You’ve got a young child (or children) that all of a sudden doesn’t like sleeping through the night.
Work is starting to get busier and eating more time into your day.
And not matter what you do, there seems to be a never ending list of things to get done around the house.
Inevitably, this or your own version of it will happen across the year.
We know, because we have clients just like this.
Shit seems to hit the fan all at once.
And you begin to worry that you’re going to undo all of the progress you’ve made so far with your training and weight loss.
That doesn’t have to be the way.
Here are our top 5 tips for helping you through those super busy periods of your life.
Lower your expectations
One of the first things that we get clients to do is recognise that this is only one moment of the whole year. When life gets busier than usual, it might last for a few weeks or month. It’s not the entirety of the year. So its OKAY for a short period of time to lower the expectations you might put on yourself when it comes to what progress you’d like to carry on making. Why?
Because as of that moment, you’ve got more important things in life than worrying about when you’re next going to be squatting. We know training regularly is great for us but its not the most important aspect of our lives. It’s there to enhance our quality of life, not have a negative impact.
Make life easier and more convenient for yourself
When life gets busier with work/kids/family/friends, something has got to take a back seat. Often that will be the time you spend training or in the kitchen cooking. So find ways to make those things more convenient for yourself. When it comes to exercise, that could mean doing a couple home workouts instead of trekking to the gym. It might mean going to the gym but doing a shorter workout with just one or two kettlebells. When it comes to your nutrition side of things, there are dozens of ways to make that more convenient for yourself (we could do a whole blog on that!). One aspect is trying to make sure you’ve always got convenient food at home or on the go that is nutritious. Otherwise, ubereats might be coming to your door more often during the week. That could be prepared meats/fruit/veg, ingredients for meals you know you could whip up in less than 15 minutes or even ready meals. If it helps keep you on track to a certain extent, then consider it.
Don’t stress it
This one is probably easier said than done it’s not always an obvious one. Training itself is a form of stress. Not in the same sense of work stress but it’s still a form of stress on the body. So, when life is busy and you’ve got more stress to handle than usual, adding in more exercise is usually a recipe for disaster. Accept where things are and be okay with not doing as much exercise. It really isn’t the end of the world to cut back on it or take it out of your routine temporarily. Of course, a lot of people feel better and less stressed if they include exercise in their life. Just remember not to stress out that training/nutrition might have to take a back seat for a short period. It will always be available to come back to when life calms down!
Shorten/drop your workouts
One simple change to make is to shorten your workouts or drop one or two completely. If you’re exercising 4 times a week, maybe drop that down to 3 or even 2 sessions a week. If 2 is where you’re at and that’s a struggle to fit in, maybe shorten down the session time. Are 2 20-minute workouts ideal or what we’d recommend to those looking to get in shape? Probably not. But if that’s the only time you have available across a busy week then it’s certainly better than nothing!
Get some support
This could come in many forms. The most obvious one is a coach or classes which support you with your training goals. Having a coach helps keep you accountable, takes the thinking off your shoulders and is there to support you through the different stages of progress you’re making. Not only that but going into the gym with a plan can make a big difference rather than just turning up and winging it.
The support doesn’t have to end there though. Super busy with life and don’t have the time to keep your home tidy despite loving a clean home to come home to after work? Maybe think about getting a cleaner once in a while. Or someone to look after the kids one evening so you’ve got the time to go to a class or nice meal with your partner. Support doesn’t have to be just limited to the training side of things, it could be other parts of your busy life that take away some of the stress.
Those are our top 5 tips for getting in shape when life is busy.
If you enjoyed it, please share it on social media or with a friend that could do with giving it a read.
And if you would like us to give you that bit of extra support to get in shape, take some of the stress of not knowing what to do in the gym away or accountability to keep you on track with your goals – you can grab your place on our 28 day shape up program.