When it comes to getting your workouts in, it isn’t always a matter of determination. Even those of us who are the most dedicated to our routines have times when life takes over and we’re just too busy. Though you can’t use that as an excuse every day if you really want to keep up your form, every now and again, there are some ways to slip in a bit of a workout here and there, even when 24 hours just doesn’t seem like enough for each day.

Use the following techniques to get micro workouts in at various times throughout your day, to make up for the occasional blip in your schedule when you just can’t make it to the gym:

• Use your commute time for exercise – When you can’t get your regular cardio workout in, grab everything you need and jog to work if you can. If you work too far away, park at a lot that is a greater distance from your workplace and jog from there, or jog to the next bus stop or two instead of using the closest one. If you’re not a runner, try biking, instead. If you can’t arrive at work out of breath, then do your run on the way home, instead. In many large urban centers, joggers and cyclists often arrive at their destinations faster than they would in a car during rush hour! • Become a morning person – if you can’t seem to find the time to exercise after work, then set your alarm a bit earlier and head out first thing in the morning. Save yourself even more time by wearing your workout clothes to bed, so that you can get moving the moment you get yourself up. • Use your lunch break to its fullest – get absolutely everything you can out of that precious lunch break by getting a microworkout by going for a walk or a jog before you eat. If you don’t have enough time to fit that in, run the stairs a few times before sitting down to your meal. Every little bit counts. • Get more out of your desk – sit on a stability ball instead of a computer chair to keep your core muscles activated. Keep dumbbells next to your desk so that you can fit in a few reps of exercises like overhead presses and dumbbell curls while you’re doing something that would otherwise keep you inactive, like reading from your computer screen.