Effective Fitness Routines for a Busy Lifestyle: Tips and Strategies

Life seems to get busier and busier year after year with school, kids, careers, community services, and much more that we continue to fill our plates with. Roughly 69 percent of the population in the U.S. is overweight or obese, and these numbers continue to rise, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. With these numbers continuing to grow and our food industry getting increasingly intoxicated with harmful ingredients, more physical movement and nutritional awareness are becoming necessary. Not having the time to exercise physically can debilitate your ability to make healthy decisions with food or in other parts of your life. All-cause mortality is decreased by 30-35% in physically active people compared to sedentary people. In this article, You will find efficient fitness routines for busy lifestyles.

Exercise doesn't require a gym

The Importance of Prioritizing Fitness

Biologically, we are designed to move ever since the beginning of our existence. That is why we were given arms and legs; if you really think about it, we are incredibly built. We can climb, run, jump, lift incredible things, and move our bodies in ways that sometimes seem impossible. In today's society, focusing on how much money we can make and how hard we can work, our physical health has hit the back burner. Physical fitness is more important now than ever, with our nation being one of the sickest in the world.

Physical movement is the key to longevity, according to many experts. It decreases all-cause mortality, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. People who practiced various exercises had a better overall lifespan than those who just focused on one type of exercise. This shows you that we are meant to do more than just one thing and are capable of more than we give ourselves credit for. Physical activity can improve strength in your bones and joints, keeping you strong and agile to play with your kids or grandkids more often. Prioritizing fitness teaches us discipline, accountability, self-control, mental fortitude, and more importantly a way to have a sustainable fitness routine for a busy lifestyle.

Exercise decreases anxiety, improves mood, and increases blood flow, which improves brain function. There are studies linking neuroplasticity to exercise, meaning it can help you learn new things and improve your memory. Exercise also influences your kids to be more active, with screen time being a major issue with children. Being a good example and working out affects kids to do the same. Making fitness or physical activity a priority will not only improve your physical health, it will improve your mental health and can be a great way to get your kids moving.

Assessing Your Schedule

In today's workforce, we are all victims of our schedules, with events, meetings, school meetings, family events, and more. One of my favorite ways to stay consistent with exercise is by planning my workouts a month in advance. Looking ahead at what's coming up can be an excellent way to hold yourself accountable, keep you consistent, and remind you what you will be training.

Studies show that people who schedule their routines are more successful at maintaining consistency. I am not saying you should plan six days a week for a month. Be realistic and schedule your workouts according to what you can do. If you think you can only work one to two days a week at first, that's amazing. Two days of resistance training for 20-30 minutes each can help build strength and bone density, improve heart health, and prevent obesity.

Many people need to realize that exercise is not binary; you can make it look however you want it to look. What matters the most is that you are trying to do something for your body. If you set a goal of working out 8-12 times a month, figure out what that looks like for you on your schedule and commit to that instead of putting so much pressure on yourself to be an athlete when that's not your goal or the social media image.

Time Efficient Workouts

Now that you know how to schedule your workouts, let's talk about some great workouts you can do to save time and make it easy to stay consistent and see results.

We are designed to walk, so walking and getting steps is a great way to burn calories, Improve mental health, and improve your digestion. A way to spice this up is to carry some small weights with you on your walks and add some exercises while walking. For example, every quarter of a mile (0.25), you do a circuit of squats, presses, and pushups. And do that for every quarter or a mile you go.

HIIT workouts are the newest way to get a quick and effective workout. Doing 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off with 8-10 different exercises for 20 minutes gets the heart going and builds incredible amounts of muscle. Doing these 2-3 days a week can improve your metabolism and increase fat utilization, especially if you do these fast.

Investing in at-home gym equipment does not have to be expensive. Some small dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, and a jump rope are all you need. Breaking up your workout into three 10-minute circuits, where you do 10 minutes in the morning, ten at lunch, and then 10 minutes at the end of your day, can be an excellent routine for those who work from home.

Then, one of my favorite workout schedules is using your work schedule to your advantage. Break up your workout into four 5-minute rounds throughout your day, where you work for a little while, do pushups, jumping jacks, squats, and crunches for 5 minutes, and then return to work. You get an energy boost and mental clarity, build muscle, and don't even break a sweat. This is a great routine if you are pressed for time.

