I don't have time. It's out of my budget. I am too tired after work. My kids have activities. I am too out of shape.
It's natural to resist exercise if you've been out of the game for a while. It can be scary or unpleasant when your fitness level is down. There will likely be sore muscles, and the biggest sacrifice is it takes time.
However, health and vitality are worth every bit of time and effort.
Modern-day living can be so fast paced that many of us can no longer afford to compartmentalize and need to incorporate a new tactic called "blending." Blending is taking two areas of your life and making it into one to suit your needs.
Relationships, family life (including quality time, kids activities and play dates), household maintenance, professional life and personal time and care are all areas of life that take time to maintain. It's a lot to fit into one week, especially if you are a working professional since at least 40 hours of your time are already spoken for.
If exercise is truly important to you, and I hope it is, the following are some tips for blending.
Relationships: Date nights could include fitness.
Try something new, such as indoor rock climbing or paddle boarding. Run or walk with your spouse. My husband and I just did the Ride to Conquer Cancer. We trained for months and rode the course together and it enriched our relationship.
Family Life: Incorporate fitness into your family time. Ride bikes, go for a family hike or while your kids play at the park, run or walk laps around them. Organize their play dates with other fitness-minded parents and create active fun.
Professional Life: Go to work early, use the office gym, run or walk on your lunch break or start a fitness meet-up at the office. Many corporations are supportive of active employees so investigate if there is any support for group fitness on site.
Household maintenance: Crank up the music, clean fast and get a good sweat on. Vacuum aerobics is the latest trend! Social Life: I realized the other day that I actually have very few friends that don't run. I started running for the health benefits but it has become my community and social life. Try to combine some active socializing and make it less about food and drink or blend the two. Walk the seawall and then have dinner. You will likely make better food choices after exercise.
Personal Time and Care: Exercise gives you energy and can be used as a strategy for revitalization. If you are the bookworm type or "I chill on Sundays" type, try and get out for 30 minutes of fitness first and incorporate this as part of your energy revival.
Blending is essential for busy lives. If you want to lead an active lifestyle it takes plotting and superior time management. Take a look at your commitments and see where you can incorporate some blend time.
Louise Green is a North Shore resident and the founder of Body Exchange Lifestyles. She is an avid runner and skier and takes advantage of the North Shore's outdoor recreation regularly.
