EHSFIT: Finding Time for Fitness

Get up. Let the dogs out. Make coffee. Figure out breakfast. Shower. Commute. Work. Run. Home. Clean the house. Find time for friends and family.

From the time I wake up in the morning to the time I get to the office, two-and-a-half to three hours of the day already is gone.

Deadlines. Commute home. Dinner.  Friends? Cleaning. Sleep.

Finding time for fitness can be hard. Juggling obligations and prioritizing things that need to get done can be difficult. So, where do I find 8 to 10 hours per week to run? The simple answer is I don’t.

I admit - I make excuses for missing a scheduled run. I’m not saying I don’t. I could say I keep a schedule, but I don’t. But, when commitments pop up, you just can’t ignore them.

For me, it comes to planning out my a couple days in advance, not an entire week, and trying to go with the flow.

I have a running coach that helps me plan my fitness schedule each week based on what goals I have for the year. Most people don’t have this luxury, but it’s the only way personally for me to have accountability when it comes to health and wellness.

This past week, I had 30 miles on my schedule, 14 of those miles dedicated to a long run on Saturday. However, by the time Sunday night rolled around, I only completed 14 because of an unexpected series of events.

If this would have happened about three years ago, I would have been flustered and not known how to rearrange my schedule. Through trial and error, I found that meeting my personal wellness goals still is possible when fitness needs to take a back seat for a day or two. It all comes down to habit.

The myth is that it takes 21 days to form a habit, but researchers in London determined it could take up to two months before a new routine becomes automatic. Looking back, for me, it was about six months. It all comes down to where you want to be, both in the short term and long term.

As much as you have planned or set aside time to do certain tasks, you shouldn’t be discouraged when you have to miss a day. It’s ok.

If you’re dedicated to making a change in your personal life, it can happen. I realized it this past weekend when my husband mentioned to me that, in the past, I wouldn’t have been the type of person to keep going and prioritize time to workout. And he was right.

We’re only in the second week of 2017. There’s plenty of time to keep your fitness goals on track and make them part of a regular routine.

How well did you do this week?  Let us know on social media with the hashtag #EHSFIT!