“I am so busy I just can’t find any time to exercise!”
I wish I had $1 for every time I heard this excuse- yes I said excuse, not reason. Everyone is guilty of using this – even us trainers.
The most important thing about working out is to realize that it does not require a large amount of time out of your day; here are some guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) for cardio training:
1. Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week
2. 30-60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (five times a week) or 20-60 minutes of vigorous- intense exercise (three times a week) is recommended
a. One continuous session or multiple shorter sessions (at least 10 minutes) are both acceptable to accumulate amount of daily exercise
3. People unable to meet these minimums can still benefit from some activity.
Lets delve a little deeper into what these recommendations are saying (the proof you have time for exercise)-
1. 150 minutes per week breaks down into around 20 minutes a day
a. 20 minutes a day is spent hitting the snooze button, waiting in line for lunch, watching reality TV shows, waiting for dinner to cook, etc.
2. Minimum of 10-minute sessions can be used to accumulate daily exercise recommendations.
a. 10 minutes of power walking with your dog in the morning or at night, climbing the stairs at work for 10 minutes during your lunch hour, playing with your kids at the playground, walking them around the block in their stroller, etc.
3. Any activity no matter how little is better than nothing!
Instead of thinking about how busy you are doing other things make a time in your day that is blocked off for working out. I did this in college; my gym time was blocked off as if it was a class that I had to attend. That way when my friends wanted to go to lunch or do whatever college life activities we could do I had an excuse. Your health is way too important to put on the back burner, you make everything else in your life a priority why should exercise fall by the wayside?