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In this episode, we discuss practical strategies for incorporating an active and outdoorsy lifestyle into your routine, even with the challenges of a demanding 9-to-5 job, parenting, or other busy schedules. We tackle the comparison trap often fueled by social media, and emphasize that outdoor adventures and fitness don't need to be extravagant or Instagram-worthy to be meaningful. Whether you're commuting, working from home, or juggling parenthood, these tips can help you create a more fulfilling, active, and balanced life. Let's jump in!
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What is Fit for Hiking?
Where fitness and outdoors meet. In this space we chat all things hiking, exercise, wellness, adventure, motherhood, and metabolic health from a female perspective! Get ready to learn + be inspired to live your fullest, most adventurous life!
Hi, my name is Brady and I'm a long time fitness professional and midwest girl turned mountain living hiking addict. And combining my knowledge of fitness and passion for hiking, I've helped hundreds of women get lean and strong for the trails. Think of this as your one stop shop for both education and inspiration on all things female wellness, trail talk and adventure. Hiking, female metabolism, motherhood, nutrition, travel and fitness are all topics you'll hear discussed here. If you are outdoorsy and active, looking to level up your health, unlock your potential, and become inspired to live your most vibrant life, you're in the right place. You're listening to the fit for Hiking podcast. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the fit for Hiking podcast. This is your host, Brady, and today we are going to be talking about how to incorporate an active and outdoorsy lifestyle. When you work a traditional 9 to 5, you have a demanding job, a demanding schedule, and you just feel like you're not able to be as active and adventurous as maybe you would like to at this point in life. Um, I think that this applies to so many of us, and we can often get caught up in the comparison game because of social media. And while social media is an awesome tool for getting ideas for how to, you know, travel with kids, how to get out and begin a new hobby, where to hike, where to adventure travel itineraries, so many different things that you can get, um, educationally from social media. There's also a downside to it, where you see these people who are literally paid to go on these amazing trips, uh, maybe they have like brand deals or they're sponsored or whatever it is. Because of their social media work. And so it looks like they're literally on a new epic trip every week. And sometimes that can be frustrating. And I even have an adventure based, you know, Instagram account. And I still feel like I can't even keep up with this because I do work traditional work hours and I have a business to run that doesn't allow me to constantly be traveling. Plus, I'm a mother of one with my second on the way. So with the season of life that I'm in, I'm not able to constantly be outdoors adventuring on really cool hikes, going on these amazing travel excursions, and so it can be easy to get caught up in that comparison game and feel like, oh my gosh, my life is so boring, there's just no way I can and do all of that. So I guess I just can't keep up with my fitness routine or adventures. And that is absolutely not true. But we do need to talk about how to incorporate the outdoors and fitness into everyday life while still working on a demanding job, because sometimes it can feel overwhelming. Like, how do I fit all of this in? Plus, I have kids, or I have all of these expectations on me every day, and it just feels out of reach to be able to have a lifestyle that incorporates all of that. So let's talk about some tips today of how we can at least get the wheels turning in your head of what's realistic for you, right? I want you to listen to this through the lens of what is realistic for you, because not all of these tips might apply to you and your situation, but some of them will. And so I want you to kind of filter it out and decide what's realistic for me. What could I start incorporating that will help me get outdoors more, boost my mental health, boost my my physical health? Um, get some better consistency with these routines that allow me to still feel like I have these hobbies. And I am not just a slave to my job, right? And this also can definitely apply to people who are like, deep in the throes of parenthood or even work from home. You don't have to be commuting from an office for these to apply. It's anybody who feels like their schedule is really demanding, whether it's from work or kids or whatever else, and you just want to find ways to fit in more mini adventures and more of that adventurous lifestyle and fitness lifestyle into your day to day. So let's go over some tips. Number one. And this is going to be one of those that maybe applies to you, maybe doesn't, but make the most of your commute. If you do commute to an office space or wherever it is that you work and you live close enough, walking or biking to work can be really easy. Way to get some fresh air and exercise, and you're getting that almost every day if weather permits and you're able to incorporate that. That alone is a great form of exercise. It's going to be