We all know by now that maintaining an active lifestyle should be one of our top priorities in life. Only by taking care of ourselves do we stand a chance of being the kind of person we strive to be on the job, at home with our loved ones and in our communities. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Work, in particular, can get in the way of working out — in fact, there is a big paradox going on, and it becomes more obvious the more challenging (and exciting!) a job gets: On one hand, we struggle to find time to work out; on the other, we can’t afford to not exercise because it is integral to sustained success.

My co-author and I sought to get to the heart of this paradox — and figure out how to beat it — when we wrote Winning Without Losing: 66 Strategies for Building a Wildly Successful Business While Living a Happy and Balanced Life. We interviewed 25 high-powered workers from around the world who somehow manage to exemplify healthy work-life balance. Based on these interviews, we’ve put together six tips for how to fit exercise into your daily routine — no matter how busy you are with work.

1. Work Out Efficiently
Pick a workout form that you can do almost anywhere, whether you’re traveling or getting home from the office late. Ideally, this will be a form of exercise that doesn’t require much preparation (maybe save the wind surfing for the weekend) and that accomplishes significant physical gains in a short period of time (sorry, golfers). High-intensity interval training, Tabata training, bodyweight exercises and running are all great choices.

2. Cater To Your Own Likes And Dislikes
By now you might be thinking, “I hate running!” (or Tabata, or what have you) — and that’s okay. We each need to be realistic and to know ourselves. One person’s running is another person’s yoga, weight training or dance. Flexing your self-discipline muscles is often necessary when it comes to exercise, but make it easier on yourself by choosing a form of exercise that fits your lifestyle, personality and taste. Not sure what you love to do? Don’t be afraid to experiment with different forms of exercise until you find what works best for you.

3. Use Competitions As Motivation
When it comes to being successful at work, collaboration is key. But when we’re trying to motivate ourselves to exercise on a regular basis (and with enough intensity for it to really matter), competition has its merits. Today, it’s possible to find a competition suitable to your skill level in almost any sport. Whether you’re elite, beginner or somewhere in between, there’s something for all of us. Sign up, set a goal and notice what it does to you — odds are good it might be the push you need to keep yourself in the game.

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Almost everyone obsesses about wrinkles, but what can you do short of staying out of the sun or pumping your face full of chemicals? The answer may be as simple as a jog around the park.

In a small study, researchers at McMaster University in Ontario found that exercise may not only keep skin younger, but may also reverse skin aging, even in people who take up exercise later in life, according to The New York Times.

Earlier studies at McMaster examined the affect of exercise on mice. Researchers split mice into two groups, giving one group access to exercise wheels. The mice that didn’t exercise quickly became weak, bald and ill while the mice that exercised regularly enjoyed healthy brains, hearts, muscles and reproductive organs. In addition, they kept their fur longer — and it didn’t even go gray.

The researchers wondered if exercise could have the same impact on people, so they performed a second test, presented this month at The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, that involved 29 male and female volunteers ages 20 to 84.

About half of the participants completed at least three hours of moderate or vigorous physical activity every week, while the others were mostly sedentary, exercising for less than an hour a week. Then the researchers asked each volunteer to uncover a buttock because they wanted to look at skin that’s rarely exposed to the sun.

The researchers found that, after age 40, those who had been active had visibly younger looking skin, similar to that of someone in their 20s or 30s, even if the participant was over the age of 65.

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Stretching feels great and increases flexibility — when done the right way. But not preparing properly or doing the stretch incorrectly can lead to injuries and inflexibility, the exact opposite of the results you want. Avoid these common mistakes for a safe, pain-free and effective stretching routine.

1. You bounce.
Bouncing at the end of your stretch (when done vigorously enough) can cause the muscle and tendon to tear, says Luga Podesta, M.D., sports medicine physician and rehabilitation specialist at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. This “ballistic” stretching triggers a reaction within the muscle that prevents it from relaxing and ends up defeating the purpose of the action. Instead, Podesta recommends gradually elongating and holding the stretch for 10 to 15 seconds, then release and repeat several times.

2. You’re in the wrong position.
If you don’t feel the stretch where you’re expecting to feel it, you may be doing it wrong, says Phil Oliveri, a physical therapist with Rockford Spine Center in Rockford, Illinois. “Poor body positioning can cause you to miss the muscle you’re aiming to stretch. Use a free hand to feel the muscle you are stretching. It should feel tight and then loosen after the stretch.”

3. You stretch an injured muscle.
Stretching an injured muscle can make the damage even worse by worsening a tear, says Podesta. As a general rule, if muscle pain doesn’t go away within several days, it’s a good idea to get it checked by a physician. Once it’s healed, gradually introduce low-intensity stretching according to your doctor’s advice.

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Efficiency is the name of the game when it comes to high-intensity interval training, better known as HIIT. The training method has skyrocketed in popularity for good reason: Alternating between all-out effort and brief recovery periods has been shown to rev metabolism, improve cardiovascular endurance and get you fitter in less time. HIIT also challenges both your anaerobic and aerobic systems. Even after you’ve stopped working out, you’ll continue to burn calories thanks to EPOC, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.

Not sure how to build your own HIIT workout plan? DailyBurn trainer Anja Garcia has you covered with these three HIIT workouts for every exercise preference, from the treadmill to your living room to the great outdoors. Plus, each workout takes just 10 minutes flat. You’ll be thrilled how quick and convenient they are. Lose those excuses, it’s time to HIIT it!

10-Minute Treadmill HIIT Workout
Hop on and off the treadmill in no time at all with this interval workout that alternates pace and incline to keep you on your toes. Sprint it out at the end with a steep uphill meant to challenge your glutes and quads.

• Two-minute brisk walk (3.0 incline)
• Two-minute jog (1.5 incline)
• One-minute run (1.5 incline)
• Two-minute brisk walk (3.5 incline)
• Two-minute jog (3.5 incline)
• One-minute uphill sprint (3.5 incline)

10-Minute Indoor HIIT Workout

No gym? No problem. This high-intensity workout doesn’t require any equipment, so you can do it anywhere, anytime. Crank up your favorite tunes and try it on your living room floor. Rest for 30 seconds (or less) between each exercise.

• 10 lunge jumps
• 20 pushups
• 30 squats
• 40 chair dips
• 50 mountain climbers

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While we’ve known for some time about the many long-term benefits of exercise, from increased strength to a revved up metabolism, new research shows aerobic exercise also may have considerable effects on the memory area of the brain in older women.

A small study published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found a link between regular aerobic exercise and the size of the area of the brain (hippocampus) involved in verbal memory and learning among women whose brain power has been affected by age. The hippocampus has become a main focal point in dementia research because it is the area of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning, but also is very sensitive to the effects of aging.

Canadian researchers studied the impact of different types of exercise on 86 women with mild memory problems, all between 70 and 80 years old, over a six-month period.

Roughly equal numbers of them were assigned to either twice weekly hour-long sessions of aerobic training (brisk walking); or resistance training, such as lunges, squats, and weights; or balance and muscle toning exercises.

The results showed that the total volume of the hippocampus in the group who had completed the full six months of aerobic training was significantly larger than that of those who had lasted the course doing balance and muscle toning exercises.

No such difference in volume was seen in those doing resistance training compared with the balance and muscle toning group.

Although researchers say further studies are needed, they stress that aerobic exercise at the very least seems linked to the cognitive abilities of aging women.

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