How to Prioritize Workouts When Your Work Life Gets Tough

We live in a world where exercise is often connected to achieving a certain weight goal, while the fact that movement feels really good is largely ignored. The truth is that with all those fake promises, fad diets, and other marketing stunts, exercising has been demonized and many people still perceive it as torture. Thankfully, there is still awareness of workouts for the sake of wellbeing and it has nothing to do with the unrealistic self-image standards with which we’re constantly bombarded.

Those are the workouts we want to talk about today. Investing some time into doing sports or just stretching in your office will provide you with the world of benefits, not just for your body, but for your mind as well. And if you’ve got some problems when it comes to syncing up your work and your workouts, here are some suggestions how to make it work.

Any Exercise Is Good

One of the concepts that frequently put us off exercising is that they have to be long and strenuous. When it comes to real life, in which we have about bazillion other things to do after work, spending an hour at the gym sounds like nothing more than a daydream. The good news is that you can exercise wherever you are, no matter how busy and no matter how crazy your work day is. There are many workout routines that you can do in 15 minutes or less and you don’t need any special equipment, only your body. If you’ve had a really stressful day at work, getting a move on is actually great to get the frustration out of your system, and maybe a short yoga session will do wonders for your mood. When you’re glued to your chair the whole day, you better believe that your body will be craving some movement afterward, so why not reward yourself with a walk? Being active is amazing for your mind too, as it allows you to clear the clutter and focus on physical sensations for as long as it feels right to you. There don’t have to be any special rules: get some exercise whenever you’ve got spare time – maybe it’s during your lunch break, maybe it’s right after you wake up or before you go to bed, but whatever you do, you can be sure that your body will be grateful for it.

Don’t Go Around It Whenever an Opportunity Arises

We all make excuses when it comes to exercise, at least until it becomes a part of our routine and the favorite excuse is that you just can’t find the time. It’s true, most of us work much more than we’re supposed to and more often than not when we come home, we’re exhausted and exercising is the last thing we have in mind. However, if you think about working out as the precious time you take for yourself, your perspective will change dramatically. You should never excuse your way out of being healthy, and that means sleeping well, eating well and moving your body as often as you can. One of the best ways to show up for yourself when it comes to exercising is to incorporate it into your schedule, no matter how busy it is. After that, do your best not to push your workout time back for something else, unless there’s an emergency. When you constantly put aside a certain amount of time for exercise a couple of times a week and prioritize them just like you would important meetings, you’ll get used to the fact that some active movement is a part of your weekly program and getting it done won’t come as a chore to you.

Movement Has Countless Shapes and Forms

There are thousands of people out there who don’t commit themselves to staying physically healthy because they despise going to the gym. There’s nothing wrong with the fact that you don’t feel comfortable in a room full of sweaty strangers, but don’t use it as an excuse. As your body, as well as your metabolism naturally require activity to keep the engines up and running, there are countless ways to move your body around, get more limber and just feel great. Try different things and see which one sticks with you the most – for some it will be running, for others swimming, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ in this game. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to dance, there’s your fair share of exercise right there and not only will you meet plenty of new people, you will also learn a new and fun skill you can show off with at parties. The key here is to have fun with your body and accept exercise as fun too, not something you have to put up with. Another good thing – you’ll always find time to do what you love, even when working hours become crazy. Once you find something you truly enjoy doing, you won’t think of it as exercise, it will become a part of your life you’ll be delighted to engage in. Having active hobbies is the best way to keep your health in check, not to mention that your body will look even more awesome.

Hit the Pause Button before the Burnout

There’s a problem that occurs when you become overenthusiastic about the latest workout regime or a hobby and you’ve still got a lot on your plate when it comes to your other responsibilities – the burnout. When work life gets tough and we still strive to squeeze in some exercise into our day, the body will rebel sooner or later, and that is bad news for your health. Burnout can manifest in a number of symptoms – anything from moodiness to constant fatigue and even insomnia and depression is a warning sign that you seriously need to slow down. Why this is important when it comes to balancing your work and exercising? Because dealing with burnout will take a lot of time and energy and it’s not easy to stop being overworked in every way, so the best thing you can do is prevent it from happening. When you feel like you’ve truly reached your limit, don’t push too hard but hit the pause button and allow yourself to breathe. Have a day off, treat yourself to a spa, spend a day relaxing with friends, do whatever you need to recharge your batteries and replenish. That way, all aspects of your health will be covered and you’ll feel much happier and fulfilled.

Keeping a balance in life is always challenging, especially in today’s world. Once you realize that your wellbeing is the most important aspect to nurture, exercise won’t seem so difficult, on the contrary, it will be a great way to release stress and feel strong.

Vanessa Davis is a 32-year-old fitness enthusiast, mother of two and content writer at www.diet.st. She’s originally from Long Island, New York, and when she isn’t cooking up some new health and fitness article, she enjoys doing yoga and figuring out new, delicious organic recipes for herself and her kids.