Hello friends! Earlier this month I posted a couple of ideas about how to get the most from workouts with a small time buy in. Frankly, living life requires a lot of time, which doesn’t always leave a lot for movement. So, let’s talk about what it means to move well when time is tight.

Something that I hear and see all the time from other fitness pros is the mention that most of us have plenty of time to spend consuming media. Whether that is watching TV, streaming movies, scrolling, or gaming, the point is that we find the time for those activities. And those activities are not conducive to physical (or mental) health.

I think the more important thing to understand is that most of us engage in those activities because they require little mental input and they allow us to detach for a bit. Guess what? Movement can be the same thing. Once you have a good routine down, the only hurdle is choosing to do it.

Which brings me back to the smartphone of it all. We each carry a pocket computer with us everywhere that has access to the whole wide interwebs. The hurdle to pull that out of a pocket or bag and get lost in YouTube for an hour is a molehill compared to the mountain sized hurdle of working out. You have to remember to charge your headphones, then pack them. Plus water and a snack. Sneakers. A change of clothes. You get the idea.

Long story short, time is an easy excuse. Not because it isn’t valid. It is, it just isn’t fixable. At least until we colonize Mars and gain that extra 40 minutes per day.

What is fixable is how we approach that mountain and turn it back into a molehill so we choose to move. Each of us will have different time related pain points. Some of us will have childcare pressure. Some of us will have work constraints or commuting blocks.

As I am a fan of recommending, plan your week based on the average. I’ve seen too many clients overcommit because they plan based on their ideal week. It never works out because ideal rarely happens. So why are we planning around something that doesn’t happen?

Figure out what days or times of day you have a bit more wiggle room. Bam, that’s where your workouts go. There is no reason to try and give yourself another to do on your list on a day when it just isn’t possible. It is absolutely okay to use those as rest days. You need them anyway, so might as take them.

Then make sure you have as many different handholds as possible to climb the mountain. Don’t wait until the morning crush to pack your bag, get it done the night before. Don’t walk into the gym or your living room without a plan (do you know how much time gets wasted just getting started because someone doesn’t know what they are going to do?).

Arrange your workouts to take advantage of every last minute. Supersets and circuits are a great way to use what would otherwise be complete downtime efficiently. A short HIIT workout can be super effective if that’s what you can manage. Plan ahead so you know what you are doing. Feel free to hit me up if you need help with that.

Moving well when time is tight isn’t a question of what you are doing specifically. Truthfully if this series has any take away message, it’s that moving well is choosing to do it at all. The more you make the choice, and the more obstacles you remove, the more you will make the choice. And sort of like magic, time isn’t an issue anymore.

Until next time, move well friends!

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