6 Ways to Find the Time to Work Out
By Monica Ciociola
Lack of time is one of the main excuses people give for not exercising regularly. Even those of you who have discovered the wonders of in-home fitness still find it difficult to juggle work, family, and fitness. We hear you asking for help, so here are six smart ways to find more time for your workout, whether it’s Slim Training® with Slim in 6® or Tilting, Tucking & Tightening with Hip Hop Abs®. With these tips, you can maintain any fitness resolution you make all year long.
Shop online. Now that you can basically order anything and everything over the Internet and have it delivered, consider doing some of your errands and shopping this way. Most major retailers have online stores, and provide shipping options. So there’s no need to go to the mall or the post office.
Farm out some chores. Try dropping off your laundry for fluff ‘n’ fold—especially if you’ve already been spending money at the laundromat. You’ll find that it doesn’t cost that much more. Also, check out your local maid service. For a little extra money, you can save a couple of hours cleaning your home, not to mention the dozens of hours of procrastinating!
Wake up 30 minutes earlier. Work out before heading to the office. A little trick for waking up faster is to touch your toes as soon as you open your eyes—this brings blood to your head so you feel alert quicker. After your workout, you’ll be more energized for the day ahead and hardly notice the lost sleep. Working out in the morning as opposed to midday or at night also saves you the double cost of showering, getting dressed, and making yourself beautiful.
Prepare meals in advance. Try to get most of your meal preparation for the week done over the weekend. That means washing all your lettuce, veggies, herbs, fish, and poultry up front, and stocking complete salads-in-a-bag to take to work. You can also prepare individual slices of poultry and fish and various veggies for dinner. Also, make vats of soup, pasta, and brown rice that you’ll be able to microwave throughout the week. Filling up on healthy meals and having low-fat, good-for-you snacks readily available at work will reduce the temptation to sample the goodies from the office vending machine.
Take your DVDs with you. If you’re traveling, make sure you pack your favorite fitness DVDs along with your laptop so you can work out wherever you are, whether it’s at your in-laws’ house, your friend’s house, or in a hotel room.
Pop in a 20-minute workout. Beachbody makes some superfast and effective 10-to-20-minute workouts for when you’re seriously short on time. Try the Turbo Jam® 20 Minute Workout for an excellent calorie-blasting session, any of the 10-Minute Trainer® workouts for excellent muscle-toning and fat-burning results in as little as 10 minutes, and the Great Body Guaranteed!™ collection to focus on specific trouble areas in even less than 10 minutes. It’s only about 10 to 20 minutes, but the rewards stretch far beyond that to stronger bones and muscles, a sharper mind, and a lower risk of developing cancer and diabetes. And remember, working out reduces stress. You’ll enjoy your free time much more if you’re healthy and energized.
Related Articles
“Wellness: 5 Stretches to Do at Your Desk”
“What’s Your Fitness Personality?”
“8 Ways to Know If You’re Fit”
Got something to say? Chat with the writers and other readers this Thursday, September 18th, at 1:00 PM ET, 10:00 AM PT in the Team Beachbody Chatroom!
If you’d like to ask a question or comment on this newsletter article, just email us at mailbag@TeamBeachbody.com.
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Test Your Food Trivia IQ!
By DeLane McDuffie
School’s finally in session! Remember these words? “Class, take out your pencils. We’re going to have a pop quiz.” Any unprepared kid hearing that was likely to grab a hall pass and “make a run for it.” My favorite hideout was the cafeteria. So, in the spirit of roll call, long lunch lines, lunch ladies, and kickball in PE class, here’s a quiz about something that we all like—food!
True or False: The croissant is a French creation. Contrary to popular belief, the croissant originated in Austria, not France. It was known by its German name, Kipfel. Back in 1683, the Ottoman Turkish army had the city of Vienna surrounded and on its knees. The Turkish army started to dig tunnels under the city walls, but the Viennese night-owl bakers heard the not-so-sweet sounds of digging and sounded the alarm, thus saving the city. After the Turks were driven away, the bakers commemorated the victory by making pastries in the shape of the crescent moon that was emblazoned on the flag of their nemesis.
What drink is partly responsible for Thanksgiving and an early American settlement? You probably know that the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. But do you know that the Mayflower docked because of the stormy weather and a shortage of food and . . . beer? Yep. You heard right. Beer was thought to be healthy and nutritious while H2O was untrustworthy because it was often contaminated. Once they hit the shore, the Pilgrims wasted little time setting up a brewery. Thanksgiving Day football just wouldn’t be the same without it.
Who helped coffee expand into the West? Long ago, coffee was all the rave in the Middle East and parts of Africa. However, when it first arrived in Europe in the late 1500s, Vatican priests didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet. In fact, they wanted to ban the “evil” caffeinated beverage because of its Islamic connections. Then, Pope Clement VIII guzzled down a cup, loved it, and gave it his papal blessing. Europeans soon began knocking back coffee like it was going out of style. You and Starbucks can thank the pope for your morning joe.
This medical doctor forever changed the way we eat breakfast. Who is this person? There was a doctor at the end of the 19th century who was completely focused on making Americans’ diets healthier. His main concern was the effect that food had on the digestive tract. He wanted to create a low-calorie, ready-made breakfast meal that would be easy on the stomach and sent to families nationwide—thus the advent of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg’s toasted corn flakes.
What do a cherry pie and a UFO have in common? The saucer-like Pluto Platter toy was invented by Walter Morrison during the country’s UFO craze in the 1940s and 1950s. However, it was the Wham-O toy company’s (distributors of the Pluto Platter) discovery of a group of Yale University students, who were playing a game that involved flinging around a bunch of metal pie tins, that led to the connection between UFOs and pies. As a player threw a pie tin, he or she would yell out the pie company’s name that was etched on the pie tin’s surface. The Frisbie Pie Company would forever link pies, flying saucers, and Frisbees together. —
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