a much better start to your day than just sitting in your car, stuck in traffic, feeling frustrated, just getting outside into the fresh air and getting some endorphins going before you start your workday or on the back end of your workday. If you're able to do that on the way home as well. It's a great way to kind of decompress instead of just immediately going and sitting in traffic and feeling frustrated after a maybe long and stressful workday. Um, or even if you use like public transport, depending on where you live, maybe you just get off a stop or two early and walk the rest of the way. So just factor in a little bit more time to get some walking time in on the front and back end of your day. Um. And if driving is your only option, you can also do this by just parking further away from your office to get a brisk walk in before and after work. Okay, so it doesn't have to be something where you bike or walk the entire way, but look for ways to force yourself to get outside and walk or move a little bit before and after your work day. If you work from home, you could take what would have been your commute time and do something active in the morning or in the evening, or both. Whether it's a walk outdoors, if you live close to some small, easy hikes that you could do first thing in the morning, or just a standard workout going to the gym or working out from home, anything that's going to have that similar effect to walking or biking on your commute, getting outside, boosting your endorphins, your mental health, your mood. There are so many benefits to just literally doing activity outside, so this is a great way to make that happen even if you aren't commuting somewhere. I feel like so many people I talked to who work from home, myself included, really struggle to find that good routine because you can literally like wake up, wash your face, brush your teeth, and like kind of stumble into meetings. And you don't need to have this like formal routine of getting ready and packing up and heading out and getting in your car, and you just have that structure kind of taken away when you work from home, unless you really do it for yourself. Like you have to be proactive to set that structure. And so how do you want to set the tone for your day? Do you want to just kind of like haphazardly stumble into your workday and not feel like very clear headed or like you're prepared for your day? Or do you want to set aside 30 extra minutes before you need to be ready for your calls so that you can get a positive headspace going? Get some activity first thing in the morning. Set the tone for the rest of your day. Um, so it just takes some intentionality and it's going to take a while to establish that habit, but definitely can have kind of a ripple effect of benefits throughout your day and your week and your month. All right, number two. Lunchtime walks. And this applies for literally anybody no matter like kind of what schedule you work if you go to an office, if you work from home, if you're a stay at home mom, um, taking a walk during your lunch breaks and using part of your lunch to get outside, even if it's just a 15 to 30 minute walk around your neighborhood or park and your bike trail just around your building can boost your energy and improve your mood drastically. It's also going to help you increase your needs, which is your non exercise activity thermogenesis. This is a big part of where we have the ability to increase our daily output. As far as calorie burn and energy burned every single day. Um, so if that's something that you're wanting to be mindful of and work on as far as body recomposition being a part of your goals, then increasing your daily steps and your needs is only going to help with that goal. Um, so not even just the mental health and mood benefits, but also just the physical benefits of incorporating extra steps into your day. Um, you can also do a lunch and exercise combo where you eat a quick meal and then go for a brisk walk right after. This will also help with your digestion and help balance blood sugar. So there are multiple benefits there. If you're, you know, working somewhere in a city or somewhere where you can walk to lunch, that's a great option too. You can walk, go pick up a food order, walk back with it, and then eat. Um, so just looking for ways to not just sit and kind of end up working through your lunch break, like, really set those boundaries so that you have that set aside time to do something positive for yourself and recharge before heading into the second half of your day. Number three being intentional with stretching and movement breaks. So just break up the sitting if you're working in a traditional job. Most jobs, not all, but a lot of jobs are very sedentary. So you're sitting for so many hours on end and maybe you get up to go to the bathroom, grab a drink, have a conversation. But for the most part, you're sitting. So if you're sitting on your commute, you're sitting at the office, you sit through your lunch break, then you sit on your way home. And then when you get home, you have dinner. You sit down. You sit on the couch for the rest of the night. Your day is largely sedentary, and that is really problematic from a health standpoint. Even if you're taking an hour to work out seven days a week, if you are sitting the majority of the rest of your day, you're still considered