Making time for fitness: the best hacks to transform your health.

By Lavanya

Jan 27, 202512 mins read

Making time for fitness: the best hacks to transform your health.

Hands up if this is you: "First thing in the morning, I am going to smash my exercise routine!" And then, come morning, it becomes "yep, right after coffee!" Then on to "oops got to step out now but no problem, I will fit in a brisk walk session during my lunch break!"  "Okay, I shall leave work slightly early today and swing by the gym, for sure!" And then, "damn it, that's a whole day gone without getting any physical activity in!" 


We often wake up with the best will in the world to get a workout in that day but by bedtime, don't manage even 30 full minutes of a good exercise routine. And then bash ourselves up for our lack of willpower.


No one wants to major in couch potatohood but, it is rather unfortunate that when the day gets packed and busy schedules rear their ugly heads, more often than not, the one thing to get dropped out of our daily routine is our exercise plan.


Lack of time is an oft-cited reason why many of us cannot carve out a chunk of time from our packed schedule for a regular fitness routine. Between work, home, children, pets and the sheer mental load of the day-to-day, when we get a few minutes to switch off, we'd rather just collapse in front of the tv; not make our way to a spin class, even if it is around the corner. 


But we all know how much exercise contributes towards our brain health, our physical health, our immune system, keep our energy levels up as we go through our daily life and so much more. 


So how do we go about this? Can we come up with some hacks to help make time for fitness, so we can hit our fitness goals and improve our overall health? Are there any fitness hacks for the time-strapped folks?


Sure, step right this way!


Fitness hack no.1: Scatter micro-doses of movement through out the day


Making time for fitness: the best hacks to transform your health.

Cannot walk for 60 minutes? No problem, just break it down into smaller chunks. Do 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes before bedtime. Or 15 minutes in the morning, after lunch, around tea-time and then after dinner. Or 10 minutes every other hour during the course of the day. If you can, get a walking pad for your home / office / home office and knock down those miles!


Similarly, you know strength training is good for cognitive function and to burn through body fat. But if you are busy travelling or have an important deadline looming on the horizon, you aren't exactly going to put that gym membership to good use. So, why not do mini exercise snacks every hour? Something as simple as 10 bodyweight squats or 10 lunges, 1 minute wall pushups or wall squats, or 10 explosive burpees, if you are grappling with a particularly knotty problem?


For those of us with less time to play with, short bursts of activity spread throughout the day work just as well, if not better, than 60 uninterrupted minutes on the stationary bike.


Fitness hack no.2:Start small and build it up gradually


Most often, our grandiose plans fail to take off sometimes because the commitment is too much. Instead, start really small. So small you cannot ignore them. This might mean 5 minute walks as you take in calls. Or improving your balance by standing on one leg as you brush your teeth. Or carrying your jump rope with you when you travel and doing a quick 3 minute session every so often. They might be miniscule, but these intense bursts of activity all add up in the long run. The important thing is to keep moving. 


There are scores of things we can do to improve our fitness level. The trick is to start really, really small and just build on them little by little. Before we know it, we have developed some healthy habits that don't take up too much extra time. How? By making space for them so gradually, you have adjusted your life around them without being aware of them. 


Fitness hack no. 3: Non-negotiable morning routine


Coach Dan John swears by it. Having a daily movement routine to smash out as soon as possible in the morning and making this a non-negotiable part of your day. Wake up - 5 mins for morning ablutions - knock out a quick 5 / 10 / 15 / 30 minute workout routine to wake up your muscles, juice your joints, before you even think of doing anything else. And then get on with the rest of your day. Bish bash bosh!


The advantage of this "do not pass go, do not collect $200" school of thought is, you do not give yourself any time to change your mind. 


It is when we wake up in the morning to the phone alarm and then, in the habit of turning off the alarm, grab the phone and start scrolling, that we lose sight of the day before it even begins. Instead, if we take the concept of habit stacking from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, and attach a simple workout routine to the already-established morning wake up routine, then we are off to a great start. Even if the rest of the day is packed, just waking your body up and having had a quick training session in will have a huge impact on your health.


Fitness hack no. 4: Whittle down the friction


Making time for fitness: the best hacks to transform your health.

Reduce the number of steps you need to take to help you get going. This may look like sorting out your workout clothes the previous day and laying them out by your bed so they are the first thing you see in the morning. This makes it that much easy to slip into them, compared to rooting for them in the morning and losing valuable time. 


Or it could be getting a banging playlist done, to get you hyped up to get you smash your gym session. If hitting your daily protein requirements is hard, maybe look into signing up for a meal service, thrice a week. Or even something as basic as filling up your 3L motivational water bottle before bedtime and placing it on your dining table, so you can sipping on it throughout the day.  


We are often full of beans when we start making plans for a new routine but lose steam between then and the starting point. If we also mark what our points of friction are beforehand (these would be the "ugh, I need to get my workout gear on, drive myself to class and then come back home to make my protein-rich dinner" moans we throw out before throwing in the towel), we can plan for them and reduce as much friction as possible. 


Fitness hack no. 5: Do not be an exercise snob


The weight room at the local gym gives you the ick but you love to dance? Then go right ahead and sign up for that dance class at the community centre. Too tired to train in the evening and can't manage to swing by the gym in the morning? How about a virtual training session from your living room instead? The important thing is to keep your blood pumping - whether it is sprinting or salsa dancing, it doesn't matter. 


Time constraints are a part of a busy life. We need to see how we can work around them without allowing them to derail our best laid plans to prioritise our health. Shorter workouts, getting a workout buddy, online training, using various apps etc are just some simple ways in which we can make big differences to our physical, mental and emotional health. In the long haul, they will play a vital role in keeping us in better shape. 


We say this repeatedly: your body is your home for life. Wherever you are in your fitness journey, just remember: as long as you are moving regularly, doing something that really floats your boat, you are golden. Just incorporate movement into your daily activities, regularly and consistently, and you will be reaping long-term benefits for a long time to come. 


If you want a more regular fitness routine, we can help get you started. Get in touch with us today to find out!