Working out with a consistent routine can be difficult because life throws a lot of curve balls whether it’s not having enough time in the day or suffering from an injury. Due to these types of things happening it can put a damper on your plans to workout consistently and decrease your ability to exercise. Here are some ways of staying physically and mentally fit when you can’t consistently workout.

Injuries are a part of life and can handicap your workout performance while you recover. To get around injuries the best thing you can do is modify your workout so you can still get some exercise in. For example, if you suffered a knee injury instead of going for long runs or using a leg press machines that will put stress on the knee you could try seated exercises at home like front leg stretch kicks or elbow to knee twists. Anything to keep your body active.

Another thing you can do is to consume a healthy diet. Think of your body as a machine. You need to put the right fuels into that machine in order to maintain proper function. Your body is no different so even if you don’t have the time to work out you can always eat the proper diet to maintain adequate function. A balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals will help keep the body fit. If you’re hungry always try to keep a small healthy snack such as peanuts or grapes on hand to keep you going throughout the day. Having the proper diet can also help you recover faster from your ailing injuries if you have sustained one.

It’s always good to set health goals. If you have had an injury take the time to pull out a notebook or journal and keep track of the state of your health, mapping out your physical and mental health goals. After this determine how you’re going to reach your goals and how you’ll measure your success. Try to slowly work up to those goals. For example if you’re a runner coming of rehabbing an injury and you would like to get back to running again then set a running goal for yourself and slowly work your way up to it. If your goal is to run 6 miles start small by running half a mile, see how it goes and build from there. Setting goals is also good for building your mental health because as you start to slowly reach your fitness goals you’ll feel like you accomplished something great within yourself.

Social media can provide some great fitness tips but its best to only use social media in moderation. The reason for this is if you have to stay away from the gym for a while if you go on social media platforms can give you anxiety while you’re in the recuperation period. Try to read fitness magazines for workout tips and if you do use the internet search for health blogs. You might be surprised what you find and your mental health might thank you.

These are some ways to stay fit when you can’t work out the way you would like to. Give them all a try the next time life slows you down.