sedentary. Which is crazy, right? Because you think, oh, what? I'm exercising seven days a week for an hour. That's still such a small amount of time. When you think about all the other hours in the day that you are sitting or lying down. So it's really important to find ways to incorporate some movement and stretching into your day. So you could do something like setting an alarm, or if you have like a wearable setting, a notification where every 30 to 60 minutes you take a quick five minute break to stretch, walk around, do a few squats, 15 jumping jacks, ten squats, something like that. These mini breaks can really help prevent stiffness and just increase your overall activity levels throughout the day. You're just going to be more mindful of moving your body when you have that goal of I'm doing this every hour, or even every two hours of every hour is not doable with your schedule. Um, also another option here is a standing desk or desk exercises. So if you have a standing desk, you can alternate between standing and sitting or even incorporating a walking pad into the mix. If this is possible in your office space and you still feel like you can be productive and get work done, um, you can also do small exercises at a standing desk like calf raises, seated leg lifts, seated twist at your desk, things that just kind of increase your blood flow, get you moving, and keep you mindful of your overall health throughout the day. Number four is after work activities. Um, so especially in the summertime when we have longer days, this is harder in the winter, admittedly, because the sun's going down in most places so early and it's harder to get out and do things. So obviously take this with like what works seasonally for you and depending on weather and where you live. But after work activities is such a great way to not just get caught in the grind of go to work, come home from work, sit on your couch, go to bed. Repeat. Do it again. That type of living, while it's comfortable and easy and it's it's really easy to get caught up in that routine. It's not going to be very life giving to you. And if you're not careful, months can go by and you realize all you've done really is work. And then go home and rest, right? And you're missing out on so many opportunities to have little mini adventures, feel your soul do things that recharge you and make you feel excited about life. So it's not even just about your physical health. Your physical health is so connected to your mental health and doing things that spark your flame for life, right? Spark joy. So it's important to find ways to incorporate those things and not just waiting for your next big vacation, because sometimes it can be months between your vacations or even years. So we have to find ways to stay active and do things that feel adventurous to us in the in-between. So after work activities. This could be as simple as just going for a jog or a walk after work using that time, even if it's just a short one to decompress and clear your mind after a busy day. Outdoor sports are hobbies. You can join an outdoor sports league locally like soccer, volleyball, softball, tennis. Pickleball is such a big one now that's like actually super fun and social. Um, or pick a new hobby such as hiking, rock climbing, or something of that nature that gets you outside trail running. Um, things like that can be just so recharging for the soul. Uh, my husband and I joined a softball league when we moved to this little town that we live in now, in the mountains. It was hard to meet people our age when we first moved here from Denver, and it felt really discouraging. And joining the softball league was awesome for not only, you know, increasing our activity, doing something that feels very kid like, getting to do a fun game. Like how often as adults are we getting to play games and play sports again, like we did when we were in, you know, middle school and high school, right. But also just for meeting people, socializing, which is also going to be great for your mental health and kind of breaking up the monotony of the week. So we do softball seasonally. It's just in the summer, but it's something to look forward to. And if you love doing something year round, you can also find like indoor volleyball leagues or things that you can do in all the seasons. So I definitely recommend seeking out things that are local to you, and it's probably a little out of your comfort zone, but it is really worth it to put yourself out there to meet new people and to do something fun like that in the middle of the week. Um, also just keeping in mind that it doesn't need to be something epic or that requires a ton of driving right after work activities. You're probably not going to have tons of time to go do this amazing summit, or to go do the best pitch of rock climbing that you've ever done. But you can find local trails, clubs, and active opportunities that appeal to you and just kind of take that pressure off of that. Not everything you do needs to be the most Instagram worthy or the most amazing. As long as you're experiencing the benefits and it feels worth it to you. Number five this one kind of piggybacks off of weekday adventures, but weekend adventures becoming a weekend warrior with how you're spending your time on your off days. Um, this is such a great opportunity and I cannot stress this enough. If you are