Productive Pixie: May 2021

You want to exercise more. You want to get in better shape. You want to reach your goals. Change the "You want" to "you will". You will do this! Sometimes it just seems like you don't have enough time. Today, I will share with you how I get in 2 to 3 hours of exercise daily! With these tips, you can increase the amount you exercise, find tips on how to stay motivated, and reach your goals!

How to Find Time to Exercise More + Stay Motivated

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Updated for 2024

Note - If you read my blog regularly, you might have noticed that I have not been posting for the past month. Due to some personal things going on in my life, I decided that I had to take a much-needed break from blogging.

Also please note that I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. These are just some tips on how I found time to exercise more and how I find the motivation to exercise. I hope you find these helpful! :)

I know that this is more of a lifestyle post and it's outside of the box from what I usually post, but if you exercise, or if you want to start exercising regularly, hopefully, some of these tips will help you!

In 2020 because of quarantine, I started spending more time in my neighborhood and going on walks every day and some light running. In 2021, I decided to get more into running and it has become a new fun hobby that I enjoy doing daily!

I am also a dancer, and I play tennis occasionally. I love to swim and I use to do gymnastics. As you can see, I have done quite a few different types of exercise and sometimes it is difficult to find the motivation to keep going.

Today I have some tips on how you can find more time to exercise and some tips on how you can stay motivated to exercise!

How to Find Time to Exercise More + Stay Motivated to Exercise

1. Do Something You Love

If you are doing something for exercise that you dread, you aren't going to be able to stay motivated to do it. There are many different forms of exercise, so there is something for everyone. You might have to "shop" around a little to find something that you will enjoy doing.

I've been dancing since I was around four, and I love dancing, but I didn't start running regularly until 2021 and I use to not like running very much, but now I do and it's one of the things I look forward to doing every day.

Here are some forms of exercise you might want to look into to try out.

Walking (Everyone can do it and it's easy to get started)
Running (It's low-cost to start)
Swimming
Dancing (You can find YouTube tutorials online. I do Kathryn Morgan barre workouts, but if you are a beginner, you might need something easier.)
A Cardio/Hit Workout (I usually follow along to a video on YouTube. My favorites are Maria Khoreva and Anna Mcnulty)
Weight Lifting
Gymnastics
Sports With a Ball (Tennis, volleyball, basketball, baseball, playing catch)

I currently do walking mixed with running, dancing, and core workouts.

2. Find Clothing that is Comfortable

How likely are you going to be to change into your athletic clothing, if it's not comfortable and you hate wearing it? Maybe it's even itchy, worn out, or too small. It's not going to be very fun if you can't get your mind off how uncomfortable your clothing is while you exercise and getting started will be like hiking up a mountain. It's not very likely to happen... so find clothing that you love!

I bought a pair of Extra High-Waisted Seamless A New Mode leggings at Target for running and they are AMAZING. Unfortunately, I don't think they are being sold right now, but Target has some other leggings as well from the same brand. I definitely recommend them, if you are looking for a new pair of leggings to exercise in. They are very affordable at the price of less than $40 and super comfortable. This isn't sponsored either, I just wanted to mention them. To be honest, I wear them almost daily. :)

3. Exercise in the Morning

I have found that I like to go running in the morning when it is cooler. When I'm done, it gives me a sense of accomplishment right at the start of the day.

If you do exercise first thing in the morning, make sure you have a snack before so you aren't exercising on an empty stomach. Plus it will give you some energy for your workout, which is always great!

If you wait to exercise in the evening, you might procrastinate doing it and then end up not doing it at all.

If you exercise first thing in the morning, you can get into some workout gear right away, instead of getting dressed for the day, and then not feeling like you want to change to exercise.

4. Break it Up

Okay, so maybe exercising for three hours straight might be a little daunting. It might be daunting to exercise for even one hour straight! You don't have to get in all of your exercise at once. You might choose to go for a walk three times a day for twenty minutes each.

I do a mix of running and walking for two hours in the morning, and then in the evening I dance or do a workout for an hour.

Sometimes, it's hard to get out there and start exercising, so if you don't feel like going running, then you could tell yourself that if you walk for ten minutes and you still don't feel like it, then you can go home, but most likely, once you get out there, you will feel like finishing up your workout. If you don't though, you can just stop. At least you got in a little bit of exercise and that will keep your habit of exercising going.

5. Listen to Music

Listening to music can be a big motivator to help get you moving. I listen to music when I go running and when I exercise. Listening to the same music all the time can be boring though, so make sure you switch things up by having a few playlists.

If you don't like listening to music though, or you get a little bored of it, you can try some of the options below.

A Podcast
An Audiobook
Zombies Run! (An app I heard about on another blog for running)

If you love listening to music, then this might be a little hard for you, but I only listen to music when I exercise so for me, if I want to listen to music, then I will exercise. There are a few exceptions, but if you are just listening to music, then you might as well exercise while listening to it!

One of the big problems of listening to music on your phone while exercising is not having any place to put your phone. Especially with phones getting bigger nowadays, and pockets getting smaller (or even nonexistent) it can be hard to find somewhere safe to put your phone.

This was a problem for me until I bought a phone armband. It keeps my phone safe, has a touchscreen, credit card holder, and a pocket for keys, etc. What I love best about it though, is that it doesn't move around on my arm. It's just the right size. I have a very large phone, but it still fits in the phone armband with my phone case and popsocket attached, so if you are wondering if your phone will fit, it most likely will.

The phone armband I bought only cost me $10!

6. Exercise With a Friend

What better way to stay motivated than to have someone else doing it with you? Cheating on your plank? Skipping the squats? Think again. If someone else is doing the workout with you, then you will be more likely to push yourself and let's face it, not be lazy.

Exercising with a friend can be very fun and you can help keep each other motivated to push yourself, especially if you are doing a hard workout.

The next time, you don't feel like doing a workout, try calling one of your friends and setting up a time.

7. Get an Exercise Watch

I have had my Garmin Vivofit watch since 2018 and boy is it helpful and motivating! You can read my full review on the watch here.

One of my favorite things about this watch is that it is battery-powered, so you don't have to charge it every few days. Yay! Plus, the watch I have tracks a variety of things such as steps walked, how many steps I need to reach my goal, how many kilometers or miles I have walked, calories burned, and more.

Being able to see how many steps I get each day is very motivating for me to keep going and get more steps.

How to Find Time to Exercise More + Stay Motivated

I hope you found these tips helpful! Creating an exercise routine for myself and using these tips has definitely helped me to be more motivated to exercise.

Take some time to try out these tips, and if you are starting to get bored with your routine, you can always switch things up!

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Thank you for reading this post! Have a productive week!

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May 29, 2021 No comments