Want to Keep Working Out (Even if You’re Crazy Busy)? Here’s How
Is your busy schedule getting in the way of getting to the gym? Or working out at all?
Want to Keep Working Out (Even if You’re Crazy Busy)? Here’s How
In this episode, we’re sharing the secret to working out no matter how busy you are (or how to start if you haven’t been doing it lately).
These are my five best tricks and I guarantee you, there’s one in here that you’ve never heard before.
I find that my workout routine is the first thing to take a hit whenever we’re in transition or something is going on with our family– it’s the first thing that can get de-prioritized.
But it’s not the thing that should go to the bottom of the list when life gets crazy, in fact, it’s a grounding thing that can keep us feeling good, calm, and energized.
I’m so excited to be partnering up with Robin Long from The Balanced Life just in time for this episode.
Robin is doing a free pilates challenge that I’ll be taking part in and I invite you to do it with me.
It’s completely free, 10-days for 15-minutes a day, with no equipment necessary other than an internet connection.
Each of the workouts are designed to help you improve your consistency, build strength, and improve the way you feel in your body each day.
The challenge kicks off September 9th, but sign up start right now!
If you decide to sign up, I have a super fun bonus for you.
Send me a screenshot of your confirmation or forward me your confirmation email at hello@realfoodwholelife.com and I’ll send you a promo code for a free Simplified 5 Minute Morning Journal (almost a $20 value).
Take advantage of these free challenges that exist on the internet.
You don’t have to wait to sign up for a fancy gym or invest in a personal trainer.
A lot of the time, it’s just taking these first tiny baby steps, make a commitment, and do the thing.
1 | Decide what it’s for.
A lot of the time, we get caught up in a perfectionist way of thinking when it comes to exercise and movement. I want you to move from that perfectionism way of thinking to self-compassion.
Take a moment to decide what movement or exercise is for. What’s the purpose of doing it?
Let’s be real, if the reason you’re moving your body is purely to check a box, to burn a certain number of calories, or to make your fitness tracker stop beeping at you, research clearly shows that none of those reasons are strong enough to sustain you, to keep you radically consistent when it comes to working out, especially when you’re busy.
Strategies:
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Write a list of the reasons being as specific as possible.
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“I want to work out so my arms are strong enough to hold my grandbabies”
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“I want to work out so I have mental clarity and feel calm throughout my day”
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“I want to work out because my body can do it”
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“I want to work out so I can do everything I want to do in my life”
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Write your reasons on notes and post them somewhere where they can remind you to take that step and just make it happen.
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Flip the script from extra to essential.
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We can tell ourselves that exercise is extra, and then it falls to the bottom of the list when life gets busy.
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But can you flip the script and make it your essential, the thing that you do no matter what happens?
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2 | Everything counts.
When was the last time you didn’t move your body because you thought what you had time for didn’t count?
This is a classic mindset trap of all or nothing thinking.
I want you to move from all or nothing to “the power middle”, which is to say that everything counts.
You don’t necessarily have to have your heart rate up for it to count, or be sweaty for it to count, or be at least half an hour for it to count, or be in workout clothes for it to count.
Strategies:
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Embrace shorter workouts: I’m talking about five minutes, one minute.
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See how minute you can make your workouts in the next couple weeks to incorporate small moments of movement throughout your day.
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Two out of three: this helps you get out of that on or off the wagon mentality.
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If you miss a day, just focus on moving during the next two days.
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3 | Start where you are.
Move out of comparison, whether that be comparing yourself to other people or to yourself in the past.
We can get really stuck in toxic comparison when it comes to working out in particular, and it really keeps us from finding consistency.
“Gratitude is the direct way out of comparison.”
Find something about yourself right now that you can appreciate.
Strategies:
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Start small: if it’s been a while, you don’t have to go all in and then burn out or hurt yourself.
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Start small and let yourself be where you are.
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You have so much to offer in this version that you are right now.
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Do it with gratitude.
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Find one part of yourself or of the experience that you can be grateful for.
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Gratitude for showing up, for trying.
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It’s okay if it’s hard and it’s okay if you don’t love every second of it.
4 | Reevaluate and commit to seasons.
Look at your schedule and try to see what’s realistic for this season.
Scheduling in workouts is a great idea, but it’s not always something that works for everyone all the time.
Switch over to a self-compassion mindset.
Ask yourself, “what will work this week, this month, this season?”
Or even, ”what will work today?”
Lean into your season, don’t fight it.
Strategy:
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Realistic scheduling: if you do like to schedule in movement but you find that you often end up not sticking to it, try to move it to a more realistic time for you.
5 | Habit Stack.
Fold a new habit, like working out or a routine, into a routine you already have.
It’s a let this lead to that rule.
Maybe this is finishing up your morning email check and that is doing a couple rounds of walking up the stairs in your office.
Or this is you finish studying for the night and that is you fire up a 15 minute workout.
It’ll improve the chance that you stick with it, even when things get busy.
Bonus tip:
“Be you.
Do what you love.
You have permission to find something that you like to do it in a way that makes sense for you.”
Resources
Bonus for joining the challenge: Simplified Morning freebie
Show the Feel Good Effect Love
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