Excuses, Excuses...

     We live in a society where time is of the essence.  We feel that we are so busy and time starved that we simply cannot do many things (especially those things we don't particularly want to do). Working out seems to be one of those things we come up with excuses for....

   Bottom line is, if you value something enough, you can always make time for it. It may require sacrifice, but for most people, especially college students, if they simply worked on time management and cut out that half hour of Facebook or playing video games, its amazing what they might be able to accomplish. I am not suggesting that you make yourself go crazy and never spend time relaxing or doing things you enjoy, but there are many things you can do to rearrange your schedule and fit in a workout of some sort. Being someone who has worked many days where I had to be at work or was busy with important things the entire time the gym was open, I realize sometimes it can be very difficult feeling to fit in your workouts. I am suggesting that you should think about not letting this become a regular pattern of excuses, because that's where the downfall in your fitness starts to hit. 

    Even if you can only get in 20 minutes, or you have to break up your workouts, do what you can to accomplish something! Here are some things you can do to increase your activity level when you feel like you have few other options. It is a good start that is a lot easier to think about mentally... to get in activity. By activity I mean movement that gets you off the couch and burning more calories than you would being sedentary.

Here are some things you can sneak in throughout your day to increase your caloric burn. You should also keep in mind that you don't need to eat as many calories when you have a sedentary day/lifestyle:

• Sit on a stability ball instead of an office chair, couch etc. This way you are always working a little and increasing the use of your core and stabilizing muscles. 
• Speed walk or jog/run if you can everywhere you go, not only does this get you to your destination faster but it gets your heart rate up in the process. 
• Make an effort to do little things like get out of your chair when someone needs to go do something, walk around, take the stairs, park far away etc.
• On your breaks bring some weights to work, or take a walk around the block. Try to fit in a short gym session if your breaks are long enough.
• While you are waiting for things like food in the microwave, or your friend to show up to meet you do some lunges, squats, high knee taps, jogging in place, or something to get you moving!
• Find someone you spend time with during the day to team up with and keep each other on track. Nothing like a workout buddy to help push you and keep you engaged!
• Make a commitment to yourself that you will only watch TV when you are at the gym or on the tread mill or doing crunches or something, even sneaking some of this in on commercials would be a great start
• Here's my personal favorite: While in the car, being careful not to get too carried away or distracted, turn up the music and dance, squirm and move around. This also is a great activity you can do while cleaning the house and cooking. Don't worry about looking ridiculous, in the end of things people really aren't going to remember or care if they happen to drive by and see someone dancing in their car, it might just make them smile!

Have fun with these things! Make it enjoyable and don't look at them as a task of things you have to do. Even if you do have time to get your workout in, doing these things can help you feel like you got a little extra out of your daily fitness!

On that note, if it is feasible for your life, I will leave you with an office workout link:

15 Min office workout video.

Now that you have all these ideas, that just leaves you with one less excuse to stay active...:)