Balancing Fitness and a Busy Work Schedule

One of the big obstacles to keeping up with a solid fitness routine for many people is work. Having to work extra hours often means cutting out the time at the gym, the evening walk or whatever exercise you try to work in on a regular basis. Sometimes you do just have to accept that a fitness routine isn't going to work for the moment. However, most of the time you can find a way to work fitness into your lifestyle.

Are you still taking lunch breaks? If not, get back into the habit! Failing to eat lunch will make you less productive, and if you get a sandwich or something you can eat as you walk, you can get a bit of exercise time right then. It may not be your usual routine, but it will help reenergize you so that you can work effectively again, as well as helping you to maintain a level of fitness. You should also take a look at what that busy schedule is doing to your eating habits. It probably makes you eat out more, and eat fewer healthy foods.

If you make the effort you can avoid that pitfall. Keep trying to bring lunch to work rather than hitting the fast food joints or quick restaurants. Learn to use a crockpot so you don't have to worry about being too tired to cook dinner in the evenings.

Try making extras when you do cook so that you can have homemade meals sitting in the freezer, ready for those evenings where the energy to cook just isn't there. Some people find that hiring a housekeeper can help as well. It allows you to stop thinking about cleaning the house, so you can exercise with one less thing to get done. However, another solution would be to do the housework rather energetically.

Put a little extra motion into the cleaning. It will probably be more fun and burn more calories. Cutting back at work is often not a possible solution.

But if you have the flexibility you can step out for a walk or a short run to a nearby gym and then return to work. This won't be possible at all jobs, but if it will work for you, why not give it a try? A good workout can really energize you. There's really little need to let life get in the way of a fit lifestyle. Most especially you don't need to let it get in the way for very long.

When those times come that you just can't fit a good workout in, make sure to get back into the habit as soon as possible.

Stephanie Foster blogs at http://www.timeforexercise.com/ about keeping fit. Get more tips on fitness and exercise at her blog.