4 Quick Tips to Find Time to Exercise With a Busy Schedule

Between work commitments, family responsibilities, and social obligations, it’s no wonder that sticking to a regular fitness routine can be challenging.

However, a well-planned method—or, in this case, multiple methods—for fitting in exercise can help you integrate physical activity into even the busiest of schedules.

So, without further ado, here are four ways to make time for exercise in your busy life!

4 Ways to Have Time to Exercise

Replacing or modifying exercises in our routine or workout plan to fit a tight schedule is probably the simplest and most effective way to save time.

Okay, how do we do this? - You, probably

Well, it's actually straight forward!

For replacing an exercise, you just need to look for alternatives that:

• Works the same primary muscle groups;
• Have similar or adequate intensity; And
• are quicker to perform.

The exercises we are looking for are exercises that used in HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) routine.

This is because non-weighted HIIT exercises can rival normal weighted exercises, making them perfect for replacing certain exercises in our routine.

Examples of Exercises Being Replaced:

• Instead of Sit-ups, try Mountain Climbers!
• Instead of Running, opt for Sprints!
• Instead of Squats, go for Jump Squats, or even Burpees!

If replacing the exercise is impossible or undesirable, then do the next best thing, modify it!

Examples of Modified Exercises:

• Instead of normal Push-ups, do Decline Push-ups!
• Instead of normal Lunges, do Jump Lunges!
• Instead of normal Mountain Climbers, do Mountain Climbers but add a twist at each rep!

These are essentially the same exercises but modified slightly to increase the intensity.

Highlights:

• Replace an exercise with another exercise that is faster if possible.
• If replacing an exercise is impossible, then do the next best thing, modify it.
• High-Intensity Interval Training will work best for this.

If you are very active in the fitness community, then you have probably heard of supersets and how they are effective in not only saving time but also training efficiently.

For those who have not heard about it or just want a refresher, this is how it works.

To do supersets, all you have to do is pair two exercises that work different muscle groups (preferably opposing muscle groups) from each other into one set. Perform them with minimal to no rest in between.

For example:

• Bench Press & Squats
• Pull-ups & Dips
• Tricep Extension & Leg Raises

Before we move on to the benefits of doing supersets, I just want to point out that you can do a superset with two exercises that target the same muscle group.

But I don't recommend it because of muscle fatigue, which results to longer rest times. Just try doing it and see if it works for you.

Benefits in doing supersets:

• By eliminating rest periods between sets, supersets allow you to complete your workout in a shorter time frame.
• The continuous nature of supersets can elevate your heart rate, providing a cardiovascular benefit alongside strength training.

There's are more benefits in doing supersets, but they are unrelated to the topic; just know that supersets can significantly speed up your workout.

To implement supersets in your workout routine, simply pair two exercises from your existing routine. Repeat this as many times as you like.

Oh, another thing to mention before we move on is that supersets are not limited to two exercises only; you can add more.

Highlights:

• To implement supersets in your routine, pair two exercises that target different (ideally opposing) muscle groups and perform them back-to-back with minimal to no rest in between.
• Supersets help reduce overall workout time by minimizing rest periods between the two exercises.
• You can select exercises that target the same muscle group, but this might cause muscle fatigue and require longer rest times.
• You can pair more than two exercises if desired.

If you can't find a solid block of time, break your workout into shorter sessions.

Even 10-15 minutes three times a day can be effective (one in the morning, one in the afternoon, the other in the evening).

Feel free to modify this workout schedule in however you please.

No highlights needed for this one

Everything from choosing what clothes to wear to preparing a week's worth of meals in advance will free up so much time.

I’m referring not only to workout-related tasks but also to daily life chores like running errands, creating a grocery list, and so on.

No highlights needed for this one as well

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

Life can be unpredictable and unforgiving, so it's important to stay flexible with your exercise plans.

The best and simplest way (in this context) is to have a back-up workout plan reserved for times where you are really short on time.

The back-up workout routine does not have to have the same intensity nor time consuming as the orginal, it only has to have enough intensity to maintain your physique.

Find ways to stay motivated; the nature of your motivation does not matter.

All the methods that I have mentioned above are all useless if you don't show up. You need to stay motivated.

If you are having trouble getting motivated, then this old blog post might be of help to you.

Had a bad day? That's alright, it happens to everyone. Just make sure you get back on track and keep moving forward.

Had another bad day? Stop whatever you are doing.

Take a step back, pause, and figure out what went wrong. Make necessary adjustments if you can.

This approach will hopefully help you avoid falling into a cycle of bad days.

FINAL WORDS

At the very minimum, you showing up and moving your body is what matters the most.