Hello, my name is Juliette. I am a Senior in high school, and I have a passion for health and fitness. I would love to share with you how I manage making time to work out while balancing a busy school and work schedule.
The benefits of working out are endless; however, fitting a full workout into a busy schedule can seem almost impossible at times. As someone who is attending a fine arts high school with heavy loads of homework, I've experienced this struggle firsthand. I can also say that making the time to exercise on a busy day will help with productivity and prevent brain fog; therefore, it is worth the effort. Other benefits of staying healthy and active include lowered stress levels, better focus and motivation, improved quality of sleep, and overall better quality of life. Personally, I have also noticed that feeling strong has boosted my confidence and resilience to daily stressful situations.
Exercise doesn't always have to mean driving to a gym and using machines, since this can often be time-consuming and costly. For me, working out looks like grabbing a pair of dumbbells and doing a 15-30minute workout in my room which has limited space. Even working out for 10 minutes a day has significant benefits. If I can make my fitness dreams possible while juggling school and a part time job, so can you.
My weekly workout routine consists of working out 4-5 days a week, focusing on different muscle groups every day. I also make sure to include a full recovery day. This is when I take time to foam roll, stretch, and go on walks.
Since I wake up around six in the morning, working out later in the afternoon works best for me. Working out is a non-negotiable for me (just like brushing my teeth), so I make sure to either get my homework done before I exercise, or force myself to take a break, do my workout, and then continue with homework. I do a variety of workouts--whether that's following a YouTube video or creating my own program. Some of my favorite fitness content creators are Caroline Girvan and MadFit. An example of my own workout program is below. This would be an example of a full body day.
50 Jumping jacks
Warm-Up with Top 5 Active Stretches
Do 2 sets of these 3 exercises, 10-20 reps:
Dumbbell Sumo Squat
Cossack Squat
Weighted Glute Bridge
Do 2 sets of these 3 exercises, 12 reps
Military presses
Bent over reverse flys
Pushups
Do 2 sets of these 3 exercises, 20 reps
Toe touches
DB Russian Twists
Mountain climbers
HIIT Finisher (1 set)
1 min of jumping lunges
1 min plank
Cool down stretches!
Hope this helps! Consistency is key!