Say “aye” if you’ve stuck with your New Year’s Resolution by working out this month.

Crickets? Do I hear crickets?
If you’ve yet to implement strategies to lose weight/build muscle and make time for the gym, you’re not alone. In fact, according to a StatisticsBrain.com, only about 9% of people achieve their resolution.
Making time for the gym especially as a college student can sound like differential equations (I’ve never taken that class but I hear it’s hard). What with so much time in class, working a job, doing extracurricular, doing homework, taking tests, crying after taking the tests, it seems as if there’s not enough time in the world to exercise!
But with 168 hours in a week and with an average exercise routine costing about 30 minutes of our time…time is on our side.
Yes, studies show that…well, honestly you don’t need a study to tell you that you have time. You have time.
You might not think you do, but that’s because you have the time allocated in other activities. You’ve gotta make time for the things you need to get done.
Quote alert! [Tweet theme=”basic-full”]If it’s important to you, you’ll find time. If it’s not, you’ll find an excuse.[/Tweet]Truly though, friends. I know you guys are busy with your 18-hours and your biomedical technology stuff and your engineering classes, but you’ve got to learn how to put your health above your grades.

Truly though, friends. I know you guys are busy with your 18-hours and your biomedical technology stuff and your engineering classes, but you’ve got to learn how to put your health above your grades.
Luckily for you, I’ve got your back. I’m not a busy person, no. I’m a productive person—huge difference. Here’s how I make time for the gym this semester.

1. Wake up earlier

Sorry, guys, but this is first for a reason. Okay, I haven’t yet gotten into the habit of waking up at the butt-crack of dawn to exercise( the 6:00 club), but waking up earlier has been instrumental in helping me make time for the gym.
Sometimes, I’d plan to do it at—say, 3 o’clock. But then, oops, something happens and I have to delay it more and more and then by the time it’s 9, I don’t even want to go anymore.
Waking up earlier allows me to get exercising OUT the way and use the machines at the gym my way. I do lots of glute exercises that look ridiculous, so it’s important I have my space.

2. Make a to-do list

You’ll hear everyone talk about to-do lists—including me. So I’m just gonna make this short. Make note of what you want to do the night before going to the gym.

3. Have friends that are like-minded

Teamwork makes the dream work. If you also have a friend who wants to get in the habit of going to the gym, make gym dates with that person. Motivate each other and challenge each other as well. Who can do the most squat jumps in a minute with clean form? Who can do the most burpees? Who can hold the longest plank? (Good luck with those btw).

–Psst if you need more help with coming up with your own bodyweight exercises, I have 5 routines for you to follow here. No equipment needed!

4. Find out what’s wasting your time in a day

If you’re a college student, you’re probably used to the terms Netflix and chill. That doesn’t mean you have to do that! Take that extra time and get productive. You can stay at home and exercise if you don’t feel like going to the gym. And if you must have your tv shows, you can exercise during commercial breaks.
Make sure you’re more alert of the things in your day that are taking up too much time. Maybe you constantly talk too much to this friend who won’t stop talking. Maybe you google things for too long. Social media always snatches up my time. Figure out what’s biting up your time and let it go.
And if you’re reeallly disciplined. Try banning ALL of the extra things until you hit the gym. That will really force you to go to the gym early.
Insert pic: someone busier than you working out.

5. Do the gym after something you do every day

Maybe you have a class that ends at 3:05 and don’t really have anything mandatory to do after that. You can take that extra time to go to the gym. And once you make it a  habit to go to the gym right after class, once you don’t, you’ll feel…weird.
You can tack the gym onto any activity where you have about 45 minutes of extra time (or even less). What do you do right after brushing your teeth? Is there always something random you do in the middle of the day because your classes are too spaced out? Try securing gym time in that spot.
Remember when you’re thinking of how to make time for the gym, you don’t have to work out for an entire hour or more in the beginning. You can do a 15-minute, 25-minute, and even 30-minute exercise. Do what fits your schedule and eventually you’ll see certain areas where you can make time to exercise. You can even train yourself to know the shorter the amount of time you make, the more intense you’ve got to go. You should always go intense, but if you’re doing moderate exercise for 15 minutes, you won’t be getting that much of an effect. Plus this mentality might even motivate you to make more time for the gym!

How do you make time for the gym?