If you regularly work long hours, have a big project you’re working on, or work odd hours, it can be hard to fit exercise into your day. But it is especially during those times when you need to find time to exercise! The stress relief alone is worth finding a way to fit in a workout, even if it’s a really brisk one. Here are some ideas for getting exercise into even the busiest of days.
1. Maximize Efficiency
Just because you don’t have a lot of time doesn’t mean you can’t get in a good workout. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the best ways to burn calories without spending a lot of time. Use one of the best HIIT apps to get started with this type of workout quickly.
Perhaps the best tool for this type of workout is the Nike+ Training Club app, which is a versatile app with workouts for all difficulty levels. You can segment based on several categories and body parts you want to train, such as your core.
Nike+ Training Club is available in multiple languages and lets you set reminders for your workouts. You can train wherever is convenient for you, and you usually don’t need a lot of equipment to participate in as many workouts. The app is available on your iPhone (or Android phone), but it’s also a great option if you want to keep fit using your Apple Watch.
2. Find the Best Time for Your Workout
Hitting the gym or running after work seems like a pretty standard choice for many people, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for you! You can plan your workout for a different time of day, depending on your schedule and when you feel energized and motivated.
For example, some people find that working out early in the morning works best. Even if you’re not a morning person, you can still find ways to create a morning routine that fits your workout. It just takes the right tools and a little dedication. You may also need to go to bed a little earlier in the evening.
However, some people find that it is best to exercise during their lunch break. Others find that a late night gym session just before bedtime is the most ideal option for them. Spend some time figuring out when you are most awake and productive and work around that.
If you have to, you can even split your workout into several shorter sessions—10 minutes before your morning shower, five minutes at lunch, ten minutes when you get home from work, and 15 minutes before bed, for example. For. No matter how you choose to work out, the most important thing is to start.
3. Set goals and face challenges
There’s nothing like a good challenge to motivate you to work out, even when you don’t have a lot of time. For example, climbing stairs; This is one of the best ways to burn calories at work.
If you want to try something fun and improve your fitness, you may find that a challenge like the C25K — also known as the Couch25K — is a great starting point. The purpose of the C25K app is to help you start at the level you are currently at, and help you build your levels up to the point that you can run five kilometers without too many issues.
You can play absolutely anything to help you stay motivated, if that works for you. For example, Habitica is a great way to keep yourself motivated and treat your life like a video game.
In addition to using these apps, you can set goals elsewhere and try to accomplish small tasks each day. For example, let’s say you want to run a marathon 12 months from now. You can use Notion to outline your goal or create your plan in a similar app before jumping into action. Notion also has a number of free templates to help you better present everything.
4. Optimize Your Schedule
No matter how busy you are, chances are there’s some inefficiency in your day. If you can be a little more efficient, you can cut 30 or 60 minutes of work out of your day and have a little more time to do your exercises.
Automating tasks you have to do every day is a great way to save some time. You can use Windows Task Scheduler, Todoist, or similar tools to reduce the effort involved in the tasks you do on a daily basis. Don’t underestimate how much time even a simple keyboard shortcut can save you!
Email is one of the most important places many people can kill time. If you make an effort to be more efficient in the way you handle email, you can save a few minutes each day—and that can add up to hours over a week or two. You can commit to only checking your messages once or twice each day, since most things aren’t as urgent as you think.