Physical Therapy Blog

How to Include Exercise in Your Schedule When You "Don't Have Time to Do So"!

Are you frazzled? Stressed? Do not think there are enough hours in the day to get everything done?  Then when you hear that the Department of Health and Human Services has established physical activity guidelines that call for getting a minimum of 2½ hours of moderate exercise every week, your first thought may be, "No way. I don't have the time."  Believe me, I have thought the same thing myself.  But think again: If you are constantly on the go, have an irregular schedule and have not been exercising, you put yourself at risk for developing a variety of not so fun musculoskeletal and cardiac conditions that will make everything you do even more difficult.  Why do you think we are in business?  

Anyway, I find that if I convince myself that I don't have time for exercise, then it doesn't happen, even when I put it on my schedule.  So, finding time for exercise is a mindset.  You need to schedule the time, and then stay committed to using that time to exercise.  Setting personal fitness goals over certain time periods prior to initiating a program will help you to stay consistent with your exercise program........as long as you don't talk yourself out of it.   That being written, below are some suggestions for helping you get a consistent exercise program started.

The "golden rule" of exercise is that some exercise is always better than none!!  So, perhaps you cannot devote 1½ hours to go to the gym, but you can take a 15-minute walk at lunch, take the stairs instead of the elevator to your next sales meeting or play catch with your kids before dinner. Every little bit helps, especially if you can exercise for 10 minutes or longer doing something that gets your heart beating faster and makes you slightly out of breath.

Here are some other ways to sneak exercise into your overloaded days:

• Walk with the kids to school.
• Meet a friend for a walk rather than for coffee.
• Clean one room every day at a fast pace; play upbeat music to get you moving while you clean.
• Do stretches while watching television.
• Wear a pedometer. Challenge yourself to walk a few steps more every day.
• Walk your dog if you have one. He/she will love you for it.  (If you don't have one, offer to walk your neighbor's dog!!)

Finally, when you are committed to doing exercise, you can come down to the NEW All-Access Fitness Center (when we open in April, 2009) to learn new ways to exercise.  We can show you how to get the most out of short bursts of exercise in our new facility or at home.  We can also show you strength training exercises you can do using free weights or rubber bands while workout at our facility or while you watch your favorite television show at home.  

In the end, you will find that exercise reduces stress and can leave you feeling less frazzled and less tired at the end of each day.  It will also give you more energy to do the things you want or need to do in life.