10 Ways to Make Time for Exercise With a Busy Schedule

We here at Dark Horse HQ are no strangers to having to fit in exercise as and when the schedule allows. When your inbox is out of control, your boss wants to schedule another 6 p.m. meeting, your kids need to be bathed, fed, and chauffeured around, and you haven’t had a full conversation with your significant other in weeks – that’s when your Row, Peloton session, or date with your yoga mat is probably the first thing to get scrapped from your daily to-do list.

But it’s exactly during those times, when you feel like you’re running out of time (instead of, for example, running), your workout becomes more important than ever. Not just if you’re working toward a goal or training for a race, but because even 20 minutes of physical activity can drastically improve your mood, mindset, and overall well-being. (And that’s good for you, your boss, your kids, and your significant other.)

So how to make time for exercise when life feels crazy? Here are ten ways to keep your workouts in the rotation, no matter how busy you are.

1. EMBRACE THE RUN COMMUTE
When I first got into the management of gyms and fitness facilities, my first gym was located exactly three miles from my flat. Being the sensible 21 year old I sold my car to help keep some cash in the bank, and everyday packed all my kit, lunch and everything else I would need into my backpack and ran to and from work.
*Note, I would have a towel, toiletries few spare items clothing in a locker at the gym. However every day I would run into work, showering and changing at the gym – and still being ready to open the club for 6:00 A.M.

2. ACT LIKE A 2 YEAR OLD
Okay, we don’t mean mentally, or certainly not during times your significant other wants to talk about their day. However being active all the time has huge payoffs for your metabolism and your bodies ability to burn off calories. If you ever run out of workout ideas, think about doing what you’d take the kids to do!

3. WALK YOUR ERRANDS
Yes we do understand that if you have a bunch of groceries to pick up, parcels to post, and a huge dog to walk, then these probably aren’t going to be things you can do together. But let’s be honest we all get a little comfortable walking out of the house, jumpin in the car and driving to each destination.

4. MAKE IT A DATE
A few years ago I vowed working out with my wife was THE worst idea we ever had. Not for anything major but because she would constantly ‘cancel’ on me and then get frustrated when I would carry on and workout. A few months ago we tried again but with the implicit rule that this wasn’t a workout this was one of the few times a month we get to spend quality time together so we should make the most of it. We get a babysitter, do our long runs together, and finish with drinks and food at a restaurant near our apartment.

5. SCHEDULE EVERYTHING!
Kind of an obvious one, but worth reminding you that you are statistically more likely to commit to doing that 18:00hrs class if you have it scheduled in your phone/diary/partners phone etc etc. The big thing here is you’re looking for what starts out as a chore to become a habit. Even after 17 years in the fitness industry I still have a diary I schedule everything in, so I know where I am and what the workout is I’m going to do.

6. GET UP EVEN EARLIER
We all know that time is precious and you’ll never make it back once it’s gone. As is the current trend with a lot of the Hollywood stars and business highflyers, getting up at 4:00am and getting that workout in truly can be the push you need to start getting it done and on with your day before the kids wake up.

7. MAKE THE GYM CONVENIENT
For years if you wanted to go a gym then you would have to jump in your car and drive for 20-30mins or get a quick workout in during your lunch break and then get back to the desk to inhale your lunch. With the rise in home gym equipment and training plans, now has never been so easy to have all the equipment you’d ever need under one roof waiting for you each and everything you want to exercise. Plus the cost of having your own home gym doesn’t break the bank anymore and you only need the equipment you want.

8. KEEP YOUR WORKOUT CLOTHES HANDY AT ALL TIMES
For anyone who’s on the road a lot working a haphazard schedule, it’s always worth keeping a pair of running shoes and some clothes in my car. That 30 min lunch break could be the perfect opportunity to go walk a couple of blocks whilst taking a lunch break, or alternatively having it available for that after work run you keep promising yourself and co-workers in the office…

9. MASTER YOUR MINDSET
Not just talking about physical fitness here, more the mental instead. With the ability to get from 0-60 in mere minutes thanks to that wonderful substance called caffeine, it’s worth remembering the importance of getting from 60-0 at the end of the day. Biggest single help in that department for me has been the subscription to headspace each and every month. 10 minutes of guided meditation, phone off and away I go to the land of sleep each and every night.

10. SIGN UP FOR THE EXPRESS WORKOUT WITH DH ROWING.
Bet you thought we’d forgot this one didn’t you ;-). For those of you who haven’t seen or heard anything about this yet (where have you been and why are you not on the mailing list!?), we just released the Dark Horse Express series of workouts. This is a 12 week plan that has in it workouts for all 3 of the concept 2 machines (Rower, Bike & Ski). Depending on your choice and availability of workout equipment you have access to sessions each and every week to be working on in an express manner. In total there are 108 sessions to work through thats 9 a week and countless ways of progressing. Interested? Click here to find out more.

How many of these do you think you could implement to help increase your time for fitness? Anymore you think we’ve missed? As always we’d love to hear your feedback. Tag us on social media #DarkHorseRowing of visit us on Youtube for all your rowing and workout needs.

Yours in fitness, education and mastering time.
Coach John

Photo by Karen Lau on Unsplash