Alice King 🥉

With a 9 to 6 and a long commute, mornings gave me steadier adherence and fewer afternoon dips. I did short sessions right after waking and got a reliable energy lift by 10 a.m. Evening workouts worked only if I kept them easy and ended at least 3 hours before bed. Any hard session after 7 p.m. made it harder to fall asleep and raised my heart rate overnight. On weeks I slipped to evenings, I skipped more often due to late meetings, traffic, or dinner. If I were starting over, I would run a minimalist morning plan on weekdays and a slightly longer one on Saturday. Weekday template: drink water, stand by a window or step outside for 5 minutes, then do 20 minutes in the living room, 3 rounds of 40 seconds work and 20 seconds rest of bodyweight squats, counter push ups, backpack deadlifts, split squats, and a plank, then a 5 minute brisk hallway or stair walk. Keep it apartment friendly by controlling foot noise and using a backpack for load, and set clothes and shoes out the night before to remove friction. To reduce afternoon crashes, add a 10 minute walk right after lunch, keep caffeine before 2 p.m., and eat a protein plus fiber lunch instead of a heavy high fat one. If you prefer some evening work, keep it to mobility and an easy 20 minute walk, stop by 7 p.m., and reserve any harder effort for Saturday morning when you can be in bed by 10 p.m.

Back when we printed photos and burned CDs, we just took a walk after dinner and called it exercise. Now every gadget pesters you for updates and memberships. Keep it simple with a 30 minute walk most days and a 15 minute routine of wall pushups, chair squats, and light dumbbells twice a week. Put it on a paper calendar and check the boxes.

I've taught a few beginner that model classes and tbh and my advice is always to prioritize acrylics that have high pigment load for those bright, lasting colors in your landscapes... Look for sets that offer good mixability, meaning they combine without losing vibrancy, and stick to affordable options that don't skimp on quality. Test them out by mixing a few on a palette to ensure they flow well and dry evenly. It's all about finding that balance between cost and performance, especially when you're starting this hobby and don't want to overspend right away. Nice and straightforward.

Of course the moment you go back, every plan wants to crush you. Gyms will gladly take your money while you limp out after day one. Do 20 minutes easy three times a week and add five minutes next week. Stop each set while two clean reps are left and you will actually come back.

Lost a backpack in Bangkok once and with it my training log, so now I double up on everything. Do a simple walk‑run like 1 minute jog, 2 minutes walk for 30 minutes, three days a week, and track it in two places (app plus a sticky note on the fridge) so the streak keeps you honest. Keep it so slow you can chat, and set calendar alerts plus lay your shoes out the night before like a boarding pass. Fresh, comfy shoes you can forget about on your feet, then a 5‑minute brisk walk warmup and a 5‑minute cool down—gold.