Easy Workout Ideas for the Busy Bees Who Can't Hit the Gym Everyday

You know that maintaining an active lifestyle is one of the major top priorities in life. By taking care of ourselves, we stand a chance of being the kind of individual we strive to be at home with our loved ones, on the job, and in the community. However, it doesn’t mean that this is easy.

No doubt, work, in particular, will get in the way of working out. In fact, you will realize soon that there is a huge paradox going on and it becomes more obvious when more exciting and challenging a job becomes.

On one hand, you struggle to find the time to do exercise. On the other, you cannot avoid exercising as it is integral to become successful. Or you can have your very own home garage gym and keep fit without requiring too much time.

How To Become Fit Despite Having A Demanding Schedule

• Working Out Efficiently

You need to select a workout which can be done almost anywhere, irrespective of whether you are traveling or coming home late from the office. So, ideally, this will be a kind of exercise which will not need a huge amount of preparation. Plus it can help in accomplishing major physical gains in a matter of short period. Some of the best choices are Tabata training, high-intensity interval training, running, and bodyweight exercises.

• Exercise During Commercials

Can’t miss the big popular games and favorite TV shows? Rather than sitting on the couch with your favorite snack food, you can mix up a delicious blend of healthy veggie and fruit juices and do various exercises during commercials.

Try to use the dumbbells, bands or body weight and choose a fast exercise circuit. During the commercials, perform various exercises and reps as much as you can. You can use dumbbells, bands or even your body weight for the fast exercise circuit.

During every commercial, you can perform various exercises and reps as much as you like. From a 30-min sitcom, you get up to 9-10 minutes of exercising time.

• Catering To Your Dislikes and Likes

Many people hate running, and that is fine. It is important that you become realistic and know what you like or dislike. One person’s running is another person’s weight training, yoga or dance. It is important to flex your self-discipline muscles with regard to exercising.

But you need to make it easier by selecting a form of exercise which is apt for your lifestyle, taste, and personality. If you are not sure what you like to do, then don’t be sad. You must not be afraid to experiment with many types of exercises until you get what works the best for you.

• Night Exercise

If you are a working mother, then a full day of work, making dinner, and running back of the kids can make you exhausted. However, you need to fight the urge to hunker down. Try to select a workout which helps you to unwind.

You can workout on a treadmill, dumbbells, a body weight circuit or bands. Now if you have a hard time settling down especially from the night time workouts, then you can do something calming like stretching or yoga. Even better, you can use the burst of the energy by spending time with your partner, which is what you need.  

• Taking Competition As Motivation

To becoming successful in work, collaboration is an essential aspect. However, when you are trying to motivate yourself by exercising on a regular basis (that too with enough intensity which matters a lot), competition has its own merits.

Nowadays it is possible to find competition matching your skill level in any sport or field. So, whether you are a beginner, elite or somewhere in between, there is always something for all of us. Go ahead sign up, set the goal and find out what it can do to you. If the odds are good then it can be the push that you need to keep yourself in the game.

• Create A Schedule And Commit To It

One of the major reasons for why people skip a workout is either being busy at work or picking up the kid from school. It involves dealing with the given situation. At times, you can cancel the internal meeting, take some work home with you, so that you can hit the gym.

Basically, it is all about prioritizing. The truth is that you have to get out of the office at the time when it is necessary. Try to make a schedule (even you can write it down if it helps) and stick to it. Remind yourself that working out is a top priority worth keeping.

• Tracking The Levels Of Activity

There is an old saying “If you don’t measure it, it doesn’t exist”. Yes! It is a slight exaggeration, but it holds some truth to it, especially when it is related to exercising. Make sure to keep a note on the calendar every time when you work out. You can add the workout session at the end of each week, month and year. This helps you to monitor your progress and find out areas to improve.

It is better if you measure your activity levels as it can help you to remain on track and realize when you are going to slip just before you completely lose the habit.

• Selecting Something Over Nothing

Frankly, you don’t need an hour or even thirty minutes to do an effective and complete workout. Doing some exercise is virtually much better than none. Heck, even a ten minutes can create a difference. You can easily catch some few free minutes in your daily life. So, with an efficient program which can frequently be done, speedy and short workouts can do wonders for both the mind as well as the body.

Winding Up

Try to squeeze in the schedule to workout wherever you are and no matter how much time you have with regard to bodyweight exercises. Also, you can use the assistance of apps which prescribes the best exercises to be done at your desk.

Author Bio :

Cathy is a fitness expert at garagegymplanner.com. She writes regularly on topics revolving around exercise and diet and helps educate readers on the best ways to improve their health and looks naturally.

Who is Alicia Bell? She is a Toronto based Social Media Influencer, Kinesiologist, Strength Coach and Track and Field Coach who has devoted her life to helping people reach their goals in fitness and sport. She is a nationally recognized track and field coach who coached team Canada at the Maccabi games in Israel in July of 2013. She lead the team to 13 medals.  Alicia has over 10 years of practical and educational experience and is a published Fitness model for Zenzation with her pictures gracing their equipment and she leads their product DVD instruction.

Alicia has experience working with many types of clientele. She has worked as a Kinesiologist and an Exercise Rehabilitation Specialist. She is also experienced at weight loss, strength training, toning and athletic conditioning. She has worked with clients such as Dwight Howard (NBA), Rashad McCants (Former NBA), Geoff Harris (Olympic 800m runner), Lil Jon (Rapper/Dj), Karla Moy aka HustleGrl, Hill Harper (actor, author) and even the mother of the Toronto rapper Drake.

Alicia Bell and Telus Present - Living Better With Samsung S6

I have such a busy schedule! Not only am I a personal trainer in busy downtown Toronto, Canada,  but I also work for a water company (GP8 Sportwater) and I am also an athlete who trains to compete in the Ontario Physique Association (OPA) bikini category.

