4 Flat-Stomach-Fast Tips for Working Adults

Regular exercise is something most people know they should do, but becomes difficult to balance with work and family. Mental and physical stress of the workplace—especially knowledge work—combine to drain one’s energy. Admittedly, it’s hard to motivate oneself to work out when the brain and body just want to rest!

That said, it’s unwise to allow stress to derail our exercise plan. Every one of us has a day of only 24 hours, and we all (most of us!) brush our teeth and take a shower everyday. We act upon this because we know that if we don’t brush our teeth regularly, we may suffer from tooth decay. Similarly, without regular showers, you risk skin conditions and sickness. We also know that without regular exercise, we may become fat—yet we’re collectively less likely to be motivated by this. Why is that?

The other scenario is people who are actively trying to lose weight, but feel they “don’t have the time.” I may want to work hard and get a flat stomach, and I may even want it soon, but I find it hard to allocate the time and labor needed to get there. It is not right to use the ‘lack of time’ as an excuse for avoiding exercises. Let’s be honest here: often times, we haven’t sat down to think through exactly what the next action step should be – once we do that, it’s much easier to just execute the plan with a lower mental load after a hard day at the office. Here are a couple of tips to help you on your way:

1. Consider finding a friend to workout with: Many people find that working out alone is not as much fun as working out in tandem. When you see a partner making progress, it motivates you to do the same. I do not consider this a one-size-fits-all bit of advice, though: Some people enjoy the autonomy of working out alone (though some exercises such as squats are risky done without a spotter). If you choose to go the partner route, finding someone whose schedule matches yours pretty well is advisable or else you’ll end up canceling more often than exercising.

2. Get an iPod: Take your tunes with you! I’ve worked out in gyms in various metro areas and in different types of neighborhoods, each of which played a different mix of music—and none of them struck me as very good. Maybe I’m just picky, but if I can drown out the racket playing over the PA, I’m in a much better mood.

3. Do what you love: There are exercises that you know you dislike; if you force yourself to do these exercises, you won’t give them your all and you may injure yourself. Last thing you want is to show up for the next day’s sales calls limping because you pulled a muscle at the gym. It is much better to search online for alternatives (example: squats alternatives) to find something that you don’t dislike. You’ll have better results.

4. Pace yourself: Start off carefully, but do push yourself a bit. Don’t fall into the “start slow” trap because you won’t feel any difference after the workout and may not be motivated to continue. You should finish a workout sweaty, and the next day some of your muscles should hurt. But don’t lift the maximum you remember lifting in high school during your first workout 20 years later either! Push yourself to/past the sweating point and then stop soon after; go a bit longer the next time; etc. Work up to a really good workout, but don’t start off with a wimpy workout!

With these common sense tips in mind, you should be able to get yourself going despite your family and office obligations. Good luck and here’s to your fitness!