Monday Musings: Fitting it all in: Exercise
I really enjoyed sharing my Monday musings last week so I thought I’d bore you all with more of them this Monday! Hope you don’t mind ;-)
This morning I was up nice and early for my usual Monday workout. I’m usually able to start work a bit later on a Monday so I can get to the gym for it opening at 7am, have my workout, get home, showered and dressed and then have a little time to relax while eating breakfast before making my way to work. 
This morning we had a team meeting at 9 so I had to try and figure out how to fit it all in! As it was actually a pleasant morning for a change I headed to the gym at 6.30, parked the car up and ran a loop doing some speed intervals which got me back to the gym just as it opened. That way I ended up doing my usual treadmill speed work outside, and got finished at the gym 30 minutes earlier than usual, cue dashing home for shower and inhaling a ready to eat overnight chia pud for breakfast!
That might all sound a little bit like too much of a faff, but the way my days are scheduled (trying to work a little overtime too) it was easier doing it that way than moving my workout to this evening, plus I really love running before work! This made me think about how much I have to juggle my time to be able to fit in working out.
I also sometimes wonder how the hell we are suppose to factor in all the different kinds of exercise we hear is good for us into such tight schedules. Cardio intervals, strength and resistance training, steady state cardio, yoga / Pilates, stretching, core exercises, the list could go on! I have trouble fitting it all in and I don’t even have children or other caring responsibilities like some others.
I workout 6 days out of 7, not because I feel like I have to, but because I enjoy it: working out makes me feel good both physically and mentally. Sometimes I do worry if I have the right balance between strength training, yoga and cardio etc.
The way I’m managing things now is that my focus is on running (as I’m training for the Great North Run), but I recognise the important of cross training for my overall fitness and wellbeing. I tend to do 2 strength workouts (that also incorporate some cardio intervals) in the form of my Body Pump class and 3,2,1 workouts. I do quick 20 minute yoga podcasts twice a week for stretching and strengthening and a long run once a week (which I kind of count as my steady state cardio). I also do 3 cardio focused workouts with additional abs and core work, 2 of which also include an aspect of running, either on the treadmill or outside (for a total of 3 running sessions a week).
Its actually quite amazing how much I manage to fit in when I work full time! I do have to do quite a bit of juggling, and I am very lucky that my job allows me to work flexible hours. This amount of training does seems to suit me quite well, I feel healthy and balanced and have no injuries so I don’t feel like I’m over training. I see exercise as my ‘me’ time so I guess that helps! Sometimes it has just become too much, for example I used to try and fit in a yoga class and when I recognised that it was just one workout too many, I took a flexible approach and decided to ditch it.
I just sometimes wonder of I’m missing out on a particular form of exercise or approach like using a bosu ball, trying Pilates or PHA training. I always wish I had more time for yoga and strength training but I love my cardio and running so much too!
How do you ‘fit it all in’ when it comes to exercise?
Do you follow a specific plan?
Do you try and incorporate different forms of training?
Which form of exercise do you wish you had more time for?
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