How to Make Time for Workouts When You Have no Time

Let’s face it, you’re not the only person who’s super-busy out there. We all have hectic schedules, yet somehow, many of us (or them) manage to fit multiple workouts into our weekly routine. How do they do that? How do they workout out four or more times per week while taking care of the kids (or grandkids), attending after-school functions like sporting events, working full time, preparing and cooking meals, etc., etc., etc.? Below are a few tips to help your wedge some much needed workout time into your overly scheduled schedule.

Workout before the sun (and the family) rises. Yes, I get it, this solution is on the sucky side. However, it has more upside than down. Yes, you’ve got to get up an hour or so earlier than normal but working out is a great way to start your day. It gets the blood flowing, as they say, and cranks up your body’s metabolism. Upon completion of your early morning workout, the relief and sense of accomplishment is palpable. You are now ready to start the business/family part of your day with your workout already put to bed.

Replace some of your screen time with a workout. Select a few “normal” days in your week and monitor how much time you spend in front of a screen for entertainment purposes. My guess is you’ll be a bit surprised how much time you spend streaming your favorite show, watching inane cat videos, reading inconsequential articles and/or creating Tik Tok vids, if that’s your thing.

Yeah, I know, you need your “relaxation” or “down” time to destress and unwind. I remember some aphorism that said something about murdering two animals with a single projectile and I think it applies here. Why not combine your workout and screen time? The easiest way to do this is to set up a stationary bike, treadmill, stair climber, or any other piece of exercise equipment whereby you go like hell but never get anywhere in front of a screen, large or small. You can thereby binge The Last of Us while burning those calories.

Shorten your workouts with HIIT. HIIT is an acronym for “high intensity interval training”  and it can be used for a workout when you’re exceptionally short on time. This workout involves the routine of doing short bursts of high intensity training, followed by a short rest and then repeating until you fall over…I jest, of course. Studies have found that HIIT workouts can be more or as beneficial as slow, boring cardiovascular training and can be completed in half the time.

Studies have also shown HIIT workouts should and can be used by people of all ages, even (or especially) seniors. An example would be, after a sufficient warm up, running hard on a treadmill for 20-30 seconds, followed by a short rest/walking period of 30-60 seconds and then repeating the process. The number of times you repeat depends upon your fitness level. If you’re just starting out, do fewer repeats than you think you’re capable of and then as your fitness levels improves, increase the number of repeats and start altering the rest and high intensity time lengths.

Eat lunch before or after your lunch break and workout instead. At many jobs, especially the at-home variety, it’s quite easy to eat and work simultaneously. If this is the case, simply eat before or after your scheduled lunch time and then use your real “lunch break” to work out. Remember, we’re not training for a marathon here (unless you are).

You can get a solid workout accomplished in about 30-45 minutes. Most health professionals state that we should aim for 2.5 hours of exercise per week. That’s just 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week. Oh yeah, they also recommend that we include strength training 2 days a week as well. Don’t sweat it. Now that you have these tips, that’s a piece of…not cake…too many calories, let’s go with a piece of cantaloupe.

Save the long workouts for the weekends. Yes, long boring cardiovascular workouts have their benefits, if you have the time and you may just have the time on the weekends. Think of it this way, if you work out on both Saturday and Sunday, that’s two days you can take off during the busy work week. Yes, I know everyone rests on the 7^th day, but “rest” has varied meanings. I consider a 5-mile run to be quite restful compared to what I do during the work week.

Look, for most of us, whatever is at the top of our priority list almost always gets done. The same can be true for workouts. If exercise is near the top of your priority list, I’m guessing it’ll get done. As the saying goes, find a way.