Hi Kelly,
I worked w/a trainer for about 6 months – saw SOME progress, but not as much as I would want/expect. I quit b/c I was buying a house & didn’t have the extra funds any more. BUT, I have gained about 10# since starting a new job so need to get back to it.
I struggle with time management. Like you, I am NOT a morning exercise person. I also don’t do well when left to my own schedule – I do better with scheduled classes, etc. HOWEVER, it seems like LIFE gets in the way & I miss more of those scheduled classes than I attend sometimes.
I let my gym membership expire but have been going to classes at a yoga studio (LOVE!) when I can. Of course it’s not enough at this point. I just turned 41, and I have at least 50# to lose overall.
Any suggestions on how to fit exercise into my already busy schedule?
Looking forward to reading more of your blog!
Thanks,
Jean Love
This is a harder question than I usually answer, because it has less to do with the science of how your body reacts to fitness and more to do with motivation, which is all in your head. Its not so much about finding the time (you know your daily schedule and if you had a random 2 hours of nothing to do you it would be obvious to you you could use that to work out) its about MAKING the time.
Life getting in the way is an excuse. Everyone has a life, and while they may very a bit, everyone is busy. I work 5:15-12:00 as a trainer, come home and write an average of 4 articles a day, blog, grocery shop for clients, which takes me to about 5 pm, sometimes later, so I basically work 12 hours a day. I don’t even consider myself on of the busiest: I have a short commute, and I don’t even have kids which are a huge a time suck- yet I work out almost every day. I know mommies that work out almost everyday while having families to take care of. Busy executives, people that work the night shift, double shifts- I know many of them that work out consistently. I know people that hold down full time jobs and have families still train hours a day for marathon s and triathlons. My point is, everyone has to deal with life- the difference is, these people make working out a priority. Its nonnegotiable. So how do you get to this point?
Dave Fannin has a great blog for his gym in Texas, and he writes about this kind of stuff a lot. He’s pretty no-nonsense/no excuses which is what is needed when it comes to motivation, so Im going to be linking to him a lot in the rest of my answer.
You need to make working out a priority. It needs to be a To Do item, and not a To Do If I Have Time item. The best way to do this is work out in the morning, and get it out of the way. You say you aren’t a morning exercise person, nor am I, but I have the luxury of not being one: I still fit in my workouts. If you don’t fit them in later, you have to become a morning exerciser. The good news is, you can totally do this. Here’s one of Dave’s articles on how to actually get up early, and here’s an article about freeing up more time within your day to exercise if you absolutely can’t.
So now you have the time, but a workout isn’t going to help you if you don’t actually go. The only way you are going to get out of the house and to your workout is if you love your workout. You love yoga, which gets you there more often than anything else, but you need weights and cardio. You said you work best with appointments, so if you have the funds, get another trainer that you really like. If that’s too expensive for you, get a gym membership that offers a lot of classes. Classes and group workouts are going to be more motivating for a lot of reasons.
You also need to set some clear goals. If you dont have a vision of what you want to do, there isn’t going to be anything that will pull you into the gym, even when you dont want to go (which is going to happen.) Here is a list of 50 reasons to never miss a workout, but you are also going to need to set concrete goals just for you. You want to lose 50 pounds, which is great, but thats not a very motivating goal, since its not specific. This post will teach you how to set realistic and motivating goals.
I know that’s a lot of reading, but that’s because motivation is something you have to teach yourself. No one is just naturally motivated to work out. Some people may seem that way, but its just because they know the importance of working out and how it makes them feel, so its a no brainer to take a break and get sweating. You can be one of those people, too, you just need to find a way to enjoy it.