Tips on Tuesdays….change your clothes

How many times does this happen to you….

You wake up, set your workout gear aside and tell yourself “I am going to workout this afternoon.”

Then you go to work, come home and say “I’ll workout after dinner.”

Then you sit down and say “I’ll workout after this one show.”

And then you go to bed and say “I’ll workout in tomorrow.”

A whole day has passed and you didn’t get your workout in.

How can you change that – – change your clothes.

The first thing to do if you have an afternoon workout planned is to change your clothes.

By changing from your work or daytime attire into your gym shorts and sports bra, it sets you up for your workout.   It reminds you that you are planning on going for that run or that walk or that pressing play on that DVD.  It motivates you to stay focused and  then there is one less step to getting yourself out the door.

This really works!

In fact, I’m sitting here at 5:20 this morning as I write this.  My normal routine is to get up and read and write blogs for about an hour and then workout before it is time to wake the boys and get rolling on our day.  The days I change into my workout clothes (and even put my shoes on) are the days that it is much easier to transition from working to my workout.  But on those days when I stay in my PJ’s and work and read….it is much harder to get that workout in, instead I typically work too long and run out of time, and I find myself saying “I need to go change….”

Give it a try.  Do it today.  Report back tomorrow – did it help get that workout in?

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

~Amy

PS – we’re half way through my May challenge of selling 100 copies of my eBook, Making Time for Dinner.  Won’t you help me – buy your copy today.

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Tips on Tuesdays – start small and multi-task

One of the many things I talk with people about is “how do I fit a workout in my day…look at it!”

First of all – I love this calendar – why? Because it is color coded!  But I digress.

I hear ya – you calendar is slammed full; you get up early and are running around all day long.  Sadly, all this running isn’t the right sort of running recommended to stay in shape, keep a healthy heart or even lose weight.

So what do you do when it is just as hard to squeeze a workout into your busy schedule as it to squeeze into your jeans (skinny or not).

Let me start by saying – I am not a fitness expert.  In fact, one of my goals for myself this year is to lose 40 pounds.  (Watch my progress on this and other goals I’ve set for this year.)

It is my thought that once you are in the habit of doing something, it will be easier to do more of it.  Think about it – eating that handful of M&M’s one afternoon easily turns into a daily occurrence.  Checking Facebook a couple times a day can easily turn into an hourly occurrence.

So the question is more – how do I start the habit of exercising (did you see my calendar, Amy?)

I think the best way is to start small and to incorporate the new routine into your daily activities.

1. Check out this list of workout DVD’s on Amazon.  They are all under 30 minutes.  Can you find 10- 30 minutes a few days a week to do one of these DVDs, even if it means waking up a tiny bit early on some days?
2. Find ways to multi-task with exercise and other things.  Coaching your son’s soccer team, doing lunges while grocery shopping, sit on one of those large balls while surfing Facebook.

The theory is you’ll start to see results and be more motivated and build your endurance so that you’ll be able to work up to your other goals and eventually add more to your day or change things around to fit your other activities.

Question of the day – Do you have any different ways that you fit exercise into your days?

Happy Tuesday!

~amy