Guest Blog: "Working Women"

Hello working women!  When my best friend, Lindy, asked me to write a guest blog for working women, I happily accepted the offer!  Like Lindy, fitness and health have always been a huge priority to me, but unlike Lindy, I work full time as an attorney at a large law firm in downtown Chicago.  “Big firm” working hours are notorious for being extremely long and filled with high levels of stress and pressure.  On an average week, I’m in the office by 9AM and if I’m lucky, I’m out by 7PM.  Often times I come home later, sometimes even as late as midnight or so.  The office environment is also full of unhealthy temptations such as donuts, cookies, cupcakes, etc.  Additionally, I also attend various recruiting and networking lunches and events that are centered around (FREE!) food and alcohol.  On top of my very crazy working schedule, I have also been gearing up for my wedding!  Through it all, I've been able to stay fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle by making smart choices.  And I want to help you career-minded women make smart choices too!  You’ll feel better about yourself and have more energy and brain power, so it’s a win win situation. :)

In my first guest post, I will provide tips for making your workouts a priority in the midst of a hectic work schedule.  Since my schedule is unpredictable and I often work late nights, the only way for me to guarantee a workout is by doing it in the mornings.  It was certainly challenging at first waking up so early and finding the energy to workout first thing in the morning, but I have been doing it for over 2 years now and I am honestly in better shape now than prior to starting my career.  Below is a list of tips that I practice and highly recommend:

1. Lay out your workout clothes the night before.  A little pre-planning will make the morning workout go smoother.  Lay out your workout clothes on the ground by your bed the night before to minimize the time and effort it takes you to get to the gym!
2. Put your alarm clock in a location where you have to get out of bed to turn it off.  We all know how easy it is to roll over and hit the snooze button, so if you put your alarm clock in an area (the bathroom, or the room next door, or even on the ground in your doorway) that forces you to get out of bed, then it forces you to wake up and get your body moving.
3. Plan your snacks.  A big concern about working out in the morning is “But I’m hungry when I wake up!”  You can alleviate this concern by having a few bites of an energy boosting snack like a protein bar, a banana, a few spoonfuls of peanut butter, or a bit of a protein shake.  But I promise you, once you start working out and get your body moving, the hunger will subside.  Personally, I never eat anything prior to my morning workout.
4. Work out smarter, not longer.  On average, my morning workouts are about 40 minutes.  You don’t need an hour+ in the gym to achieve great results.  Instead of doing a mindless 60 minutes on the elliptical, I encourage you to do intervals so that you can perform high intensity workouts for maximum results.  (For example, sprint on the treadmill for 4 minutes, then immediately go into lunges, push ups, tricep dips, and other resistance exercises, and then repeat the cycle so that you’re alternating between sprints and resistance exercises).  
5. Make every workout count.  This tip goes along with #4 above, but I really want to hone in on the fact that you do not have to work out like a maniac and spend hours in the gym (who has time?!) in order to stay fit and see positive results in your body.  I work out approximately 4 times a week (3 during the week and 1 on the weekend) which is about every other day.  This schedule is completely sustainable because I’m not putting a ton of pressure on myself to get in the gym EVERY SINGLE DAY.  The key is that when I am in the gym, I bust my butt and go hard every time.  Even if you oversleep and only have an extra 20 minutes, then go outside and run a mile, or do 15 minutes of squats, lunges, burpees and push ups in your home.  NO EXCUSES!  Recently, I had to be in the office for a 7:30AM conference call, but I really wanted to workout that day so I made the decision that I wouldn’t make any excuse and I got up at 5AM to run 2 miles.  

I promise you that the more you workout in the mornings, the easier it will become.  You’ll feel much more energized throughout the day, and a morning workout also jump starts your metabolism.  It’s also just nice to know that your workout is already checked off your to do list so you can focus on work-related tasks for the day instead of worrying about when you’re going to fit in your workout.  And ladies, if you don’t believe me, then hear it from Elle Woods: http://lifeinbiglaw.tumblr.com/post/34290898529/need-to-find-the-motivation-to-wake-up-early-to