Daily exercise is essential to women’s fitness and any healthy lifestyle. Not only does it regulate the body’s ability to process the foods that we eat, it also helps to burn excess calories and reduce fat. Exercise, just 30 minutes each day, can help to balance hormones, lessen the risk of many illnesses and restore your vitality of youth.

Making exercise a priority is sometimes hard to do. Day to day responsibilities and activities take up a good portion of your day, I know. But, daily exercise is just as important as eating every day, so why not make it a regular part of your daily regimen?

Just like going to your job each day or cooking dinner in the evening, in order to give exercise the importance it deserves, you must make it a priority and let it become a habit that is impossible to break.

You know that it is entirely possible to enjoy exercise and make it something you wouldn’t dream of missing. You’ve no doubt seen countless others, who make exercise a must do rather than a sometimes do. So what separates them from you? Do they have some sort of magical abilities or are they stronger willed than you? Break free of your excuses and give exercise the attention that your body deserves.

There are many ways that we can plan ahead to be sure we get the most of our gym time. It is entirely possible to get a full blown workout in as little as 30 minutes a day, but to be sure you get the most of your workout time, you might want to consider the following tips.

1. Come to the gym in your workout clothes if possible. Less time spent in the locker room will give you more time to dedicate to your workout.

2. Empty your bladder before beginning your workout. You can’t always help having to disrupt your workout when nature calls, but a quick stop when you first get there will allow you to spend your time exercising rather than running to the restroom to pee.

3. Alternate days for working different areas of the body, this way you can spend your time working hard on specific areas at each session.

4. Take shorter rests between sets. This will move your workout along and allow you to burn more calories. When you take shorter rest times, your heart rate is increased, therefore giving you a mild cardio workout too.

5. To boost cardio benefits, while still saving time, mix strength training with cardio. Between sets of resistance exercises, do 2 minutes of jumping jacks, jump on the elliptical machine for 2 minutes or hop on the treadmill for a quick 2-minute run.