Fitting exercise into our weekly routine can seem very challenging. People are busy with family, stressful jobs, studies and social commitments. The real struggle comes when time passes and you haven’t been very active for weeks, months or even years. This is when you start being affected by stress, aching joints, weight gain and sickness. So how can you organise yourself to start moving at least twice per week?
It can be very easy to give time to everybody else and not make yourself a priority. Change your mindset because you need to look after yourself. If you are fit and healthy, you'll be happy, energetic and productive, which is better for your family and work colleagues!
This is a real simple one; find activities that you genuinely enjoy or ask a close friend to join you.
Being organised is fundamental. Plan your day the night before or plan your week ahead, it is a great way to squeeze hours of exercise into your schedule and you will still have time for all of your other commitments.
Outdoor activities are easily accessible, often free and fantastic for your health. There are so many benefits to being active outside; see our post related to this here. In Christchurch there are heaps of places that you can exercises, the various steps are a fantastic example of this (read our guide to Christchurch's steps). Hagley Park has its own activity trail (check out our free guide), and there are hundreds of great walks around Christchurch. If you spend most of your life in an air-conditioned office sitting in front of a screen, simply taking a 20 minute walk around the block at lunchtime is a great start!
You can easily train very effectively at home. YouTube has many good (but non-specific) exercise classes such as yoga and basic circuit training (although the quality of many is questionable!). If you need some equipment for training at home, visit here and you will find some tips to get the right kit for you. If you need specific results you can look for a professional who can help you with a programme and exercises technique (we recommend this).
Set yourself a challenge. Find an event that will challenge you and keep you motivated. Park Run on Hagley Park is a good option to start and it is free. If you want to go even further, this website has a calendar of upcoming events. Check out our post about a challenge that one of our clients took.
The gym it not the only option for training. People had told us that they get bored at the gym as there is no motivation or they don’t know what to do. Our Primaletix group fitness classes are a good outdoor alternative as you will have a professional in front of you giving you a fun and varied training getting the challenge that you want.
You can also find a personal trainer. If you need a complete guidance and extra variety to your routine, a PT is an excellent option and worth the expense (we make sure of that).