someone who works at a traditional job taking advantage of your weekends, that's one of the best things that you can do to increase your adventures in a given year or a given month, like tenfold. And this is something that I started to do when I was, um, managing a fitness studio and working very traditional hours. And I had my weekends off and I had just moved to Colorado and I wanted to get out and do all the things. And so I really had to take advantage of my weekends. And by doing that, I was able to have so many, many adventures throughout the year. I didn't feel like I was perpetually waiting for this vacation. That's five months away. Four months away. I was really getting out there every weekend, and it felt like almost every single weekend was its own little vacation, right? And depending on where you live, you might not feel this way. But there are opportunities just about everywhere. If you're willing to drive a few hours and do some research and find some local adventures to you. Um, so planning outdoor activities for the weekend. If you can't get out much during the week, reserve your weekends for the more strenuous activities. Things are going to take a little bit longer, so doing some research during the week and looking up okay, what are some hikes that are within like a three mile or a three hour radius for me? Maybe you only want to drive an hour. Okay. So you're looking at what's within an hour drive for me and what's going to be kind of the biggest bang for my buck while doing this drive. I want to make the most of it and have a really adventurous weekend. Maybe you decide to do a camping trip or turn it into a long weekend if you want to go somewhere a little bit further. Um, so. Kind of doing some more of those strenuous activities, things that are going to take longer, like kayaking or whitewater rafting, hiking, backpacking, things like that that you can't just do easily on a weeknight after work, even during the summer. Um, and even just exploring nearby nature. So taking advantage of the parks and trails and nature reserves close to your home. Um, it doesn't have to be something where you're driving hours and hours. Just doing this intentionally every single weekend will make a big difference. Something that I did a few years ago was the 52 Hike Challenge, and I actually did a whole podcast episode on this. So you can look back and find my personal thoughts and experience on the 52 Hike Challenge. Um, but what I loved about this challenge was that it really forced me to be intentional with getting out every single week, and most of that fell on the weekend because of my work schedule. So every single weekend I had to look up trails, and I was trying to do something new every week. Some weeks it wasn't. It didn't work like that. You know, I did a couple repeats, but for the most part, I did 52 different hikes and I made it work for the entire year. Even during the snowy months, I was getting out in snowshoeing or hiking with, um, micro spikes, and it really forced me to get out on the weekends when I would otherwise be tempted to just be kind of lazy. And that was one of the best years of my life. I saw so much. I did so much experience, so much. Um, so just using those weekends wisely can go such a long way and one other way that you could kind of frame this is if you really want more frequency of your adventures. Like if getting out more often is more important to you than doing like one big thing, or you don't have the finances necessarily for like a really big trip where you're flying really far and getting a hotel and all these things, you could plan one long weekend a month instead of 1 to 2 big trips a year. And maybe for those long weekends, you are primarily camping or car camping or staying in, you know, areas where it's a lot cheaper but you have access to cool outdoor areas. Doing something like that once a month, planning a monthly mini adventure is going to make your year so full of goodness. Like you're going to look back after that year and be like, Holy crap, we did so much like, look at all of this. So that's something that you can kind of look at for yourself. If you have a partner, you can discuss that, like how do we want this next year to look? You know, we're heading into a new year. As I'm recording this podcast, we are just a couple of weeks away from entering 2025. And so you get to kind of decide, how do I want my vacations to look? How do I want my time off to look? Do I want it to be just a few long weeks, or do I want it to be, um, a long weekend, three day weekend, once a month and you get to do those mini adventure adventures year round, and depending on how much vacation time, you might even be able to get away with doing a mini adventure every month and still have like one long trip. So. Look at it and be intentional with starting to plan some of those things. Look at the things that you've saved on Instagram or blogs that you've saved, or trips that have just kind of been on your mind that are doable within driving distance from you, that you could do some three day weekends throughout the next year. Number six, take advantage of the good weather. I mean, you gotta just capitalize on those good weather months living in Colorado. That is definitely the case for us. Um, so working outside when possible, this might not even be something where you're going and doing a cool