Finding the Time to Exercise

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.” -- Will Rogers

The single biggest barrier to better health and fitness is: lack of time.

Despite the myriad gadgets and “killer apps” designed to help us save time, we seem to have less and less of it. Over the years, I’ve gathered together a literal arsenal of accoutrements to streamline my life -- software, hardware, Blackberries, Blueberries, (if there’s a Berry, I own it) -- and I’ve never been more pressed for time.

Most people feel it’s hard enough to find time for the things we have to do, much less the “extras,” like exercise.

But, therein lies the crux of the problem. Why don’t have the “time” to exercise, because we consider it a nonessential “extra.” And, when our daily schedules tighten like a noose, the extras get pushed to the periphery and relegated to the end of our “to do” lists.

However, exercise is not an extra. It’s an essential.

Here are four things you can do to find the time you need to fit in fitness, so that you can live your best life. Time is short. Let’s get moving.

DO IT EARLY

You’ve likely heard this advice ad nauseum, but there’s a reason for that: it works. Exercising first thing in the morning is the only way to assure that something else won't push exercise out of your schedule. By putting off workouts until later in the day, you stack the odds against yourself.

"Plenty of research has been published about lack of time as the most frequently cited reason for exercise dropout," says Joe Quatrochi, Ph.D., associate professor of human performance, sport and leisure studies at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. "Since many people have limited free time during the day, I suggest they attempt to exercise early in the morning. It prevents them from using excuses like ‘someone scheduled a meeting for me.’ It saves time, because you only have to shower and change clothes once. It’s also a major boost to your self-confidence to know that by 8am, you’ve done more than some people do all week!”

There are two caveats here. One: listen to your body. We each have our own natural 24-hour biological cycle (called “circadian rhythms”). That means we experience exercise differently at different times of the day. For example, some of us are “morning people” (me); others are not (my wife). With some effort, you can get learn to actually enjoy morning workouts. But, if you absolutely, positively loathe morning exercise, then do it at another time. Two: if you have to wake up at ungodly times for work, then morning workouts are not realistic. Find a time that suits you. Then, lock in those exercise times and treat them like “serious business appointments.”

STREAMLINE YOUR ROUTINE

The more “layers” that exist between you and a workout, the greater the odds that you’ll nix it. For example, if, to workout, you must: drive home, gather together all of your workout clothes, drive to the gym, wait for the machines, shower, lather, rinse, repeat change and drive home, you’ll more likely to skip all of that in favor of something easy and tasty like…Cheetos. Life is chaotic and time-consuming. Your exercise shouldn’t be. Simplify your routine: keep all of your workout gear in one place; swap time-intensive workouts, like cycling and swimming, for time-efficient ones like running, walking and hiking. Sometimes, the best -- and most rewarding workout – can be had when you lace up your shoes and step right out your front door!

NO NIXING

If we’re running short on time, we tend to nix workouts altogether. That habit needs to change. If you’re short on time, cut your planned workout by half -- or more. The fact is, in fitness, something is always better than nothing. Even a 10 minute walk confers cardiovascular benefit. The value of doing that workout goes much deeper, however: you’re keeping your promise to yourself. And you’re sustaining your precious exercise momentum, which -- in physical terms -- is nine times more difficult to generate than it is to maintain.

CHOOSE WISELY

There are 168 hours in one week. The average person spends roughly one of those 168 hours on their health and well-being. If our health is our most precious asset, there is something very wrong with that picture. We often claim we don’t have the time to exercise. Yet, we do have the time to: clean our homes, wax our cars, pay our bills, mow our lawns, synch our Berries and watch the playoffs. Could it be that we simply choose some activities over others?

Ultimately our lives -- and the quality of them -- are determined by the choices we make each day. Putting off exercise is like accruing credit card debt. It feels mighty fine in the short-term, but later on you’ll be asked to pay. With interest. That said, it’s time to get out of (fitness) debt. And to do that, you must pay yourself first. I’m not asking you to become a self-absorbed, ego-maniacal professional athlete (like I used to be!); I’m merely suggesting that you make one choice per day to protect, and cultivate, your health and well-being.

You won’t think you have the time to exercise until you make it a priority. Let me say that again: you won’t think you have the time to exercise until you make it a priority. Once you do that, it will completely change your perspective. When you put exercise (health) on par with work (money) and time with your kids (family), your exercise will become one of the last things that you drop during the day.

The bottom line is this: we make time for things that are important to us. Health is important. Without it, everything else falls away. Make exercise important to you, give it the reverence it deserves -- and you’ll find the time you need to do it. And that’s a Berry good thing.