Fitness for Busy People: How to Incorporate Exercise Into Your Regular Routine

When it comes to finding excuses not to exercise, ‘I just don’t have time’ has got to be top of the pile. If you have a packed schedule and are busy rushing from one appointment to another, it can seem almost impossible to dedicate an hour’s worth of work-out time. The solution? Don’t beat yourself up about it. Yes, it’s great if you can diarise your exercise sessions and stick to it. But if you literally don’t have enough hours in the day, you can still work on your fitness and improve your body by making a few small changes to your routine.

Multi-task to use the time you have more fully

Everyone has a few moments throughout the day when they can exercise whilst doing something else. Try doing squats and / or leg raises whilst brushing your teeth. Assuming that you brush for a couple of minutes, you should find that you can do a few sets of twenty – and you’ll start to see the muscle tone in your legs and glutes improve in no time.

Waiting for the kettle to boil or for your bread to toast? Even if it’s just for 30 seconds or so, do some push ups against the kitchen counter or the wall for stronger, firmer arms.

Got a long report or paper you need to read for work or school? Take it to the gym with you. You can read it whilst on the exercise bike or treadmill.

If you’re watching TV, do some jumping jacks or sit-ups during the commercial break. Or watch whilst sitting on an exercise ball, which will help strengthen your core muscles.

Tighten and release muscles you want to work on whilst working at your desk. No one will see you doing it, but it will improve tone over time.

When you visit the bathroom, do a few lunges whilst you’re there. Doing just a few will take literally seconds, but over the course of a day you’ll manage to do a decent number.

Make mindful choices

Take the stairs. By the time you wait for the elevator to arrive and get to the floor you need, you could probably take the stairs, giving you a cardiovascular workout as well as toning legs.

Walk or cycle, don’t drive. Ok, so this isn’t necessarily feasible if you have a long journey to make, but if it’s a matter of a few miles, it might actually be just as quick to walk or cycle rather than drive (especially if it’s rush hour) and find a parking space. Plus you’ll save money too.

Lose the remote. Getting up to switch channels is a great way to ensure you take more steps everyday.

Choose the parking space farthest away – always. By taking those extra steps, you’ll burn more calories.

Set the alarm just ten minutes earlier. If you have a really busy life you need your sleep, but setting the alarm just ten minutes earlier than usual shouldn’t make you feel tired. Use the extra ten minutes to go for a short, brisk walk, do some yoga, ten minutes of a workout DVD – anything that gets you moving. Ten minutes here and there soon adds up.