activity, but you're just working outside. You're just changing up your environment on nice days, taking your laptop or work outside, whether it's a cafe patio, sitting at a park, or just setting up a mobile office in your backyard, getting fresh air while you're still being productive and on the clock. Outdoor meetings, if possible, suggest walking meetings with colleagues, um, or walking while taking phone calls that, you know, if you're doing all of your meetings virtually, see if you can do that while walking around, whether you're inside your house or your outside. Number seven. Schedule it in like I was talking about with just being intentional. No one's going to do this, but you. You have to be intentional with planning and scheduling and making it happen for yourself. Um, whether it's big trips or your daily, uh, habits around fitness and staying active. So setting specific times just like you would set a meeting or something where you're holding other people accountable. Hold yourself accountable by setting non-negotiable meetings for yourself, whether that's a workout in the middle of your day. So if you have a lunch break and you're like, okay, I'm going to do three days a week on my lunch break, I'm working out. Set that time aside so no one can book over that time for you. As far as like a work meeting, you need to take that seriously and prioritize that just like you would any other meeting with somebody else. Put them in your calendar and truly treat them as non-negotiable. Um, and then you can use active reminders from your devices, setting alarms and reminders throughout the day to stretch, walk, get outside, or go do your workout. Number eight. Our last tip is to just ultimately keep it manageable and realistic. Consistency over intensity over time makes such a big difference, whether it's health habits and working out like we talked about so much on this podcast, or setting your expectations for consistency with outdoor activities. So by keeping appropriate expectations, we're really going to help avoid overwhelm, because if we're trying to do all the things and you have a crazy busy week with work where you're working ten hour days, plus you have kids, plus you have all their obligations, um, and then you're also trying to fit in like midweek adventures. It's going to start to feel like those mid-week adventures are actually just another chore that you have to do, and you have to fit them in on top of everything else. And then that's going to suck the joy out of the process. So you're going to have to kind of gauge it based on the season of life that you're in, what your calendar looks like that week or month, what's realistic and manageable for you so that you can still enjoy these activities? They should be life giving and energizing and not soul sucking, right? If you're just trying to do it to check something off your list. I don't think that that's probably going to be very energizing for you. And I've had to really, really reevaluate this in my own life since having my daughter. Um, because I used to be someone that did like a really big activity outdoors pretty much every week. Um, and that's just not realistic for me anymore. I need a lot more recovery time on the weekends. A lot of our weekends are filled with like kid activities, birthday parties, things with our daughter, um, especially now that I'm, you know, pretty heavily pregnant with our second. I'm not having the energy to go do something where I'm driving multiple hours or camping every single weekend, and it has helped me mentally to just say, okay, I'm not putting that pressure on myself because I want this to actually be enjoyable. I want to do it when I actually feel like doing it, and not just because I'm trying to check a box or do something Instagram worthy that weekend, right? So don't push it to the point where you feel like it's not even enjoyable anymore, and that will just require constant reevaluating of where you're at from a mental health standpoint and how busy your schedule is. Even focusing on consistently nailing like 2 to 3 workouts a week instead of trying to just go hard and do 5 to 6 every single week. Most of the time, for most people, that's not going to be realistic. So setting realistic goals so that you don't go too hard, burn out, and then decide that there's just no way you can do it. Um, that's going to help you be able to stay consistent longer when you set realistic goals for yourself. So 2 or 3 workouts a week, consistently done over an entire year, is so much more effective than doing 5 to 6 workouts a week for a month, and then burning out and then doing nothing for a few months, and then starting the process over. And you're just ultimately so inconsistent with it that it really doesn't do a whole lot for your body composition, for your strength, for your energy, your overall fitness. Um, so really kind of factoring that in what is truly realistic for me. And then you can always build on that after you get the habits established. And ultimately reframing your mindset from only getting out for epic adventures to remembering that even small efforts and small little things outdoors are worth it. So this kind of requires you to look at your ultimate why? Why am I planning these things? Why is it important to me? Is it to enjoy the outdoors? Is it to have that peace, mental clarity, unplugging, mental