When you work two jobs, you may feel as if all you do is work, go home, eat, go to sleep and wake up only to repeat the same thing over again. If your jobs have you working irregular hours, trying to create a routine for anything is a challenge. Finding time to exercise might seem impossible, but it’s not. Here are some tips on making the most of your limited time and fitting in fitness when you work at two jobs.
Exercise in Short Bursts
When your work schedules do not give you enough time to go to the gym for an hour, shower and go to your other job, consider exercising in short bursts. You may find it easier to do a 10-minute, 1-mile run in your neighborhood before work and 10 minutes of sit-ups, push-ups and squats a few hours later. You don’t have to do all of your exercise all at once. Instead of a 30-minute workout, try three 10-minute bursts of activity.
Incorporate Fitness Into Regular Activities
See if you can incorporate more exercise into your regular activities. Instead of using an elevator, take the stairs. Rather than sending an email to a coworker, walk to their desk. Park far away from the grocery store so that you can get more steps. Walk an extra lap around the store, or make a point to walk through every aisle. When you’re waiting for water to boil on the cooktop or your food to heat in the microwave, do some lunges or squats. Instead of standing still to brush your teeth, march in place.
Prioritize Your Workouts
When you do have a little free time, prioritize self-care, which includes exercise. It might be tempting to log onto social media and scroll through your news feed, but this won’t help you reach your fitness goals. Consider a 10-minute warm-up walking while looking at social media. Then put away your phone, and do 20 minutes of intense physical activity. See if you can simplify other parts of your life in order to make more time for exercise. Maybe you could trade cooking with your partner or roommate so that you don’t have to make food every day. On the nights you don’t have to cook, you could exercise. Instead of taking a while to decide what to wear, pair your clothes into outfits when putting them away. Even if this saves you five minutes per day, that’s five more minutes to exercise.
Consider HIIT Training
HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a type of short but intense workout that delivers effective results. In a short amount of time, HIIT helps you reach your target heart rate and burn as many calories as you would in a longer but less intense workout. An example of HIIT is walking for two minutes, then running as fast as you can for one minute and repeating this for 10 minutes.
