Exercise is hard, but it is not the Everest that so many people make out to be. When starting an exercise routine, it is important to have a good sense of when you’ll be fitting it into your day and how many times during the week. You need to be sure you are setting aside enough time for your session enough times per week. This schedule does not have to written in stone, but it should be adhered to as much as possible. Realizing that things come up and schedules change, you need to be flexible in fitting your workout in some days. Consistency is a key factor in sustaining a successful fitness program.
For the average person beginning a fitness program, three to four times per week for an hour each time, seems a realistic goal. However, what happens when a meeting runs 30 minutes over and you won’t get your one hour at the gym. The initial thought may be to just blow off the gym for the day and tell yourself that you’ll make it up tomorrow. Is that the smartest decision? Absolutely not. The sensible decision is to grab your gym bag and head over to the gym for an abbreviated, uptempo session.
The simple fact is that you don’t know what may get in the way tomorrow. Maybe nothing, but you need to be ready. If you miss today, then tomorrow is another meeting gone awry, the pressure builds inside to make your next session count with extra time and extra sets. But time is what you haven’t had these past several days, so why assume that you will have it tomorrow? This is how your your climb up exercise mountain becomes a demanding trek to the summit of Mt. Everest.
The smart move is to take the 20 or 30 minutes you’re given sometimes and embrace it. A late meeting, a sick child at home, or a family obligation could cause you to miss a workout. Building that consistency and routine into your daily lifestyle is as important as the exercise itself. Prepare yourself ahead of time for this situation and make a plan. If you aren’t sure what to do, enlist the services of a personal trainer. Tell them what you are looking for and they’ll develop a plan for you.
The bottom line is if you are committed to your exercise routine, then you need to take advantage of any available time efficiently.
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