by Zayne Mitchell

Created on: June 05, 2010   Last Updated: June 06, 2010

We've heard the excuses-"...I work too many hours...", "...there are just not enough hours in a day..."

Americans seem  busy as ever. There was a time in society where families actually sat down for dinner nightly. Not anymore. Americans are working more hours on average then any other time. This has left many Americans to neglect many simple necessities. One of which is to take care of your own body.

Long work hours often leads to the excuse of 'I don't have any time to workout".That's just it-an excuse.

The fact of the matter is that exercise should be apart of one's everyday life.  No matter how long one's workday is, there are ways to "squeeze" a workout.

Two Was To Fit A Workout In

Wake Up Earlier-if you don't have to be at work until 9am, wake up really early and workout. For example, if you have to wake up the family by 7am and have everyone out the door by 8am-one alternative could be to wake up at 6am and exercise from 15 minutes to one hour(15 minitues initially if you're not a "morning" person which will slowly increase over time). This gives you plenty of time to handle your morning responsibilities.  If you're Not a "morning person", become a "morning person". Force yourself to wakeup early to exercise at least on day per week. Sure, it will be tough to start, but the body like anything else adapts. Before you know it, you'll be waking up twice per week very early to exercise. 

 Helpful Tip: initially if you want to exercise at 6am, set your alarm clock for 5am. You probably won't wake up right away- so you can hit the "snooze" button. Eventially you will wake up generally 20 minutes after the alarm clock sounds. Now you're awake no later than 530am and don't have to rush to exercise.

Shorten the duration of workouts-who says workouts have to be an hour long? It wasn't me. Workouts can be as challenging and intense at 30 minutes,20 minutes, or even 15 minutes. With the proper warm-up and cool down, an intense workout can be done in 20 minutes. A nice pilates/yoga session can be done in 15 minutes. A good deep stretch can be accomplished in  10 minutes.

Remember:you want to accomplish your fitness goals as well as improve your overall quality of life!

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