health benefits, physical benefits? Or is it because I feel like I need to do these things in order to still be outdoorsy enough, or to get the perfect Instagram shot, or to keep up with, like, this former standard of adventures that I used to have in a different season of life. And so really get real with yourself about like, why am I doing these, these things? Why is it important to me? And and is a two mile hike at a local trail this week good enough? Because some weeks it might not be realistic to drive six hours total and go do something amazing. If you have two small kids or you are recovering from a crazy work month and you just feel so burnt out, so this is going to take some reframing on your end, especially if you're someone who has historically been able to go out and do all of the things. Say yes to all of the hobbies. This is something I have to talk to my husband about a lot in this season of life with with like small kids, because he has so many outdoor hobbies. And, um, most of them we can't do with young kids. And so I've had to kind of say, like, hey, I know that this is not going to look like what it used to look like for you. Your weekends are going to look different, but how can we still like, enjoy these things? But as a family? Or maybe you get to do like one really cool hobby a month? Um, because otherwise it's just too much and and it's not manageable. And as a couple, like we have to make that work. Um, and same for me with like, my hiking and backpacking and things that I love to do. Um, I've had to really reframe, like, what is a good hike? What's a worthwhile hike? Because when I take my daughter for a hike, it's going to be a lot slower, it's going to be a lot shorter and less intense. And, um, and I've just had to gauge, like, is that good enough for me? Can I be content with that? So something to think about as you look at your schedule and your lifestyle, incorporating activity and the outdoors. So I hope that this has been helpful for you. Um, if you are someone who's really wanting to step up your adventures and your capacity to have endurance for these things in the upcoming year, we are accepting five ladies to our Mountain Metabolic Coaching program heading into the New Year. And so if you want some next level accountability, uh, workout programming that's going to be customized to you, that focuses on your outdoor goals as well as secondary goals like body composition changes, leaning out, getting fitter in a certain area, getting stronger in your core, whatever those secondary goals are for you, um, we focus on that. Plus outdoor. Um, adventurous goals, like, a lot of our clients have big hikes that they want to crush or bucket list things that they're training for. Um, being able to keep up with their kids on hikes is their kids get older, or being able to say yes to the fourteeners over the summer or whatever that looks like for you. And if you know that you need some accountability to do things differently because you're just not following through on your own. This is where a coaching program is absolutely vital because you're not just given information, you're given true accountability, and someone's walking with you through the whole process and helping you troubleshoot the things that come up in life. Right? It's inevitable that across a 3 to 6 month period, you might have the best intentions, but then sickness happens. These unforeseen circumstances pop up travel, holidays, visitors and town things that are going to throw you off your game. So you need to be able to be flexible and troubleshoot those things. And having a coach help you do that until you get to the point where you can really do it on your own is so valuable. So if that's something that you're interested in learning a little bit more about, or you want to snag one of those spots heading into the new year, maybe you've been listening for a while and you feel like, okay, it's time for me to take the leap. And you know, I don't really feel like I got where I wanted to be this year, like from last year to this year, I'm kind of still stuck in the exact same spot, and I don't want to feel that way next year. Definitely recommend checking the link in the show notes to apply for coaching, and we will reach out to you and schedule a call, a free consultation call to kind of go over what it looks like, hear about your goals, hear about what you've been doing, what's working, what's not, and make sure you're a good fit for the program. If you want to follow along with us on social media, you can check us out at the Fit Underscore for Hiking Instagram page. Um, and if you want to follow along with my personal Instagram, it is ponytail underscore on a trail. Um, lots of great information there and you can follow along with us. Thank you so much for tuning in today, and I will chat with you in the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the fit for hiking podcast. As always, I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and informed on how to take your health and adventure into your own hands. For more content like this, be sure to follow along with my daily posts at Ponytail Underscore. On a trail that's ponytail underscore on a trail. You can also stay up to date on my new episodes being released at Fit Underscore for hiking, and find more free resources at Pony Tail on a trail.com. Happy and healthy trails.