Why 'I don't have time" is a lame excuse

Since I have become a maniac workout freak I get asked a lot about how I find the time to do so much exercising - I work full time, I study, I am constantly doing something with my friends and family - where do I find enough time to workout twice a day? The thing is I MAKE time.

I hear people who say 'I need to lose weight but I just don't have time'. That's a lie. You do. You know how I know, because you just told me exactly what happened in that one hour episode of True Blood followed by how you were laying on the couch stalking your ex boyfriends new girlfriend for half an hour. The excuse of time becomes an incredibly weak argument.

If you have half an hour for Facebook you have time for a workout. You are probably spending 10 minutes reading my blog (I thank you for that, I do really appreciate it) but add up all these extra 10 minutes of reading other peoples blogs (waste of time) that you could use.
There are 168 hours in a week, surely you can dedicate at least 4 of those to exercising. You can't change the amount of hours in the day but you can change what you do with them.  I have exactly the same amount of hours in my day as you do. I just make exercising a priority. If you don't make it a priority you don't want it bad enough and if you don't want it bad enough don't complain about feeling frumpy.

I get up early. I start my day at 5.30am to fit in an hour session with my trainer at the gym before I start work. I spend 30-40 minutes most afternoons running stairs, hills or skipping at home. Weekends I fit in a spin class or a walk along the beach. I still manage to work all day, hang out with my friends and family and do whatever else I want to do. It's not hard to set aside a small part of your day for your health.

I do realise that not everyone has the time the exercise like I do (and probably not the crazy obsession as me either) but making a small change to your day could be the best thing you do and 'I don't have time' will never be a valid excuse that you use.

START YOUR DAY EARLY - Waking up an hour earlier is really not that hard. Sure it take a little getting used to but once you get into the routine it isn't such a big deal. Fitting in a walk before breakfast, a gym session, a pump class or yoga will have you feeling great for the day. You start burning the calories and the more you exercise earlier the more energy you have for the rest of the day.

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A LONG WORKOUT - Some people use the excuse that a workout takes too long. However short intense workouts are much more effective than long moderate ones. Set aside 20-30 minutes a day for some high intensity interval training (HIIT) for some serious fat burning.

UTILISE THE TIME YOU ARE DOING OTHER THINGS - I'm standing at the stove cooking dinner waiting for the chicken to brown. I do 50 squats. Really I do. Those 50 squats is just one more thing that get your bum looking perkier. During the ad breaks of your favourite tv show you could be using those 4 minutes.
Try a minute each of any 4 of these each commercial break
- Pushups
- Tricep dips
- Leg raises
- Squats
- Plank
- Mountain climbers
- Squat jumps
Mix it up each commercial break for the whole 60 minute show.

HAVE A WORKOUT PARTNER - You didn't find time today to exercise because you met up with your friend for a coffee to gossip about how hideous that girl you hates outfit was last weekend. Skip the coffee and go for a walk. Making plans with someone to go for a walk, meet at the gym for a class or go for that high intensity training session give you more of a push to go. And you can see you're friend while you're at it.

YOU DO HAVE TIME. YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT IT??