You know you are supposed to exercise every day. You want to exercise every day. But you have a family and children — children who are involved in activities and events after school, in the evenings and on weekends. How could you possibly fit it all in?

A few helpful tips to help you fit exercise into your day:

1. Find your personal reason to get fit. What’s your personal reason? Is it good enough to get you off the couch? If not, think of something that will really get you moving. Maybe it takes posting a picture in your bathroom of your younger, healthier days. Or maybe you need to get moving for the sake of keeping up with your children. Whatever it is, make sure it gets you moving.
2. Examine your goals. Are they realistic? Can you feasibly accomplish each goal? If not, rewrite your goals to make them smaller and more attainable.
3. Try working out early in the morning. It will provide a great start to your day both mentally and physically.
4. Survey your schedule. Is there an opportunity before, during or after work for exercise? How about your lunch break? Grab ahold of that opportunity because you know you will feel a lot better afterwards.
5. Do something you enjoy. Exercising can be fun when it involves something like gardening, walking with friends or water aerobics class.
6. Exercise as a family. Not only will exercising together create quality bonding time, but it will also instill the idea of physical activity into your children.
7. Make exercise mandatory. You simply have to do it. Make exercise part of your routine.
8. Split up daily exercise. Try doing 5-10 minute bursts of physical activity during the day instead of 50-60 minutes of straight exercise.
9. Exercise on your way to the office. Do you live close to work? Make your commute to work your daily dose of physical activity.