By: Mayo Clinic Health System

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. Think of something that will really get you moving every day. Maybe it takes posting a picture from your healthier days on the fridge. Or perhaps you wish to keep up with the kids. Whatever it may be, make sure it gets you moving each and every time.
2. Examine your goals. Are they realistic? Can you accomplish each goal in a controlled and health manner? If not, rewrite your goals to make them smaller and more attainable. 
3. Try working out early in the morning. Early-morning cardiovascular workouts are well-supported to improve concentration and energy for the rest of the day. They also may have the added benefit of improving sleep quality for some people.
4. Survey your schedule. Is there an opportunity before, during or after work for exercise? How about your lunch break? These carved-out moments do not need to be hourlong cardio-intense sessions. Even mild-intensity walks or several pushups on the office floor provide notable benefits over time.
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. When your family exercises together, you grow healthy together. Exercising as a family unit will improve family bonds, and you also will role model the importance of physical activity to your children.
7. Make exercise mandatory. You simply have to do it. Make exercise part of your routine. 
8. Exercise while doing other activities. Do you live close to work? Make your commute to work your daily dose of physical activity by biking or walking to work. Park at the edge of the parking lot, not the closest spot. Take the stairs, not the elevator. Consider adding stretches and exercise if you sit at a desk for much of your workday.
9. Just say no. Look at your priorities and responsibilities. Eliminate unnecessary items so you can get your workout in. It’s OK to say no sometimes. 

 

About the Author: Trevor Rich, M.D., is a Family Medicine physician Anne Harguth is a registered dietician with Mayo Clinic Health System, a network of community-based health care providers committed to health and wellness.