Words: Sa Bal
Photo: Rattankun Thongbun
Summertime is the perfect time to step outside your home and enjoy. It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year since there’s an array of exciting activities to choose from. Whether you want to cycle along the coastline or go for an early morning run, summertime is best.
If you’re planning to get fit, now is a time as good as any. Once you decide to get into shape, fitting a regular exercise routine into your daily lifestyle might be challenging.
Fortunately, neither the busy schedules nor the summer heat will come in the way of your exercise routine. As long as you understand these various ways of incorporating exercise into your daily schedule, you will be fine. Let’s take a closer look at the top tips to keep in mind when exercising during the busy summer season:
Create a Fitness Plan
Here’s the thing; some people enjoy following an intricately planned-out schedule, whereas others prefer flexible plans. Irrespective of the kind of person you are, you must curate a fitness plan for yourself.
Take out your calendar and map out your exercising plans for the day, week, and, ultimately, the month. Remember to always be versatile if something comes up and leads you to skip a session. However, writing your day-to-day plans makes it easier for you to commit to them.
Set an Early Alarm
When curating your fitness plan, you’ll realize that you need to make more time in your daily schedule for exercise.
If you boast a particularly hectic regular schedule, you should consider waking up 30 to 45 minutes earlier. Waking up early means you’ll have enough time for a run or a 15-minute exercise routine. You can also reap the other benefits of waking up early.
In fact, waking up early can increase your chances of succeeding. At the same time, working out during the afternoon during summertime may make exercising impossible. Thus, adapting to an early schedule is a great way to rejuvenate your body.
Use Lunch Breaks to Exercise
If your office is too far from your home, walking to work may be impractical and unrealistic. A good alternative is using your lunch break to exercise.
Instead of sitting at the lunch table, you can pack your gym gear and walk to a nearby gym. If there are no gyms in the area, you can try playing squash or badminton. You could also go swimming or join a fitness class in the vicinity.
Moreover, if your office lacks showers, you can seek a leisure center where you can freshen up before going back to work. Lunchtime workouts are a great way of energizing yourself and enhance your cardiovascular health.
Do Short Yet High-Intensity Workouts
A good idea to ensure a total body workout in the least time possible is by curating a short, high-intensity workout.
For instance, instead of spending 45 minutes on the treadmill, you can give a 15 minute HIIT cardio workout a shot. The thing is that workouts don’t need to be lengthy to be effective. 15 minutes of focused exercising can be more than enough as well.
Moreover, consider breaking a sweat at home instead of driving to a gym. You may download apps that offer well-crafted exercise plans or find something on YouTube.
Power Up Stair Climbs
Walking up and down the stairs is a well-known exercise for promoting a healthier life. Thus, you should avoid choosing the elevator or walking up a flight of stairs leisurely.
Challenge yourself to increase your speed and the number of steps taken in a minute. Keep yourself motivated by recording the time taken to climb a flight of stairs.
Another excellent idea is to take two steps at a time to focus on your glutes. This great two-minute exercise is perfect for those with a hectic schedule since you can do this almost anywhere.
Set Realistic and Achievable Goals
Setting realistic fitness goals is the foundation of making successful, effective, and lasting changes in your life. Your goals should not be an afterthought; neither should they be an opposing goal.
Instead, your goal should be something realistic, like becoming healthier or getting stronger. Moreover, setting smaller daily and weekly goals can help you stay motivated and ensure that you stick to your exercises.
Since the busy season means you’ve got little to no time to yourself, setting achievable goals makes change seem realistic. Plus, setting goals will help you stay focused on your workout session, thus making you more efficient. You will also be able to better measure your progress and allowing you to see your progress.
The Bottom Line
According to in-depth research, most Americans have more than five free hours per day to themselves. So you have ample time to integrate an exercise regime into your day-to-day schedule.
Keep in mind that it’ll be easier for you to work out if you start doing something you enjoy. For instance, if you don’t enjoy running, there’s no need to force yourself to start jogging. Instead, you can seek an activity that you genuinely love. For instance, you may join swimming classes, start boxing, or go for a walk.
If you force yourself to do an activity that you don’t like, you’ll likely look for excuses to avoid it. On the flip side, if it’s something you look forward to, you’re likely to achieve your goals. Get fit and healthy this summer during the busy season by following the advice mentioned above.