1) Have Plenty of Workout Clothes – If you are very busy, you will have trouble getting extra loads of laundry done each week. I recommend that you have 5 of everything you need, if you plan to workout 5 days a week. That might seem pricey to invest in at first, but you’ll be more likely to use not having clean clothes as an excuse if you’re relying on washing every couple of days. If you find an absolute favorite tank or pants, just buy more than one. It will be worth if you stay on track.
*Note, if you work out at a gym, or at work, instead of at home like me, then put ALL the clean clothes you have in your car on Sunday!
2) Do Shorter More Intense Workouts – I personally started my journey as a gym rat, hours in the gym! At some point my real life wanted my attention again, and I couldn’t invest that time, but I didn’t want to get off track. I workout at home now and my workouts are a lot of interval training. I can use T25 for a 25 minute daily workout, or any of the short on time workouts, on the On Demand services that I can do on a phone, tablet, laptop or TV, anywhere that has wifi.
3) Schedule Workouts in Advance – This might seem silly, but you’d be surprised how much more likely you are to do a workout that is on your calendar. You are so busy, you’re already scheduled every second of the day, how likely is it that you will “find” time? It’s very unlikely. You have to schedule this. It may be a lunch break, before work, getting in 25 minutes before you pick up the kids from daycare, etc. It needs to be at a set time if it’s a going to be a priority.
4) Plan and Prepare your Meals – You do not have time to think about, decide, and figure out food every day. If you are struggling to fit in a 30 minute workout, there is no way you have an extra 30 minutes to decide what you “feel” like having, figuring out what is in the fridge, and making decisions. If you plan in advance you can even make cooking faster each day. You can cut veggies, separate ingredients by day, or even drop things in the slow cooker in advance. Planning and prep may seem like it takes up time at first, but the savings end up being so much more. You can learn more about this at www.LearntoMealPlan.com.
5) Don’t Rely on a Workout Buddy – I know we all like to have someone to blame for our blowing off our workout lol, but seriously, this is on you. You are too busy to try and match up your schedule with another person that is also too busy, and expect for it to work every single day. In my online support groups we have text message buddies, who live in the same time zone. This way you have accountability, but you don’t actually have to workout together. Don’t set yourself up for failure by only getting fit on the days another busy person makes time for you!