Keeping up an exercise routine over the summer can be tricky -  we know this all too well. It’s only June and the M Life office is struggling…

We’ve had to try and test our own methods and means for maintaining a fitness regime and creating structure when the summer throws us some serious curve balls. 

For members of our M Life community who are in the same boat - don’t worry, we’ve got this. Try our topics and tricks below for working out when things don’t seem like they are working out.

When we’re on holiday 

Holidays are hardly exercise-inducing. Finding space and time to exercise or the motivation to do so can be in short supply. 

We recommend no equipment, HIIT or pilates body weight workouts which can be done in 20-30mins. These short sessions can be done frequently but quickly so we can enjoy our day and benefit from the burst of energy that comes from the exercise itself and feeling virtuous. For those of us who can’t help but take a prop or need accessories, a skipping rope or resistance band are an excellent addition - they are easy to pack and incorporate into a routine. 

When we’ve got a lot of other people to entertain 

Summer holidays are wonderful and treasured opportunities to spend time with our children or dependents. But the often constant need to entertain or the difficulty of finding time for ourselves can be taxing.

Enter walking. Dubbed the ‘new cardio’, walking and hiking are not only great ways to give our families something to do, walking is also really good for us. For little ones, incorporating a bear hunt, challenge or Geo Cash can keep them engaged and entertained while keeping moving. For older kids or families, longer walks or hikes in interesting places or with a walk at reward the end can become a regular thing surprisingly quickly. They (and we) won’t realise how active we are!

Finally, for those of just looking for peace and quiet, and a way of exercising when we’re not interested or ime poor, one solution is to ‘book end’ the day with a walk. Before the day’s events and at the end of the day, a pacy walk is often just what we need. Not only are we raising our heart rate and using our muscles, it’s an excellent way to centre ourselves when the rest of our good habits have gone awry.

When it’s hot and we’ve lost our mojo 

The heat can kill our exercise routines stone dead. This is a shame, because we can in fact use the long summer days and heat to our advantage. Very early morning or late evening yoga can help us sweat in a bearable way (sweating is good for us), and either stretch and prepare for the day ahead or shake off the day and clear our heads. 

Slower yoga done for longer, incorporating harder balance poses or moves means we’re not over doing it but we can take advantage of warmer muscles. Alternatively, a short, sharp practice in front of a fan or outdoors can be a great way to avoid the dreaded cardio while performing such much needed movement. 

Another option is an evening swim - refreshing, cooling (especially if we swim in a lido or lake) but still exercise - swimming can provide a much needed pick me up without the same sense of going to the gym or for a run. For other ideas for staying cool when things are hotting up, step or hop on over to last week’s Journal article.