*This is a collaborative post.
Do you think that workouts have to happen at the same time every day? And that you’ve got to have a clear plan and no interruptions to do it right? Well, that would be nice, but it’s not likely to be the case because real life doesn’t work like that – things come up, plans change, things overrun, energy dips, and that means that even if you perfectly planned everything out, you still might not get the workout you wanted or expected.
The good news is that doesn’t mean you’ve failed or gone wildly off track – it usually just means you need to change how you go about things and try to be a bit more flexible. In other words, you should plan something that can move with your day if need be, rather than being stuck in one place and not getting done half the time. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how to work out around real life.
Letting Go Of The All-Or-Nothing Mindset
One of the biggest hurdles to get over is the feeling that if you can’t do a full session, it’s not worth doing anything at all. The fact is that even the shorter workouts, lasting just ten or fifteen minutes, can still count if you do them the right way.
Or you could split things up across the day – you could do a quick session in the morning, a walk later in the day, and a few exercises squeezed in between other tasks, and it’ll all add up, but because you’re doing it in smaller chunks, it’s easier to include it in your day wherever it’s going to fit.
Finding Small Windows That Actually Work
Instead of waiting for the perfect hour to appear and everything magically becoming just right and how you imagined it, it’s a lot better to be honest about how your day is planned out (and whether or not those plans are changing). That way, you can see where there are small gaps of time when you could fit a bit of exercise in, like before work, just after lunch, or even time while something else is happening, like cooking dinner or waiting for your bath to run, and so on.
The great thing about this idea is that these small windows are usually much easier to stick to because they’re already part of your routine, and you’re just adding to them and adjusting them a bit, rather than trying to throw in something totally new.
Keeping Energy Levels In Mind
Working out around real life also means you’ve got to be realistic about how much energy you’ve got, and understanding that some days will be more energetic than others.
On the lower energy days (of which you’re sure to have quite a few), it’s best to just keep things nice and simple, with a light session, a stretch, or even just moving around for a little while. And on top of that, if you can support your body with something quick and easy like a shake made with vegan protein powder, you’ll feel more prepared and ready to do what you can, no matter how much or how little that might be.
Making Workouts Feel Easier To Start
The hardest part tends to be just getting started, and if a workout feels like it’s a big task that’s not going to be a lot of fun, it’s easy to just put it off – human beings are masters at making excuses for and to themselves about things like that.
That’s why it’s wise to make sure you keep things simple, and having a go-to routine, a small space ready, or even just knowing exactly what you’re going to be doing can get rid of that potential hesitation and make it easier to just get going. And once you’ve started and get into it, it won’t seem that bad after all.
Being Flexible With Your Plan
Plans are always useful, but they can’t be set in stone because things change, and if your plan can’t change as well, you’ll be stuck doing the wrong thing or nothing at all. The fact is, if something unexpected comes up (or rather when it does), it’s okay to move things around or swap a longer workout for something shorter, or whatever else it is you need to do.
That flexibility is what makes it a lot more likely that you’ll keep going because you’re not constantly trying to force things into a rigid schedule, even when it’s obvious they’re not going to fit.
Letting Different Types Of Movement Count
Not every workout needs to be very structured – you can walk, carry things, move around the house, dance, or do whatever it is you need and want to do, and it all counts.
When life is busy, it’s these smaller movements that can make up a large part of your activity, and you probably won’t even realise it’s happening. That’s why seeing them as part of your routine makes sense and keeping them separate just makes things harder – you’ll be doing more than you need to in the end.
Accepting That Some Days Will Be Messy
There are going to be days when everything just feels out of sync a bit (or a lot), and if you try to fit a workout in, it fails and just doesn’t happen. That’s normal.
What really matters is what you do next, not what you missed. So if you pick things back up the next day, even if you start quite slow, you’re still actually moving forward rather than standing still or even going backwards.
Building A Routine That Works For You
Over time, as you try new things and adapt to new routines, you’ll start to see what works and what doesn’t – it could be that mornings are better, or perhaps working out feels easier in the evenings when everything else is done, for example. Or perhaps it’s the shorter sessions that work for you rather than longer ones.
Once you find out what it is that’s going to give you results and that you’re able to sustain, it’s all going to feel more enjoyable and a lot less forced. And as long as you’re not trying to copy someone else’s routine and creating one that works for your specific life, then you can’t really go wrong.
I really need to up the amount of exercise I currently do