8 Tips to Exercising During Your Lunch Break

Okay, so you don't want to get up before work to exercise, but you don't have enough energy after work to exercise.

What do you do?

Time seems to be a limited commodity — you have work, friends, family, and other house chores to do every day. Working out on your lunch break may sound like something you don't want part of, but it really can help fit some exercise into your busy schedule.

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You know that project you've been working on all morning? If you were to go exercise on your lunch break, you will be able to come black clear-headed and have laser focus the rest of the day.

So here are eight tips I think will help you get exercise in every day without compromising your free time.

Turn Your Lunch Break Into a Quality Work Out

1.) Mark Your Calendar

You've probably heard this advice about working out, that you need to create a schedule and stick to it. The same goes for exercising on your lunch break.

When you are juggling meetings and have a huge to-do list for work, it can be easy to just work through your lunch. So mark your calendar as busy during your lunch break and take that time for yourself.

Try scheduling some time to go for a walk, do some HIIT, go on a bike ride, or find a nice park to do some bodyweight exercises.

2.) Be Mindful of Your Workload

Look, being able to make time before or after work to exercise can be impossible. If you don't have a lot of free time due to kids and other obligations, spending your lunch hour to exercise is the key to weight loss success.

If you are lucky enough to have a gym at your work, be sure to use it. This saves commuting time to somewhere to exercise, and it's probably free.

Make sure to plan your workout intensity by what you have going on during the day. If you have a meeting shortly after your lunch break, it's unflattering to look like a sweaty strawberry — choose a workout for the day that coincides with your work schedule.

3.) Find Some Place Close

I invite you to take a drive or walk around your work and see if you can find a gym or studio near your office.

Finding a place to exercise near work will give you the ability to mix things up so you won't be limited to walking and bodyweight exercises.

You never know what you will find, so get out there and do the legwork.

4.) Find a Workout Partner

The hardest part about working out is showing up. Finding a workout partner at work or a buddy nearby that can offer you some accountability will help you reach your goals.

Bring your coworker or schedule a meetup with your buddy to exercise — you'll build a better relationship while you are getting in shape.

Start a friendly weight loss bet at work and get others involved.

5.) Make Exercising During Lunch a Habit

Getting healthy is about consistently exercising, eating right, drinking enough water, and getting plenty of sleep.

If you can make your lunch workouts habitual, it is going to be infinitely easier for you to get into shape. Schedule different exercises for different days, involve more coworkers and start making progress towards your goal.

The midday workouts help break your day up and lets you reset your mind. The exercise will then re-energize you for the rest of your day. Many friends have told me now that they exercise during their lunch breaks, they actually get more done at work and home.

6.) Work Your Schedule When You Can

While not everyone has a schedule they write, there are some things you can do to get a few extra minutes to exercise.

If you only have 30 minutes for lunch, see if you can take an hour lunch and make up the last 30 minutes at the end of the day. This gives you enough time to get a workout in without it being an inconvenience.

Doing a little give and take at work may be beneficial to everyone.

7.) Try to Have a Little Flexibility in Your Timing

Some jobs don't have a set lunch schedule, but you can take a lunch when you have downtime. Use this to your advantage and stick to it.

If you are able to make a flexible schedule work instead of setting a hard appointment to exercise, you can simply slip away and get a sweat session in whenever.

Don't be afraid to multitask — jumping on a conference call while you are walking is an easy way to get exercise in while accomplishing work-related tasks.

8.) Take a Walking Lunch

Walking is a great way to lose weight, improve your overall health, and clear your head. Taking a long walk during your lunch break will burn calories, get you out into the sun, and give you some cognitive improvements for the rest of the day.

For lunch, bring something easy to eat. A salad, bowl of soup, or something that you can heat up quickly works best. Eat before or after your walk and enjoy the fact that you finished another workout.

Wrapping It Up

The hardest part about exercising during your lunch break — or any time for that matter — is to set out to do it. Thinking about exercising doesn't get you anywhere, so make a plan and stick to it.

If your job just doesn't allow for any time or flexibility in your schedule to exercise, make it a priority to find a gym near your job so you can start getting up earlier or hitting the gym immediately after work.

The first week or two will suck — new atmosphere, new habits, and new people. But as you develop healthier habits, exercising and getting closer to your weight loss goals will never be easier.