2 out of 3 Exercise Plan

I really like variety for exercise options.  Lately, my favorite things to do are yoga, walking my dog, and working my way through my Pilates video.  During the week, I usually only have time for two: one in the morning and one in the evening.  Having more options than time slots allows me to switch up my activity so that I don't feel stuck in a routine.  The options also give me an alternative when it's raining outside during my normal walking time.  On the weekend, I try to do all three each day since I don't have to spend nine hours a day chained to a desk.  I would try to do yoga at work, but my half-hour lunch doesn't give me time to change AND do yoga.  My office attire doesn't afford me the flexibility needed to do the poses, either.  Sometimes I manage to get all three activities done on a weekday, but that's a rarity.

I am an expert slacker.  When my goal was to do one activity every day (usually walking), it was much harder to stay motivated over a long span of time.  If I skipped the walk one day, I could wind up not going for a walk for the rest of the week.  I also felt glued to one time of day to go for a walk.  It takes about 45 minutes for me to walk around my neighborhood, so if I had less time than that (or perceived that I had less time), I wouldn't bother.

Now I have more flexibility in my workout schedule since I added activities that don't require a set amount of time.  My Pilates video is about 45 minutes long, but I only go through 5 to 10 minutes of it at a time.  Yoga takes only about 20 to 30 minutes for all 12 core asanas.  I can shorten that time by focusing on areas where I need more flexibility.  I can also draw out the time and do extra poses in between asanas.  With these other activities available to me, I don't feel I have to push myself to do a full length walk around the whole neighborhood.  I sometimes take shortcuts which offer steep climbs that are just as challenging as the full length endurance walks.

One thing that helps about the variety of the 2 out of 3 plan is I don't focus as much on the physical change progress.  I don't watch the scale and fret when it shows a number I don't like.  Time seems to pass by much more quickly, so progress just falls into place with or without my attention.  Clearly this method is more fun than obsessing over one activity!