Working out at Lunchtime

Have you ever thought about using your lunch hour as a workout hour instead?

Working out at lunch ensures its a (mostly) structured part of your day and that you're going to get it in every day. You can use the hour that you would normally spend sitting at Subway or another restaurant, at the gym. This makes your workout time structured, especially if you're in a job that your lunch hour is routine or roughly the same time each day, making it easier for you to build a routine of working out and decreasing your ability to make excuses.

Here are a couple things to think about before making this change:

1. What is the commute time to and from the gym? Make sure your gym isn't too far from work where you're spending the whole time driving to and from. Pick the closest gym if you need to join one still, or bring some equipment into your office space instead!

2. What type of workouts are best for me? With working out during your lunchtime, your time to workout is limited, forcing you to be very conscious of what you're doing in the gym and making the workout super efficient.

3. What about my lunch? The beautiful thing about eating, is that you can really do it whenever you have a free hand. For most of us, we are able to eat our lunch while we are working on the computer or doing some work at our desks, meaning that if you brought lunch, you can eat it after your "workout hour" to refuel rather than spending an hour just eating.

BENEFITS OF WORKING OUT AT LUNCH:

1. No early morning/late night workouts. If you're someone who has kids, working out early or late can be challenging. Even if you don't have children, this can be a challenge for many of us. By working out at lunch, you free up having to wake up SUPER early or sneaking out to the gym after the kids have gone to bed, and you make it easier on you too.

2. Less of a crowd. Most gyms (including ours) are not nearly as busy during the lunch hour as they are in the mornings or the evenings. This means that you've got more freedom to use the machines or equipment you need to get your workout finished in a timely manner. Who doesn't enjoy NOT having to wait on a machine, right?

3. Hyper-efficient workout. When you're limited on time, you want to make sure that your workout is hyper-efficient to ensure you feel as though you got the best possible workout during your lunch hour. This is even more true if your employer is very detailed on the amount of time you get for lunch.

DOWNSIDES OF WORKING OUT AT LUNCH:

1. Your schedule may already be jam-packed. If you work a job where your schedule is jam-packed from morning to closing, then trying to squeeze in an hour workout around lunchtime can be difficult. This is even more difficult if you don't include time to eat lunch into your schedule already.

2. Planning. If your workout planning isn't the greatest, having to work with a limited time frame can make it more difficult to plan for that. There is ways to work around this one, though. Your gym likely has a team of Certified Personal Trainers or coaches that can help you build your workouts and even coach you through those workouts during a limited time frame to ensure your workout time is hyper efficient.

3. Sweat. Yup, I said it. After your workout, especially one that is hyper efficient, you're going to be a little sweaty. You can definitely work in shower time, but that takes time away from an already limited time workout. You can also try things like dry shampoo or wipes, or just role with it until you get home after work!

Maybe it's time to try something new, but as with everything else, you may need to try a few different things to find what kind of routine is best for you.