How To Fit Fitness Into Your Busy Life

Modern lives are, go, go, go, it seems all the time, especially if you have a busy job, kids, pets or elderly relatives. The relentless battle to carve out time for you is difficult enough without trying to fit fitness in! 

In this article, we explain why finding time for fitness is important and provide some interesting ways to include fitness in your day-to-day life. If you decide to investigate more fitness blogs, here is a list of inspirational women’s blogs. They are perfect to follow, and read them at your leisure.

Six reasons you need the benefits of fitness

• Improve your memory and brain function – It helps you stay sharp, remember important information, and maintain your concentration for longer. Some believe it can stave off conditions like Alzheimer’s and Dementia. According to alzheimers.org.uk, exercising in mid-life can reduce the risk of developing Dementia by 30% and Alzheimer’s by as much as 45% – Staggering. 
• Lower blood pressure – This helps to combat long-term chronic conditions. Heart disease and circulatory diseases have been linked to high blood pressure, Heart Valve complications, heart failure, stroke and Arrhythmia, to name four.   
• Combat fatigue – A fitter, healthier body, uses energy more efficiently and feels more energised, thus combatting fatigue. The sense of wellness this provides also lifts your spirits. 
• General mental well-being – Stress relief is a significant side effect of exercise, and it can be attributed to the production of Dopamine, the body’s feel-good hormone. For tips on how to stay optimistic about your mental health, this article provides a four-step guide. An article from mind.org.uk states that exercise is proven to improve sleep, promote happier moods and help with managing stress and anxiety. 
• Increase your metabolism – As we age, the body’s ability to burn calories lessens, so keeping active ensures that excess calories are burned, and your body remains healthy. 
• Keeps you younger for longer – Hormones used to pass information around the body degrade with age and lack of general fitness, so exercise will keep you younger for longer. The website, TheRiegelCenter.com, explains that hydraulic acid produced by estrogen helps your skin look younger. It also helps reduce your reliance on Progesterone, an estrogen regulator that controls the reliance on cortisol, which ages the skin.  

So, how to fit fitness into busy lives?

We have curated a selection of examples in the following section of this article that will help you to apply fitness in some real-life situations. If you are not entirely fit or have medical conditions, seek advice first.

The exercises that we outline below will assist your functional fitness. Functional fitness supports your daily activities, making them more manageable. Functional movements are essential in later life and keep you independent for longer.  

ONE – Push and pull yourself into shape

Why not do a pushup whenever you walk into the kitchen or living room? If you have a pullup bar, this can work great too. Both movements can be used in everyday life. 

TWO – Walk the kids, the dog, or to work

If you take the kids to School, and it’s pretty close, why not walk them? It’s excellent for you and good for them. If you have a dog, consider walking it more frequently or further. Include your commute to work; if you have one, it is a huge opportunity to add exercise.   

THREE – Housework, with pace

Invite your mother-in-law to your home, leave it until an hour before she’s due, and start the housework. Wow, you have never moved so quickly. Doing anything at an increased speed can raise your pulse and help your fitness, so hoovering, wiping down the side, and cleaning the windows helps as there is lots of stretching. You know you’ll be up and down the stairs too, so getting all the steps in.

FOUR – Use dead time wisely

If you are waiting for your kids or partner to finish at a club or meeting, consider going on a run, in 30-mins you could run 5k miles and burn more than 500 cal. Optimising your time in this way can help fit everything in.  

FIVE – Pick up anything (within reason)

When you’re in the house, pick up anything, socks, shoes, anything to get you moving and bending through your main functional movements. Be careful with these, but bending and lifting will help mobility and provide you with a greater range of movement. Remember the saying, ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it” Well, if you do not exercise, you lose muscle; if you do not bend, you lose the range of movement. 

SIX – Swing the Cat 

If you can find something to swing (perhaps not the Cat) above your head, like a Kettlebell swing, this is fantastic for your shoulders, back and stomach. Exercising these muscles helps to support your spine and upper body, which is ideal for increasing your mobility and avoiding lumbar vertebrae wear and tear.  

Here are some examples of functional fitness in the following video. 

Summary 

A varied diet and exercise are both required to maintain good general fitness. If you liked our suggestions but are still interested in looking further, then have you considered some home gym equipment? Getting a garage or home gym can help companies like Mirafit, as shown in the video above can help you.  

Remember, Rome was not built in a day. To conquer fitness, it is about changing your mindset; introducing change over time makes it a routine and a routine and will be what makes the difference. Try some of these techniques out; we are sure some will be perfect for you. Enjoy including exercise in your life, and remember the benefits of doing so!