11 Ways To Stay In Shape Even When You’re Overwhelmed

Being overwhelmed may be the deadliest thing to an entrepreneur.

It removes your drive to things done, it detracts from your work, and it exhausts you. Multi-tasking is just a big no and throw self-care out the window. And when sh*t hits the fan, the first thing I forget about is exercising.

Don’t get me wrong, exercise is a very important part of my life but when my responsibilities start stacking up it’s typically the easiest thing for me to forget about.

As someone about to enter the final year of my university degree, being able to balance school, work, a social life, and exercise is going to be a challenge. And a big part of this is maintaining a healthy lifestyle and de-stressing as much as possible in order to accommodate everything. So I decided to make the exercise part a bit easier and share what I found with you!

So here are 11 ways to stay in shape even you’re overwhelmed.

Let’s go:

Take the stairs

Simple but effective. Whenever you have the chance, take the stairs instead of the elevator to quickly get your blood flowing. That being said, you don’t have to climb 20 stories every day, but going even 1 to 4 stories can make all the difference.

This is a small change you can make that will help make all the difference when you’re overwhelmed. Plus if you’re taking the stairs to a meeting or an appointment, going a couple of minutes earlier or taking your time on the way back home/to the office can be a nice quiet moment before you have to get back to work.

Wake up and do push-ups

Change your morning routine to include push-ups for a quick and easy way to stay in shape. Doing pushups in the morning is a great way to fully wake up and get the day started off right.

Doing push-ups help tone your arms and core, so doing 15-20 every morning is a great way of keeping up your fitness on a time crunch. If you’re up for a challenge, try doing the100 push-up a day challenge to really push your limits.

Want to improve your morning routine more? Check out this articleon the best morning ritual for the busy entrepreneur.

Go to animal yoga with a friend

Animal yoga is a cute and fun way to go out and do something active. Bringing a friend along is also helpful to make sure you actually go and end up doing it, cause it’s much easier to cancel when it’s just you.

Yoga has tons of health benefits, and being around animals can also helplower your stress levels, so it’s a two-for-one win!

If animal yoga isn’t your thing, try signing up for a different yoga class or some other type of class you’ll enjoy! Spinning classes, bouldering, hot yoga, Zumba, or some other type of active class can be a fun time, and can maybe spark further interest! Just Google what classes are close to you and start booking classes!

Go for a walk

It sounds simple, but it can also be the easiest one to forget. Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed or at your wits end just go for a brisk walk around the block or for a stroll through a local park.

Walking is an easy way of getting exercise and ensuring you stay in shape while also getting some fresh air to clear your head. If you can’t make it outdoors, just pace around your room/house for a bit to keep your blood flowing.

If you’re able to, you can also change your commute to a walk or a bike ride to maximize your time outside and get as much exercise as possible without dedicating hours at the gym.

Eat healthy

This one kind of goes without saying, but if you eat junk food all the time it can take its toll. Eating healthy is the best way to stay in shape, it helps improve your metabolism, more control on caloric intake, and is the best/only way to get your daily nutrients.

You don’t have to throw out all your chips and chocolate, but it’s important to ration it out. I personally indulge in a square of dark chocolate every day, but occasionally swap it out for something sweeter on days I have cravings.

The best way to do this is through meal prep. Planning out meals and groceries is the best way to ensure you maintain a healthy diet. Make sure to grab a few quick meals in case you’re in a rush so you’re not tempted to grab fast food or order in when you don’t feel like cooking.

Have a nightly workout routine

I personally love doing a short work out right before I shower and go to bed. This way it gives me a quick adrenaline rush, I wash up, and by the time I’m ready for bed, I’m tired out.

A great place to start is doing a set of jumping jacks, planks, pushups, hip raises, and squats to do a short full body workout. You can adjust the reps to your personal level of fitness, but I found that these exercises are a great way to get your body fully involved, and then fully tired and ready for a good night’s sleep.

Stretch before bed

A quick stretch before bed goes a long way in keeping you in shape and helping you keep your life from spiraling. A good stretch helps relieve body tension and any potential nighttime cramps can be eliminated in one fell swoop.

This also can help improve your sleep, which is incredibly important when you’re running on empty. Check outthis article on the different benefits of nighttime stretching and a couple of stretches to get started.

Meditate

Consider this one an extended stretch. A short peaceful meditation session is a great way to calm your mind and refocus yourself throughout the day. I personally like a morning meditation, as it gets me ready for the busy day ahead by calming myself and getting into the right head space. As someone who is not a morning person (despite my best efforts) it also is a great way to fully wake up.

Meditation hastons of other benefits, like reducing stress, helps control anxiety, improve your memory, improve your emotional health and more! Plus you can do it anywhere. Just plug your headphones in and listen to one of the multiple meditation playlists on Spotify or Apple Music and breathe. If you need help first starting to meditate, check outthis articleto get the fundamentals of meditation.

If you want more self-care tips like meditation, check out our post onself-care strategies you can keep!

Drink lots of water

Water is another big duh one, but it needs to be said! It helps boost your metabolism, gets rid of waste, and acts as an appetite suppressant, aside from the usual benefits and overall necessity of water. Drinking 8 cups of water a day is the recommended amount, but the National Academy of Medicine recommends aiming for11-15 cups of water a day. But a lot of this water comes from food and other drinks! That being said, if you’re drinking tea or coffee make sure tobalance out your water intake.

Turn off the screens

This one may not seem like it’d help you stay in shape, but turning off your screen can help you stay in shape when you’re at your worst. For one, it’s a great way to destress and focus on yourself rather than the world around you. This is such a big part, in order to stay in shape you have to be focused on bettering yourself both mentally and physically.

You also have no distractions when you’re doing work or at the gym, leaving more time to get things done and less time scrolling through social media. It also leaves you less time to compare yourselves to others or past versions of yourself and focusing on bettering your current self. Thiscomparison trap can be the deadliest thing, focusing on the past is simply not the way to go. So turn your phone on airplane mode and get to it.

Get a standing desk

Whether you work in an office or at home, a standing desk should become a staple to get your work done. It cuts your sitting time significantly and allows you to stretch and pace as you work. Not only that butthis study show that it can also help improve your work, meaning you can finish your work faster and focus on yourself out of the office.

So those are my top 11 tips and tricks to stay in shape even you’re overwhelmed! But I want to know what are your tips to stay in shape? Let us know in the comments down below!