- 10 min read
Can You Fit Exercise into Your Busy Schedule for Better Health?
As part of a healthy lifestyle, regular physical activity in the body is much more than enhancing physical appearance and maintaining six-pack abs; it is necessary for sustaining overall health and wellness levels in the body.
At a point in time, I used to struggle with maintaining a healthy lifestyle, despite my best efforts. Whether it was managing healthy diets or costly gym memberships, nothing seemed to work on a sustainable basis.
However, once I started integrating moderate exercise as part of my hectic schedule, I started experiencing transformational health benefits. Here’s how regular physical activity can revolutionize your life, even when you’re swamped with responsibilities.
The power of transformative exercise
Regular exercise is a powerful elixir for overall health and well-being. Incorporating moderate exercise as part of your daily routine boosts energy levels in the body, reduces stress levels, improves sleep quality, and strengthens the immune system, among others. It enhances your overall quality of life and helps to increase longevity levels in the body.
Welcome to the 5 am Club
Every person in the world has only 24 hours in a day; the difference lies in how we choose to prioritize our health. If we are committed to our health, then time can be easily managed. I just managed to tweak my sleep habits by going to bed earlier 30 minutes earlier and and waking up an hour ahead of schedule. This small tweak allowed me to start my day with a morning walk for 30 minutes, setting a positive tone for the rest of the day.
Short, High-Intensity Workouts when short of time
It is a common misconception that needs to spend hours in the gym to maintain a healthy lifestyle. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) offers a highly effective workout in just 20 to 30 minutes.
Incorporating HIIT sessions like squats, upper body stretches, etc can be incorporated into your daily routine, even while working, can deliver impressive results without demanding significant time as part of a busy schedule.
Discovering and fueling your passion
Finding an activity you genuinely enjoy can turn exercise into a passion rather than a chore. This not only helps manage a healthy lifestyle, whether it’s dancing, cycling, hiking, or playing a sport, choosing something you love increases the chances of motivating yourself towards a healthy lifestyle without putting in much effort. Even small everyday activities, like walking a few blocks or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, can contribute significantly to calorie burning and overall health, without having to invest time and money in expensive gym memberships.
How Support systems play an important role in managing a healthy lifestyle
Making yourself accountable for your actions makes a lot of difference to your fitness goals. Exercising in a group or partnering with a friend or colleague not only boost motivation, at the same time can deliver results.
Sharing your health goals with others rather than going alone, not only helps achieve the goals, whether it is business goals or health goals. Working as a team rather than going alone, can help achieve the goals in an easier manner.
Maximizing home workouts on busy days
Modern day technology has made life easier even for those fitness enthusiasts. Social media offers a plethora of free resources suitable for all those wanting to follow a healthy lifestyle. On busy days, I manage to my phone into a mini gym, utilizing quick home workout routines either at home or in the office during breaks. These short sessions, even performed in between meetings, can be highly effective, besides keeping boredom at bay.
utilizing breaks in an effective manner
Different people have different timings for workouts, if morning workouts aren’t feasible, leverage your breaks effectively throughout the day. For e.g:. A 10-minute stretch before starting the day at work, a brisk 20-minute walk during and after lunch, and some evening bodyweight exercises can substantially improve your health, without having to visit a gym.
Research indicates that sitting for prolonged periods of time, without moving your joints, so integrating small breaks for stretching can benefit your spinal health and the health of joints in the body, thereby increasing longevity.
Commitment: The key to a healthy lifestyle
Achieving a healthy lifestyle is not a one stop goal and requires patience and dedication. Therefore, one may not see results in the short-term. One needs to develop commitment and a high level of patience and dedication.
Scheduling daily workouts like important meetings on your calendar helps in maintaining consistency. Treat these sessions with the same seriousness as business commitments, and you’ll likely see positive results over time.
Final Thoughts: The importance of taking the first step
Contrary to a popular belief that to stay healthy one needs to spend hours at the gym and starve by going on a diet, managing a healthy lifestyle is about making healthy choices and managing lifestyle habits through effective time management.
The advantages of making the right choice are numerous, including increased productivity and improved overall mental health, that increases longevity. The most challenging part, however, is taking that first initial step toward a healthier lifestyle. Once you start moving, adjusting the pace of your lifestyle to fit your commitments in life becomes easier.
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disclaimer
The above post forms part of a question answered on Quora. The article may contain affiliate links and making a purchase through affiliate links entails a small commission to us without any addictional cost on your end.