Working out can be structured differently than in a gym or some studio to be effective or expensive. Creativity and dedication to helping and improving the body are all you need to get a good workout.

Setting Realistic Goals

So many people try to put unrealistic expectations on themselves, which ultimately sets them up for failure in the long run. If you have never trained six days a week and suddenly expect yourself to exercise that often, you will burn out extremely quickly. Setting realistic goals is having an honest perspective of your schedule and level of expertise. If you can work out 2-3 days a week, starting with that as your goal first will help you progress to add more days eventually. Start small and build yourself up.

Now, with your physical goals, make sure those goals fit you as a person. If you expect to be a bodybuilder or some extreme athlete, you will also burn out quickly. Having small attainable goals is critical in long-term success with fitness, like increasing your step count each week from 5,000 steps a day to 6 or increasing your weights at the gym 5 pounds at a time. This is a safe and effective way of setting goals, as this will help you focus on the present goals instead of the long-term goals, which can be overwhelming.

Create a Supportive Environment

Fitness is more fun with friends

You are having support while on this journey can be a great way to hold you accountable. A great way of doing this is to get a family member, coworker, coach, or someone who will support you while you are on this journey.

I think starting a fitness group at your job, school, church, or somewhere you have supportive friends that you can hold each other accountable through the process.

Getting your spouse or partner involved is also a great way to spice up your relationship, and working on yourselves enhances the relationship even more.

This may be hard to hear, but creating healthy boundaries with people who you feel drag you down is also helpful when trying to stay or get consistent with exercise, as when you don't, you put yourself at risk of being held back from your fullest potential.

Support is a part of success; you should not have to do it alone, and I promise plenty of people out there would love to have the same help.

Overcoming Obstacles

In fitness, you will encounter plateaus, sickness, injury, fatigue, and lack of motivation. When you face these obstacles, it is essential that you create some variety in your routine. Ensure you get plenty of rest and stay away from anything that will drain your confidence.

Creating variety in your routine is crucial to shock the system and keep seeing progress. If you are walking, add in some resistance training. This can switch things up and work different parts of the body you are not used to working, which can spark your metabolic rate and get you back to seeing progress. It's the same with weight lifting; adding yoga, swimming, walking, or creating variety will help prevent these obstacles.

Getting plenty of rest and recovering correctly is vital to keep your motivation alive. Not putting so much pressure on yourself to work out seven days a week and just working out 3-4 days a week is excellent, and you will see more long-term benefits from training this way. Practicing mobility and stretching can help prevent injury and sickness. This also decreases the risk of burnout.

Eliminating things that drain your confidence, like unrealistic goals, a scale, and too much time in the mirror, will drain your confidence and burn you out. It is best to focus on why you are working out in the first place. Setting goals that are more about your mental health and your relationship with yourself for your longevity prevents self-esteem issues and increases confidence. If you want to lose weight, weigh yourself once a month. This has been shown to help people work harder during the whole month and see better results because of it.

Overcoming obstacles is never easy, but sticking to your why and being realistic with yourself will see more results, and the longer you will stick with exercise.

Staying Consistent

Consistency is the key to success with exercise; the longer you stay consistent, the more results you will see. Stay compatible with everything we experience can be difficult, but my trick is to stay consistent with exercise even if your schedule is busy. You are creating a non-negotiable list for yourself. Make sure you exercise just one day a week; you may be thinking one day won't be effective, but just staying consistent in working out one day a week, you are creating a commitment to it, and this will help you stay motivated throughout the week that you can exercise more.

Celebrate Your Successes

Whatever you accomplish on this journey is worth celebrating. No matter what you do, just getting out and trying is the best thing for your physical and mental health. Regardless of how many days or how long you train, just moving your body is enough for you to be proud of yourself.

Creating health for yourself starts with how much you love yourself. So, being proud of your accomplishments will carry you much further on this journey than anything else.

Takeaway

Fitness is not binary. It is a way of life. The more we move, the longer we live. Getting out in nature, going for walks, stretching, lifting things, and dancing in your life will expand your health beyond what you can imagine.