11 Hacks To Help You Find The Time (And Motivation) To Workout

We hear it every day, “I’m just too busy”. We tell this to our friends, family, co-workers, and even ourselves. There is little doubt that our time is a precious resource.

However, in order to achieve your strength and fitness goals, there is no shortcut to success. Here are 11 hacks to help you find the time and motivation to reach your goals:

1. Book it in! Add it to your calendar. Mark it in your schedule just like any other meeting. However you want to do it, when you write your workout schedule down, it becomes real.
2. Lay out your workout clothes in an easily accessible area the night before. The visual reminder of seeing your clothes will trigger your mind to remember to complete the workout you had planned.
3. Ensure your body is properly fuelled with suitable meals throughout the day so when it’s time to work out, you have the energy needed to go through with it.
4. Don’t over-complicate it. You don’t need as much time as you think. A 25 to 30 minute, short and sharp high intensity workout is just as good at building muscle and burning fat as a long and arduous one.
5. Make sure you're getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep will produce low energy levels and overall fatigue, making it that much harder to complete your workout sessions. At least 7-8 hours of quality sleep is needed to ensure your body is in the optimal condition to perform at its best.
6. Have a goal, and constantly remind yourself of it. A long-term goal (such as weight loss, strength building, or appearance change) and preferably one that has a deep meaning to you, is important to help you stay focussed on the ‘why’ which makes the ‘how’ a lot easier.
7. Train with a friend or family member. Having someone else come along for the journey is not only more sociable, but also keeps us accountable. As we naturally don’t want to disappoint or let others down, friends and family are great motivators to push ourselves to keep going.
8. Track your progression across each exercise. You can either use one of the many phone apps, or just a pen and paper. Recording your workout results will help you to see your incremental increases in performance. It's a great way to reassure yourself that you are indeed getting stronger and fitter over time. Helping to motivate yourself to keep at it.
9. Multi-task – safely. We’ve discussed the benefits of listening to music, but you can also listen to your favourite podcast or have the radio on in the background to make your work out more entertaining and to save time.
10. Make it fun. The best way to get results is to make it something you enjoy doing. So work out your way, in the manner which makes you feel comfortable and that gets the results you are after. You be you.
11. Relax your mind. Before your next session, take a few deep breaths, lower your heart rate and tell yourself this is a process. Our minds can sometimes get in the way of our bodies doing what we want. It’s ok to sacrifice some intensity to ensure long-term consistency.

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