For more tips and strategies on making time to work out, read dietitian Jill Koegel's blog.
A full-time job, a family and just 24 hours in a day. Adulthood is a juggling act. Add regular exercise, and it's more like juggling fire than bowling pins.
"The major challenge of course is schedule," said Todd Mills, manager of Better Bodies in Omaha. But finding time for fitness is possible if it's made a priority.
"That's really the key," Mills said. "Once it becomes part of their life, they'll find a way to make it work."
For some, that means waking before dawn. Brad Muse, 51, hits the gym shortly after Better Bodies opens at 5 a.m. — a habit he began 17 years ago.
"I've always had the desire to be as physically fit as I can be. I still attempt to play sports, even at my age," he said. "To be able to do that, there's time and effort that I have to put in."
He finds time four days a week before he heads to work at ConAgra's finance department. A spin class twice a week. Cardio and strength training twice a week.
If he didn't, Muse said, he wouldn't be able to play basketball in an adult league through the year, let alone keep up with the game's fast pace. When away from the court and cardio classes, Muse mostly sticks to strength exercises that use his own weight.
"I've returned to the basics," he said. "Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and squats. I focus on functional movements."
The exercises help him do everyday activities like carry in groceries and pick up his kids — and he has six to keep up with. They motivate Muse to stay active, he said.
Mills said many adult clients alternate gym time with family time. Spouses, like Muse and his wife, trade shifts. One stays home with the children while the other exercises. Then they switch.
Professionals have to find a balance, too. They usually slip in before work or during their lunch hour, Mills said.
Despite busy schedules, it's important that adults not neglect their health.
"Everything about exercise, especially when we get older, becomes preventative in nature," he said.
Regular exercise wards off heart disease, stroke, diabetes, weight gain and some cancers, among other things. Aim for 150 minutes a week, but anything is better than nothing.
Mills said it's especially important that older people focus on core exercises — which promote balance and protect the back from injury — and resistance training, which improves strength and protects bones.
"As we age, our bones and joints age with us," he said.
But be warned, Muse said, exercise doesn't happen as easily when you get older.
"The older you get, the harder it is. Though I would say, comparatively speaking, I'm more agile than a lot of people my age," he said. He credits his fitness regimen.
It boosts his energy levels, too.
"Exercising gives me the opportunity to live the way I want to live," Muse said.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1071, katy.healey@owh.com, twitter.com/KatyHealey5
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