It’s Friday! I’m so looking forward to a fun London weekend. So far this weekend’s agenda includes another “proper footie”, yoga, a 10 mile long run with some lovely Team Naturally Run ladies, and some fun with Emily who is staying with us this weekend.
Last time Emily stayed with us we saw Crystal Palace vs Chelsea and this weekend we’re heading to the Fulham Football Club to see Fulham vs Southampton. Based on last time, I’m sure there will be some beer and loud cheering involved!
This morning I want to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart – squeezing in workouts. These days, for me working out isn’t about weight loss but instead stress management and happiness. There are few things in life that make me feel more energized and balanced then a good workout, regardless the length. Finding time to workout isn’t always easy. For some people, it is family and work that get in the way. For others it is a demanding travel schedule. When I read about ladies like Katy Widrick, my current “recreational runner” hero, throwing down 1:50 half marathons I know that anything is possible with hard work and positive energy. (source)
When I see all that she continues to accomplish even with the demands of a young daughter, husband and career I am inspired. This inspiration fueled my workouts this week. It also caused me to reassess any workout barriers and do everything possible to make quality workouts possible.
Yesterday, as I enjoyed a quick 40 minute trail run with Renaud, I thought about the fact that I was literally squeezing this run in between back to back meetings and a flight to London. It wasn’t easy to make it work in my schedule but it was well worth it when we finished – endorphin happy and sweaty from a challenging run. It isn’t always easy to fit in a workout and many days it would be easier to just forget about it. But hopefully these 10 tips will help you squeeze in a workout and make finding excuses to quit before you start 10 times harder!
Your turn – How do you find time to squeeze in a workout? Or, if you have issues with it, what is your biggest barrier?
The easiest way for me to get a workout in is tip #5. I started off get up early one day a week, then 2 and so on. In the summer, it’s not unusual for me to get up 4 times during the work week (I give myself a break in the icy winter…no falls!). It lets me decompress after work, go to happy hour, see a movie…whatever I want. It also gives me the feeling that Philly is “all mine” when I’m the only one on the street. Nothing better!
For me it’s just planning ahead and scheduling it in. If I have a super long commute one day or have to work late, I’ll work out the day before. I also have no desire to work out hard daily so that helps with planning! If the day isn’t too busy I’ll take a walk on my lunch break for 10-40 minutes which I swear makes the biggest difference!
I love all these tips — but the ones I use the most (I’m lucky enough to have a treadmill in my apartment gym right now that I use most days) are stairs (I live on the 4th floor and walk the pup often) and streaming work outs!
Waking up earlier has been the key to me fitting everything in, especially when marathon training. But I must say that it is MUCH harder to do in the winter and I have been slacking on the a.m. workouts.
Lately I’ve been working out on my lunch hour to get in a workout since by evening other things get in the way sometimes. I also abide by the “something is better than nothing” mentality and try to fit in what I can when I can! 🙂