We all know that exercise is good for us physically, but it’s also emotionally and mentally beneficial too. However, I haven’t met one person who can say it’s easy to get motivated or easy to plan to fit in exercise. I’m going to try to help with this.

Tips I’ve found useful when trying to plan to workout:

• If you use a daily planner, cross out a chunk of time and just label it as your exercise time. This helps with time management.
• Find a buddy to go to the gym with! By doing this you’re putting a little pressure on yourself to actually go. If you don’t show up, your friend has to exercise all alone that day…
• Make yourself a good playlist to listen to while working out. This will help keep you upbeat and motivated. I especially recommend this if you are going to run!
• Join a fitness class at a local gym. Classes are great because instead of coming up with different exercises, you have an instructor help you and tell you what to do.

Sometimes exercising can feel overwhelming. Instead of aiming for a full body workout, make a decision to focus on a different group of muscles each time you exercise. Picking a muscle group (such as arms one day, legs another, cardio the next…) can take the stress off of exercising, and it’s a much more realistic goal.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, think of exercise as “me time”. Even if you invite a friend over to exercise or go to the gym together, you don’t have to do every exercise together. Use this time to think about your day and relax.

-K