How to stay fit with a busy schedule

If you have a full-time job, household chores to do at the weekend, relationships to maintain, and children to take care of, finding time to exercise can be a real challenge. Thankfully, there are many ways to combine exercise with some of your other daily or weekly activities. Read on for some tips on how to stay fit without adding any dedicated exercise slots to your already packed schedule.

Turn your commute into an exercise routine

Unless you live very far from your place of work, consider running, cycling or walking to work instead of driving or using public transport. Many workplaces have showering and changing facilities for their employees, and if yours doesn't, you could always ask if they could be added. After all, encouraging employees to walk, run, or cycle to work is good for their health and that of the planet! If you are into cycling, check out this article from BikeRadar, which has some excellent tips on how to choose the best bike and on how to make the most of your bike ride to work.

Do short, high-intensity workouts in your breaks

Exercising doesn't have to take a long time, and a great way to stay fit and healthy if you are busy is to perform high-intensity workouts in your lunch break at work, while you are waiting for the dinner to cook or during any other short breaks or 'dead time' you have in your day. A personal trainer can help you find the best high-intensity workouts for your specific fitness goals, often using scientific insights to adapt your fitness regimen to your body – one company, Truth Fitness, even performs DNA tests to tailor personal training programmes to their client's needs! High-intensity workouts will help you get and stay fit with barely a change in your schedule.

Combine fitness and socialising

Too often, after a busy day at work, people are faced with a dilemma: should they be sociable and hang out with their colleagues or friends, or should they be good and exercise? Thankfully, there's no reason why you can't do both. Consider asking your colleagues or friends if they would like to join a running club, a gym, a football team or another kind of sports organisation with you, and you will never have to choose between socialising and exercising again! Here are some more ideas of fun physical activities you can do with your friends.

Buy yourself a desk bike

If you work from home, a desk bike might be the perfect way for you to stay fit. Working from home is very convenient in a lot of ways, but only having to take a few steps between where you sleep and where you work can really wreck your fitness levels. A desk bike is a stationary bike with a small flat surface in place of the handlebars, which lets you work out as you type. It will take a little getting used to, but it will pay dividends in terms of your health!