip is to find exercise that you enjoy. Consistency comes from self-regulated motivation, not from chasing external goals like weight loss. So, try to do it because you enjoy it and find pleasure in the activity.
It’s no use forcing yourself into exercise you hate. It can end up negatively impacting your mental health instead of improving it if, day in and day out, you engage in activities you dislike.
Autonomy (being self-directed and taking ownership of your training), intrinsic motivation (from within, not centred on external goals), and enjoyment are good predictors of adherence to exercise (Rodgers et al., 2010). I promise there is something out there that you’ll enjoy. A team sport, Pilates in nature, swimming, hiking, CrossFit, dancing… the list is endless and varied. It doesn’t have to just be a jog or a gym session.
Find what works best for you and stick to it. If variety is the spice of life, try something new every day. I guarantee you could find at least a month’s worth of different activities to try if you really wanted to!
If it wasn’t already completely clear, the reason I’ve gathered all these tips is because I, too, often find it difficult.
For some people, staying active comes more naturally, and there are times when it becomes more enjoyable, but that usually happens when it becomes a part of your routine – when you become addicted to it and need exercise to function properly. Even then, there will be days when you won’t feel like dragging yourself to the gym.
But it’s the consistency that keeps us healthy, so don’t give up the fight. The important thing is to start somewhere and keep showing up. However little you do at the start, every day you exercise is another feather in your habitual exercise cap. Once it becomes a habit, it will hopefully be easier to maintain.
Disclaimer: With all that being said, don’t forget your rest days! It’s so important to strike a balance, and recovery is a must. Also, please check in with a doctor before you begin exercising or change your routine if you haven’t already!
References
Fraser, S. N., & Spink, K. S. (2002). Examining the role of social support and group cohesion in exercise compliance. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 25(3), 233–249. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1015328627304
Mansoubi, M., Pearson, N., Clemes, S. A., Biddle, S. J., Bodicoat, D. H., Tolfrey, K., Edwardson, C. L., & Yates, T. (2015). Energy expenditure during common sitting and standing tasks: examining the 1.5 MET definition of sedentary behaviour. BMC Public Health, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1851-x
Pridgeon, L., & Grogan, S. (2012). Understanding exercise adherence and dropout: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of men and women’s accounts of gym attendance and non-attendance. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 4(3), 382–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676x.2012.712984
Rivera-Brown, A. M., & Frontera, W. R. (2012). Principles of Exercise Physiology: Responses to Acute Exercise and Long-term Adaptations to Training. PM&R, 4(11), 797–804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmrj.2012.10.007
Rodgers, W. M., Hall, C. R., Duncan, L. R., Pearson, E., & Milne, M. I. (2010). Becoming a regular exerciser: Examining change in behavioural regulations among exercise initiates. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11(5), 378–386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2010.04.007
Schumacher, L. M., Thomas, J. G., Raynor, H. A., Rhodes, R. E., & Bond, D. S. (2020). Consistent Morning Exercise May Be Beneficial for Individuals With Obesity. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 48(4), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.1249/JES.0000000000000226
Vieira Pereira, H., Labisa Palmeira, A., Encantado, J., Moreira Marques, M., Santos, I., Veiga Carraça, E., & Teixeira, P. J. (2021). Systematic Review of Psychological and Behavioral Correlates of Recreational Running. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(624783). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624783