My life is filled with fitness, nutrition, travelling and social interactions. Sometimes it is hard to keep track of not only my own goals and activities but also my clients and other business adventures. I have to keep a very tight schedule, so for me timing is everything.

Since getting the new Samsung S6 from Telus  I have been living better! I love to take pictures and video of my clients training, my own workouts, the food I eat and the day to day activities and events that I attend. I have found that the Samsung S6 really captures these moments. Its dynamic, ultra-responsive camera captures the true-to-life brilliance of any moment throughout my day. It also has a quick launch camera so that I can pull out my phone and quickly (under a second) launch the camera to take an in the moment photo.

Another convenient feature for me is the quick unlock finger print option. Instead of keying in a password (which you can also do) you can use your very own finger print to quickly unlock your phone. It was very easy to set up and when I need to open my phone fast to read a message it only takes a quick second  to unlock from being secure.

Another one of my favourite features is that it has a super charger. What does this mean? It means that because I am always on the go I can plug the S6 in for just 10 minutes and get up to 4 hours of battery life!!!! When you take as much photos as I do and you are constantly travelling from one place to another and listening to music this is crucial. I don't have the time to leave my phone plugged in for hours at a time.

The apps that I have found useful on the Samsung for my busy and active lifestyle are:

S- Health: This app you can personalize and sync your health data with your Samsung account. You can choose your personal units of measurements and receive notifications of events in the status bar. Within the app you can download extra things. I use the Workout Trainer (if I need a quick workout for myself), Recipes & Nutrition(for finding healthy recipes) and the Hydro Coach (for recording my water intake). There are so many useful apps to help with staying on track and these three are just a few. You can completely personalize the S Health and the apps that you use within it for whatever your goals are.

The phone can also counts your daily step count and allows you to adjust your goals for the count. I have it at 10, 000 steps per day. The only downfall is that if you don't have the watch to go with the phone you have to have the phone in your hand or in your pocket for it to keep track.

The sleep tracker is also key. As an athlete and trainer I cannot express how important sleep can be. If you don't get enough sleep your body will be high in cortisol. A stress released hormone that can trigger your body to store fat. Keeping track of your sleep will help you with your fitness goals.

Another awesome feature with the phone is that it actually has a heart rate sensor that allows you to instantly measure your heart rate and record it. This is great when training because it allows you to check if you are working in the right zone for your goals when you are doing an intense training or cardio session.

I also use the food recording within the S Health application. This can let you see what you are eating and how many calories are in it. Its great to achieve your goals. Whats also really cool is that if you haven't recorded anything for the day it will ask you if you feel like tracking your food? It will also remind you. Which is great if you are as busy as I am and often forget.

Check out the phone for yourself in this video from Samsung:

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Caseys Blog.

According to "greatist" the following is a list of apps that are great for fitness to download.

Circuit Training Timer for iOS

Circuit Training Timer. When a workout calls for 30 seconds of military presses, 20 seconds of calf raises, and a mere 10 seconds of recovery, who has time to worry about keeping time? Luckily, users can plug in their circuit workout to a “T” and let Circuit Training Timer let them know when it’s time to stop n’ go. Cost: $0.99, compatible with all iOS devices.

Intervals. From squat to sprints, users can easily customize intervals and circuits for the perfect heart-pumping workout. Features include various audio settings, warm up and cool down options, and a CrossFit WOD timer. Cost: $2.99, compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch.

Interval Training Apps

Bit Timer for iOS

Bit Timer. Probably the sleekest application of the bunch, Bit Timer cuts out the bells and whistles and goes for simplicity. Users plug in three main settings: work, rest, repeat. But heads up: The app only allows for a maximum of four-minute intervals — so Bit Timer is more fitting for intervals and Tabata training than longer circuits. Cost: $0.99, compatible with all iOS devices.

A HIIT Interval Timer. This no frills app is a simple way to time all those interval runs without fumbling with the buttons on a treadmill. Set custom workouts and follow the color-coded interface to know how many sets are left till it’s time to hit the showers. Cost: $1.99, compatible with iPhone and iPad.

HIIT Workout Timer. For a slightly busier (and cheaper!) app, Workout Timer has customizable options for beginner, intermediate, and advanced workouts, low and high intensity intervals, and of course — time for rest. Cost: $0.99, compatible with all iOS devices.

Seconds. Any app that includes “time wizards” is a winner with us. Customize infinite workout timers, assign music for specific intervals, and share your workout with other Seconds users. The sexy, easy-to-use interface might even help people want to run intervals every day. Cost: $4.99, compatible with iPhone and iPod touch.

Interval Run. Want a virtual coach in your ear buds? Then try out this app that tells users when to start running and when to (finally) take a breather. In addition to Tabata workouts, the app let’s users customize longer running workouts, from 5K plans to hour-long runs. Cost: $1.99, compatible with iPhone and iPod touch.

iSmooth Run. What’s cool about this app is users can plug in the pace and heart rate zone they want to achieve during each interval. The simple interface will make any workout, well, run smoothly. Cost: $4.99, compatible with iPhone.

Tabata Training Apps

Tabata Pro for iOS

Tabata Pro. Twenty seconds on, 10 seconds off. Simple enough, right? While this app won’t make those squats burn any less, it’ll take users’ minds off of worrying about timing a Tabata. Just set the number of cycles and hit start, and you’re good to go! Cost: $2.99, compatible with all iOS devices.

Tabata Trainer. What’s great about this Tabata app is that it comes preloaded with nine full Tabata routines, along with a customizable option to create your own. It’s sleek and simple too, and you can share your workouts on Facebook for a tech-savvy humblebrag. Cost: $1.99, compatible with all iOS devices.