Ask the Personal Trainer Joni Hyde is a Certified Personal Trainer and owner of WorkoutsForWomen.com Q. How can I motivate myself to begin an exercise program? I am still carrying excess weight gained from the birth of my twins three years ago! Exercising has always been the key to maintaining a healthy weight for me but I can't seem to fit it in. I work full time, don't want to sacrifice my evenings with my children to exercise and struggle with the idea of getting up earlier to exercise because I am already sleep deprived. Any ideas? -Allison S. A. Hi Alison, It’s hard to stay motivated about exercise while juggling work, chores home, kids and hobbies. We all have too many responsibilities and too little time. The key is to focus on the benefits that you stand to gain from exercise and make it a priority. Just as you must get up and go to work every day, you need to place exercise at that level of a priority in your schedule, or it just won’t happen. As far as fitting it in, I would suggest that you work out for just ½ an hour every morning. A very time efficient and effective routine for you would be a circuit that includes a little strength training and a little aerobics. With your workout out of the way first thing, you won’t have the chance to skip it because of extra chores that come up during the day. Other recently asked questions: • I travel a lot for business, what exercises can I do in my hotel room? • My last delivery was by c-section. I just can’t seem to regain my lower stomach muscles, are there any exercises to target this area? • Is a slow jog enough to give me a cardio workout? • Do I gain the same benefits from woman’s push-up as I would if I did men’s straight leg push-ups? WorkoutsForWomen.com provides home exercise programs for today's busy women, under the guidance of a certified personal trainer.