Most of us can recall at least one period in our life when we’ve neglected our physical fitness. In fact, an alarming number of adults seem to see little value in exercise at all. Fortunately, most people are at least aware of the importance of exercise and making some kind of effort to stay active. But there’s no shortage of excuses to avoid exercise. One of the most common excuses is a lack of time.
But no matter how busy your schedule is, it is still possible to fit in a proper fitness routine. As long as you are motivated and willing to put in the necessary work, anyone can formulate a fitness regime that fits around their lifestyle.
Exercise Everywhere
Before we go any further, we need to define what useful exercise is. When you think of a fitness routine, you probably see yourself running, lifting weights or playing sport. All of these are great ways of improving your fitness, but they aren’t practical for many of us during the workday. Fortunately, there are some even simpler ways of getting exercise.
Look for opportunities throughout your day to walk. Gradually build up the time and distance that you walk for. Once you have built up your endurance and stamina, you can try walking for longer distances and stretches of time. If you’re lucky, you will learn to love walking and you’ll wonder why people don’t walk everywhere.
Similarly, weights are great but they are just that – weights. If your job provides you opportunities to safely lift relatively heavy objects, you can use this as an opportunity to give your muscles some extra training.
When you are devising your routine, consider all the opportunities for exercise that present throughout the day.
Get Some Basic Equipment
Many people never even look at gym equipment because they think it will be too expensive. However, you don’t need expensive gym equipment for it to be worthwhile. Even basic gym equipment can enable you to work out much more effectively than you otherwise could.
A set of basic dumbbells is all you need to improve your muscle mass and tone. By lifting dumbbells in various positions, it’s possible to work just about any muscle group in your body.
You can also use a weight vest to make your workout more difficult and to increase the rate at which you burn calories. Alternatively, you can increase perspiration by wearing a sauna vest. This aids with posture and weight loss.
Having equipment at home means that you’re able to ensure that you get some exercise, even if you are unable to carry out your usual routine.
Set Yourself Realistic Goals
Whether you are lifting weights, running laps or swimming lengths, the improvements you make will be gradual. This can make it hard to appreciate your own gains. A good way of keeping tabs on your progress is to always make a note of how many reps you do or how long you are active for. You should begin to see these numbers rise as you improve your fitness.
Once an exercise becomes easy for you, make it harder by either adding weight, increasing duration or increasing intensity. Set yourself goals that push you to go further, but don’t try and force yourself to advance too quickly.Anyone with enough motivation can fit a full fitness routine into their schedule. Get yourself some basic equipment, work out what exercises you can do throughout the day, then set yourself realistic goals for improvement. You can find plenty of guides online that will show you basic exercises.
