“How do you exercise every day?” is a question that I’ve been asked many times. Whether it’s to get in shape for a sport, to look and feel better, or to create a healthier lifestyle, various people have told me that they want to start working out more often. However, they struggle with finding the motivation, time, and energy to exercise, especially because their lives are already busy with other activities. Here are some tips that have helped me consistently exercise five days a week for the past few years.

#1- Make exercise fun

I used to dread exercising. I would get half a mile into a run and want to break down in tears. The hack I eventually discovered is to exercise without making it feel like a chore. The best feeling is when you’ve been having fun doing something and then realize “Shoot, I’m sweating a lot” or “Wow, my legs are super tired”. Whether it’s playing a sport or doing any other interesting activity, the easiest way to get yourself to exercise is to make the experience enjoyable. Even if you’re like me and don’t play an organized sport, there are plenty of ways you can exercise while having fun. Personally, my version of enjoyable exercise is walking home with my friends after school, skateboarding, and listening to music during my workouts. It may take a little creativity and experimentation, but finding a form of exercise that you ]enjoy will make you much more inclined to do it.

#2- Make exercise a routine

The hardest part about exercising is getting started. People always say that they want to exercise, but then life takes over and it never ends up happening. It’s the classic “I don’t feel like working out today, I’ll work out tomorrow” trope. The solution to this is making exercise a part of my routine, the same as eating breakfast or brushing my teeth. Every day after school, I work out. It’s become automatic. If you can stick to your desired exercise schedule for a month, which is typically how long it takes to build a habit, then it will become part of your routine and no longer feel like a hassle. This is much easier said than done, so my best advice is that if you can’t hold yourself accountable, find somebody else to keep you on track. By having a friend, sibling, or parent check-in with you to make sure that you are following your exercise schedule, the chances of you sticking to your schedule will dramatically increase.

#3- You DO have time to workout

I think that people sometimes have the wrong perception of what a workout looks like. Working out doesn’t have to be three hours at the gym after school, or waking up at 5:00 A.M. and going for a run. If you aren’t exercising at all right now, then even ten to fifteen minutes is an improvement. My friends will tell me that they come home from school and do homework until bedtime, which prevents them from having the time to exercise. If this sounds like you, then I implore you to try exercising before you start your homework. Exercise has proven mental health benefits and releases endorphins, which can help clear your mind after a long day at school. When you sit down and start your homework after a good workout, you have a renewed sense of focus that helps you to be more efficient. Even though you might only have two hours to do homework instead of three, those two hours will likely be much more productive. If all of this sounds completely ridiculous, please, try it out for a day or two and you’ll see what I mean.

While these tricks may sound ridiculous, I implore you to test them out and see what works for you. Hopefully, these tips can help you keep an exercise routine that will make you feel healthier and happier!