Micro-workouts are physical activities lasting 15 minutes twice a day, five days a week, which results in 150 minutes each week. You might decide to take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk around the parking lot, or do sit-ups in your living room. As long as the activities increase your heart rate and cause you to sweat, it can count toward your 15 minutes of exercise. 

To help you start applying micro-workouts to your daily routine today, here are the five key steps: write down your goals, set aside time, find yourself a workout partner, reward yourself and list the benefits you see. 

1. Write down your goals

The first step is to set an achievable goal and then write it down. Those who write down their goals are three times more likely to succeed compared to the 14% who don’t write them down. 

If your goal is to begin micro-workouts, make the conscious choice to pen your objective onto paper and put it somewhere you’ll see often, like on your bed stand or refrigerator. As you visually see your goals, you can feel more motivated to actually start adding micro-workouts to your day. 

2. Plan time in your day

According to Gallup, 48% of US citizens don’t feel they have adequate time in their day, and you might fall into this percentage. However, you can still find a way to squeeze in these 15-minute micro-workouts. The philosophy is if you don’t plan time, you won’t take time. 

Set aside 15 minutes during your lunch break or before dinner and stick to your commitment. As you schedule to consistently work out, exercising can become a habit. It normally takes two months or 66 days to make a habit automatic. If you plan these days in advance, you might find yourself automatically starting a micro-workout.

3. Find yourself a workout partner

Peer pressure can affect anyone, but it can also be used to generate positive effects. For example, peers can influence you to save money for college, start a new hobby or refrain from gossiping. Peers can also encourage you to keep your micro-workout routine. 

Find someone close to you to serve as a workout partner. You can share your goals with this individual, and they can help keep you accountable. If you plan ahead, you can exercise together. They can also turn the often tedious workouts into fun, enjoyable experiences, which is why you should find yourself an exercising partner. 

4. Reward yourself

It’s natural to want to see a return from working out. However, you might not notice any initial yields right away. This can cause you to feel discouraged. To counteract this issue, you have to make the reward big enough that you’ll want to repeat the loop again. Here are some possible rewards you could give yourself to stay motivated and continue to work out: 

• Eat your favorite treat or snack.
• Watch a Netflix episode or YouTube video.
• Call up your best friend.
• Take a nap. 
• Write in your journal.
• Play a board game with friends or family.
• Try out a new recipe.

5. List the benefits you see

Once you start doing micro-workouts, make sure you recognize and list the effects they have on your mental and physical well-being. For example, 30% of adults are less stressed after working out. You might discover that micro-workouts help you destress, which will motivate you to keep exercising. You might simply notice you don’t huff while going up the stairs, you feel happier after a stroll through the garden or you’ve lost a couple of pounds. These small benefits can be a big motivator to continue to work out for 30 minutes, five days a week. 

There are many reasons for you to work out, but this ends up being your choice. Make the choice to write down your goals and to plan them into your day. Make the choice to find a workout buddy, reward yourself every time and to find the benefits of committing to exercising. In other words, make the choice to care about your body and apply these five steps to implement micro-workouts into your daily schedule. You’ll thank yourself later for this decision.