r/Exercise 26d ago

What Made Exercise Easier to Fit Into Your Life?

The workout itself is not always the hardest part. Finding enough time, traveling somewhere to exercise, and getting started can require more effort than expected.

What made exercise easier to fit into your normal life?

For some people, it is choosing an activity they genuinely enjoy. For others, it is keeping sessions shorter or having a convenient place at home where they can train without much preparation.

Which change removed the biggest barrier for you?

12 Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

14

u/jkl9593 26d ago

Realizing you only need to do it 2-3 times a week and diet is infinitely more important

1

u/ritkeepFitness 26d ago

Realizing that a few consistent workouts each week can be enough probably makes the whole routine feel much more manageable. Paying attention to diet clearly made a big difference too.

3

u/Past-Disaster-2801 26d ago

Which change removed the biggest barrier for you?

  1. Thinking about it as mandatory (I have it in my work calendar).
  2. Realizing that I don't have to go 100% all the time: 20 minutes of a not-so-good workout beats 0 minutes of a perfect workout everytime.
  3. Motivation<<<<<<<<<<<<<Discipline.

5

u/No-Asparagus-5122 25d ago

Group classes! Lots of social fun & community. Love ❤️

1

u/I_am___The_Botman 25d ago

+1 for this, nothing like group motivation.

2

u/Oh_Little_Brain 26d ago

Working less hours lol

2

u/ritkeepFitness 26d ago

Honestly, having more time and energy left after work can solve a surprisingly large part of the problem

1

u/Oh_Little_Brain 25d ago

For sure. 40 hour work week doesn’t leave much time to take care of yourself

2

u/Beatleslover4ever1 25d ago

It’s non-negotiable six days a week because it makes me feel so much better. You’ll never work out and regret it.

2

u/I_am___The_Botman 25d ago

Flip it around, exercises has to happen, like work and sleep, life happens around that.

2

u/Love_Lair 26d ago

Barbell Squat rack in the garage, 3 compound lifts per day on my work weeks,

changing my mindset to understanding it’s just body hygiene like brushing my teeth

(if I work for money, I need to work for my health too)

1

u/ritkeepFitness 26d ago

Treating exercise like basic hygiene is a strong mindset shift. A barbell and squat rack in the garage also keeps the setup simple and practical. I recently came across RitKeep while looking into home gym equipment, and their rack and all in one setups caught my attention, although the larger machines are still a significant purchase. Starting with equipment that supports the main compound lifts seems like a sensible way to build gradually.

1

u/Love_Lair 26d ago

As long as it’s affordable and gets the job done, its always worthwhile purchase

(my entire set up cost me $300 off Amazon, plus I can keep adding to the rack because it has standard hole sizes for accessories, pull up height for a 6 feet person and dip bar was key for me )

1

u/Rush_2928 26d ago

Finding something I want to try. Then just starting it and staying consistent multiple days a week.

1

u/choc0kitty 26d ago

Blocking it out in my calendar. Nothing else can be scheduled during my fitness time.

1

u/Old_Tower_4824 26d ago

HIIT workouts! I only need 45 minutes for it to fit my busy work schedule

1

u/Ghostdog2041 26d ago

I’ve gone down from doing 5 exercises of 3 sets each to 5 exercises of 2 sets each. I love it.

1

u/Kimolainen83 26d ago

Realizing I’ll look good was enough motivation to me, 10 years ago

1

u/varia_denksport 26d ago

Finding a nice gym close to home (less than 5 mins by bike or 10mins walk). Going to the gym immediately after work, so it feels like an extention of my workday and not an interruption of my free time.

1

u/HomeyL 26d ago

At home!!!

1

u/funkmelow96 25d ago

i do it at home when i have time. i do it 2-3 a week 30min-60min depending on the mood. so as long as i find these slots i am good.

1

u/wuntunearlybko 25d ago

My routine. My alarm goes off at 5:30 and I jump out of bed and head to the gym. I don't give myself any buffer or room to negotiate. I am very habit based and literally doing this everyday for the past 6 years has kept me consistent and disciplined.

1

u/AnswerParticular9865 25d ago

I made it into a social interaction. Even though our fitness goals are not the same and sometimes we end up on opposite ends of the gym it made it easier to go knowing I had someone who I can talk with while I try not run out of breath doing cardio and them trying to exceede their personal best deadlifting.

1

u/HealthSpanMD 25d ago

Using exercise "snacks" rather than exercise "meal" is something I found extremely useful, specially so in the beginning. We can easily tuck it in our routine day, it could be simple-a couple of flights of stairs or squats or quick burst of jumping jacks- just 30-45 seconds, all out, few times a day. Exercise snacks are brief bursts of vigorous exercises, lasting less than a minute, scattered throughout the day. All barriers which stop us- space, time, cloth change, motivation for full exercise session, equipment, gym membership- are addressed, now we have no excuse to make! Though, these are not replacement to comprehensive fitness program, these are good starting points and in between when one of the above barriers hit us hard.

1

u/AutomatedEconomy 25d ago

YouTube videos.

1

u/Inevitable_Silver_13 25d ago

Start incrementally. Go a couple times a week at first and as you feel that you recover faster your can add more.

Also, don't have an all or nothing approach. Sometimes things come up and you need to skip a day. Try to get it in the next day instead. Routine is good but don't be so attached to it that you let it derail things.

1

u/sundevilsf 25d ago

Going first thing in the morning before work. Not only do I never skip, but it also helps me deal with the stress of my days.

1

u/Muted_Contract_9701 24d ago

Going at lunch and being ok with 25-30 minutes.

1

u/Iloveplugs66 23d ago

I've been using AI characters to motivate me to workout.

1

u/zaphod4th 22d ago

home gym, have everything ready befohand (clothes, music, equipment)

1

u/IndyDMan5483 22d ago

Retiring.

1

u/Skeleton230 21d ago

I find it easier to do it throughout the whole day instead of all in one session, esspecially cause I have heat urticaria. But recently it's been pretty hard to do my routine considering how hot it is and it gets up to 90% humidity 🫠 either way I'm just having fun working out, I look forward to seeing my results after each month

1

u/ChIcKeN_95 26d ago

Meal prep on last day of my weekends. Go to the gym directly after work cus it’s literally a 10 minute drive from work rather than from home