1. Select a time for a weekly planning session. In order to locate pockets of time for each upcoming week, get your calendar out; you won't need more than 15 minutes to organize your schedule. To keep yourself reminded of the time you've designated, make sure this information is available on the calendar you're most likely to look at daily.
2. Record all of your obligations for the week. Fill in everything you can think of that requires your time.
3. Look at the pockets of available time between activities or appointments. This is where you'll schedule your daily workout routines.
Highlight your open windows of time. Identify varying time slots in order to tailor your workouts to the available time you have. The more time you have, the better. No matter what time slots you have, there are resources available to fit your lifestyle:
60 minutes or more?
50 minutes
40 minutes
30 minutes
20 minutes
10 minutes
4. For optimal results, schedule 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3 to 4 times per week. Many people find cardiovascular exercise a daunting task because they try to get in way too much cardio. That's right – too much! To achieve most fitness goals, you'll want to do 20 to 30 minutes of cardio three times per week at your target heart rate. This means that you can get yourself changed, sneakers on, and complete your cardio workout in a total of 30 to 40 minutes!
Be sure to pick something you're willing to do. Without choosing what you enjoy doing, you can have a hard time getting motivated to do cardio.
Write down "cardiovascular exercise" in time slots that give you 30 to 40 minutes of free time.
5. Schedule 30 minutes of strength training exercise at least three times per week. Taking that first step is often the toughest. Make yourself accountable by signing up for a personal training session or partnering with a friend. 30 to 40 minutes of strength training is optimal; however, you can fit some exercises in as little as 10 minutes if you're prepared to optimize those short bursts of free time.
Have a set of dumbbells ready to go under your desk.
Throw some tubing or bands in a desk drawer for easy access.
Bookmark some interesting workouts on YouTube.
6. Optimize with three 30 minute workouts. If you do choose ten minute blocks, be sure to fit three of these short workouts in on one day.
7. Look your schedule over.
Have you fit in 3 sessions of cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes each in your week?
How did you do with strength training? Have you scheduled at least three sessions of 30 minutes?
8. Stick with your schedule for the week. Following through with your exercise plan will give you a sense of accomplishment. You can tweak your routine next week if necessary.
When you've completed each workout, check it off on your calendar, PDA, cell phone, etc.
Notice what works for you and what doesn't so you can make changes when planning day comes around again.
9. Repeat each week. By sticking with a planning day and creating a schedule each week, you're more likely to stick with your plan and reach your goals.
At the end of each week, note what worked and what needs to be changed.
If your plan worked well for you this week, repeat. If not, make the necessary changes.
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