I hate to say it, but the former athletes, fitness influencers, and self-help gurus were right: Working out consistently really does make you feel better in the long run. I can attest, as a late-twenty-something girl with a 9-to-5 who works out three to five times a week, that I do, in fact, feel calmer and more energetic. My body does indeed enjoy the constant physical challenge. An endorphin rush, it turns out, is a real thing and not just some buzz word made up by people who have been fit their entire lives.
We all knew it was true, but it's still a mind-blowing epiphany for anyone who has it a little late in life. The question most people ask me is: How on earth do you find the time? And hey, I get it, having a job already eats up most of your waking hours and is exhausting enough on its own. So where do you begin? How do you make time in your week to exercise?
For me, it boils down to one important mindset: You have to make it easy for yourself. There's this common notion that exercise must be difficult in order to be meaningful or effective. For many, a healthy lifestyle means a perfectly planned routine. It means being as athletic or as lean as every fitness influencer or gym bro you see on your feed. It means struggling through the most physically demanding workout possible and then choosing to do it again the morning after. But I'm here to tell you that you don't need to wake up at 5 a.m. You don't need to suffer through exercises you despise. And you don't need to torture yourself in order to be just a little bit healthier.
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Here's how I learned to balance working and working out
1. I started small
My original epiphany—that exercise does, in fact, feel great—came when I started enjoying hot-girl walks. I would circle around my neighborhood for a few minutes or even an hour a few days a week, and that's it. Many people think walking doesn't "count" as exercise because it's a pretty low-effort way to move your body, but why on earth would you start with the most difficult option? For me, starting with a type of exercise that was easy (even enjoyable) and could effortlessly be integrated into my day was pivotal in teaching me to understand the value of movement in itself, and to realize that I can make the time if I really want to.
And this will look different for everybody. It can mean getting up from your office chair every other hour to mindlessly circle around the room for a few minutes, following a beginner-friendly yoga routine on YouTube, or just playing with your energetic dog when you get home from work.
The formula turned out to be this: If you can find a form of movement that's easy enough to do consistently, the more likely you'll be to actually do it. And the more you do it, the more likely you'll be to continue doing it over and over.
2. I only do exercises I enjoy.
And yes, I promise you there is at least one you can do that won't feel like torture. After months of keeping up my walking habit, I decided to take things to the next level and sign up for F45. It's a 45-minute functional fitness class made up of anywhere from six to 27 "stations" where each station represents a different type of exercise that you must do for a set amount of time before moving onto the next one. And it can't be overstated: I love attending F45 classes. I enjoy them, I look forward to them, and even when they’re difficult, I appreciate how my body feels after.
When I first started attending, I was already at a point where I enjoyed and looked forward to my daily walks. And I figured that if I could enjoy one type of movement, then perhaps it would be possible to enjoy other types, too. And that's the best part about starting small: Once you learn to enjoy one form of exercise, the easier it will be for you to enjoy other forms: Walking led me to try not just F45, but weightlifting, CrossFit, Pilates, yoga, and more. And if I found that I didn’t enjoy a certain type of exercise (in my case, running or cycling), then I simply didn’t have to do it. There were so many more to try.
So, try everything: Boxing, powerlifting, tennis, pickleball, badminton, calisthenics, pole dancing, rock climbing, Zumba, gymnastics. The possibilities are endless. From there, it's the same formula: The more you enjoy something, the easier it is to find time for it and keep doing it.
3. I make it convenient.
Hate working out early in the morning? Go after you clock out, or after you eat dinner, or on weekends when you're off work. My best advice would be to exercise when it's most convenient for you, at least when you're just starting out. I'm not a morning person either so I like to work out after work or during my lunch break if I have the time. At these hours of the day, I have just enough time and energy to work out without having to drag myself to the gym or rush through any professional commitments.
Similarly, it helps to find a workout place—whether that be a gym, a fitness studio, or a running route—you can go to often and with no fuss. Are you really going to drive an hour through 5 p.m. traffic every day just to make it to some trendy fitness class in a different city? Probably not. I personally live just a 10-minute drive (or 20-minute walk) away from my go-to fitness classes.
You can also take steps to make working out even more convenient for yourself. Pack your gym bag the night before and not the day-of. Eat a big lunch so you have plenty of energy for movement. Find a fitness buddy who will make heading to new workouts feel less intimidating. Put your gym sesh on your Google calendar so you know that it fits into your schedule. You get the gist.
There will be days, of course, when it's terribly inconvenient to get any kind of movement in at all even when you've chosen a time, place, and exercise that's usually perfect for your routine. Perhaps you're swamped with office duties at an unusual time or you're working from a different location. This is unavoidable for most employed people, which brings me to my next point.
4. I give myself a lot of grace.
Absolutely no time to work out today? That's fine, you can go tomorrow or over the weekend. Didn't sleep very well? No worries, take today to rest and recover, then just work out another day. Not in the mood to be at the gym for an hour or more? No sweat, get 20 minutes of exercise in and head home.
Now, this is not to say that constantly making yourself false promises and avoiding any and all workouts is going to help, but rather, to point out that there's really no benefit to beating yourself up over a missed workout. I notice the tendency for many people is that once they falter even just a little in the fitness goals they've set, they tend to just give up completely, convinced that they've already failed. But you really can always go tomorrow. Free yourself from the pressure of having the "perfect" weekly workout routine and just do what you can. A short workout or even a bad one will always be better than not working out at all.
In fact, I encourage you to celebrate every single one of your small, easy wins. Didn't feel like exercising, but you still managed to attend a workout class? That's a win. Too tired to do an explosive HIIT session so you opted for a casual walk instead? You still moved today. That's a win. Got tired in the middle your gym sesh and left after 20 minutes? Hey, you still went. That's a win. Too often we feel like we need to punish ourselves in order to become fitter versions of ourselves, but I've found that you're more likely to succeed if you're cheering yourself on instead.
Too often we feel like we need to punish ourselves in order to become fitter versions of ourselves, but I've found that you're more likely to succeed if you're cheering yourself on instead.
The Power Of Easy Wins
So what does my week actually look like? I work from home almost every day and try to attend F45 classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays every week, sometimes doing back-to-black classes. If I'm extra busy with work, I might miss a day or not have the time to do two classes in a row. Other days, I'm feeling a little sore so I decide to just hit the treadmill or do some light stretching.
On days that I don't attend class, I usually just do whatever I feel like doing whether that means practicing an exercise I've been struggling with, hitting my step count throughout the day, following a quick mat Pilates routine on YouTube, or just resting if I feel like I really need a break. Every week tends to look a little different, but one thing's for sure: I find at least a little time to move. For most of us, that simple goal is usually enough.
With the way I've described my fitness philosophies, you may think that I don't quite take exercise seriously enough. I'm nowhere near the fittest person you'll ever meet. But as of writing, I've been working out consistently every week for over two years now. I've developed skills that I never thought I'd have. I joined two Spartan Races and one Tough Mudder in 2023. I've lost body fat, I've put on muscle, and my clothes have never fit better. I haven't gotten sick in months. My back doesn't hurt after a long day at work and I don't get winded going up the stairs. My body feels the best it ever has. In the end, it may seem silly to choose the easiest options and celebrate even the smallest of wins. But trust me when I say they add up over time.
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