How to find time for sports when your schedule is packed

Keep track of the time, then it will appear

When something really important happens in our life, we put it on our schedule. No one thinks about where to find time for an appointment with the dentist, when a toothache prevents sleep all night, and few will carve out an hour for a new video game, because there will be time for it by itself.

Regular exercise, of course, is not so important and exciting, but you can easily find the time for it. It is difficult to find a person who really does not have a single free minute. If you think so, chances are you don't know your schedule well.

Try to track your activities and time spent throughout the day. You can use special apps like TimeStats Planner or a calendar to get a sense of where you are spending your time. You may find that you can hardly find 30 minutes for an evening workout, and spend several hours during the day on useless activities or tasks that can be easily rescheduled.

In addition, some types of exercise can be combined with other activities. For example, you can chat while cycling, or go jogging on business. If you need to watch a video lecture or listen to an audiobook, you can do so during your workout. And you can answer calls while walking.

Be consistent - form a habit

Set a time for exercise and during this hour (half an hour, two hours) do not plan anything other than a workout.

To build a habit, mark the exercise time on your calendar one month in advance. Your calendar will have a Workout task marked every day from eight to nine in the morning.

Even if you plan on doing some heavy strength training three times a week, make time for exercise every day. On other days, go for a walk, do yoga, stretching, or meditate. This consistency will save you from the question of whether today is the right day for training.

Learn to save time

Finding a free half hour on your schedule and actually training for 30 minutes is not the same thing.

If you decide to run during your lunch break, he runs the risk of dragging on. You need to change into a sports uniform, get to the park, run there for half an hour, come back and take a shower. If you work from home, you can reduce temporary losses. In the morning, immediately change into your gym uniform and work like this until lunchtime, or replace your trip to the park with jogging near your home. You can also train right in the office.

Think about what you spend time before and after training, and think about how you can reduce temporary losses.

If you do not work for 30 minutes in a row, but 3-6 times for 5-10 minutes during the day, you can exclude going to the shower and changing clothes. You won't be able to sweat after a few squats and push-ups. Yes, such activities cannot be called a full-fledged workout, but it is better than nothing.

Keep the kids busy

For those who have children, the ability to play sports directly depends on whether they can be left with someone or somehow occupied during training.

The decision depends on how old your children are. Here are some options:

If you like to work out in the gym, you can choose an institution that has a children's room. You will practice and the children will play. Those who enjoy running and cycling will have to replace outdoor workouts with cardiovascular workouts.
Exercise in a place where you can supervise the children, such as in the living room or children's room. Or go to the park - the children will play outdoors, and you will practice using loop trainers that you can take with you and hang on a horizontal bar or tree.
Take a stroller for a walk. A quick stroll through the park with a stroller is great cardio. You can sometimes stop and do strength exercises, for example, on a regular bench.

If you and your partner play sports, or have a friend with a small child, you can take turns leaving each other's children and going to workouts at least three times a week.

Make your workouts fun

All of the above assumes that you want to exercise. After all, if you are only talking about doing sports, but in fact you do not want to sweat and strain, nothing will force you to carve out time for training.

Do whatever it takes to keep yourself motivated to exercise.

Choose the kind of exercise or mindset to avoid burnout from training too hard. Praise yourself for every workout, even if it was light and short.

Best of all, of course, if your reward is the workout itself. Maybe you will love the feeling of fatigue after it, meet interesting people in the hall, or enjoy listening to your favorite podcast during classes.

Be sure to find something that will appeal to you in the workout itself - this is the best guarantee of regular training.

If you don't like exercising on machines and free weights, try a sport that appeals to you.

If you're looking for time to exercise, chances are these are your first steps into the world of sports and fitness. It doesn't matter what you're training for. When workouts appear on your schedule and you have a reason not to skip them, a new habit will take hold that you can be proud of.