Exercise can often seem like an afterthought for many people. That’s not always a bad thing - sometimes, you get enough activity without even realizing it. For example, anyone who works on their garden regularly will no doubt raise their heart rate and get out of breath when planting, moving materials around their yard, and toiling the soil for vegetable growth.
Perhaps you enjoy walking your dog each morning, which is certainly a great form of exercise. Perhaps you have an active job and are always on your feet. No matter the role you take part in, keeping in your best shape will only help you feel your best, look better, and melt your stress over the years.
But let’s say you’d like to get more exercise. You’re a busy person, but you spend most of the day sat in an office. Perhaps you’d like to get outside more, or engage in hobbies that really gel with you. In this post, we’ll discuss how to keep in your best shape despite a busy and productive life, and move on from there.
1. Prioritizing Physical Activity
The idea of heading to the gym after a long and difficult shift in the office is hardly a pleasant one. That said, prioritizing this in your life can be a fantastic method for dealing with your stress. Also, you don’t have to drive to the gym or go out for two-hour-long workouts if you want to make fitness a little more accessible.
For example, a morning walk, yoga in a spare room, or hobbies like gardening on the weekend can be just as good for staying in shape. You might enjoy hiking with appropriate footwear and a clear hydration pack to guide you, or perhaps head to your local dance club to bust a move with a friend or two. Either way, getting your blood pumping and your heart pacing can be a fantastic method of leaving the physical anxiety outside of the workplace, addressing it correctly and diligently over time.
2. Short and Intense Workouts
Sure, you might not have the time to work out for an hour every other day, as is usually recommended. That’s totally fine. Perhaps you have time to ride an exercise bike for twenty minutes during your lunchtime, or when you give your infant time to nap for the day.
Other methods like HIIT and yoga poses can also fit a heavy workout in a short period of time, without causing you harm in any way if done correctly. This can give you that pump you need to beat the mid-day slump, which most people report as being that period of lethargy after lunchtime. This way, you can ride through your day feeling productive from morning to night - a boon for many people to enjoy.
3. Home Workout Equipment
We mentioned a home exercise bike above, but there are many other pieces of exercise equipment you could use too. Let’s stick with bikes for a second. Many people look to brands like Peloton for the ultimate home riding experience, but the truth is that this is very expensive and not all can justify that kind of purchase.
That said, you can still make a “hack” Peloton with a cheaper exercise bike, and a tablet or television playing riding lessons on YouTube. This way you have all the motivation you need and the willingness to stay fit when you can fit a session in. You can also use kettlebells for weightlifting, a yoga mat for flexibility training, a treadmill if you prefer steadfast walking (you can even work from a laptop while doing this), and more. Just make sure you have the space and the appropriate flooring to use home workout equipment - a spare downstairs room or garage can be ideal for this.
4. Healthy Meal Planning and Preparation
Abs aren’t made in the gym, but the kitchen. Of course, you don’t have to be chasing visible abs to be fit either, but the point still stands that diet will almost always be more important than working out solely.
Meal prep at the weekend can be fantastic for preparing your lunches throughout the week. You might cook healthy curries, chillies, vegetable medleys and other meals so you can gain all the vitamins, minerals and proteins you need to stay in shape and feel satiated.
Cooking takes up time, particularly if you have a family, and so having something ready to go is almost always a boon to your overall health and well-being. Healthy meal planning and preparation can also inspire you to stay away from the quick pick-me-ups. For example, a thermal flask full of matcha tea can prevent you from drinking coffee and crashing from it all day.
5. Adequate Sleep and Recovery
No busy life can be properly worked through without good rest and recovery. Matthew Walker’s excellent book “Why We Sleep” shows that sleep is not something you can “pay off” at the weekend, and it can have a tremendous impact on your performance and wellbeing.
Adequate sleep and recovery can make you sharper, more alert, more focused, more energetic, more emotionally stable, and more motivated. It’s quite literally the best antidote to work burnout that we have.
Now, if your schedule prevents you from getting good enough sleep, it may be worth altering your schedule for this purpose. For example, if your boss is constantly placing you on “close and then open” shifts in hospitality, expecting you to go home late and come into work very early, you can discuss with them why this rest period just isn’t fair to deal with.
Don’t feel as though you’re being lazy, inconsiderate, boring or selfish for prioritizing your sleep. It will quite literally make you a better professional, family member, team player, and healthy presence than any other consideration on this list.
With this advice, you’re sure to keep in your best shape, even despite a busy and productive life to deal with. We wish you the best of luck implementing your new schedule.
