We are all guilty of making elaborate plans to exercise more and lose weight. We sign up for Zumba classes, take up a gym membership, and make plans to play badminton or go hiking on the weekends but it all goes for a toss after a week or so of enthusiasm. Often times, work or family commitments take over, and workouts take a backseat. But exercise is a key contributor to health and happiness: Beyond triggering that runner’s high, it’s associated with a higher quality of life, improved health, and a better mood.
There are so many reasons why you should include some form of exercise into your lifestyle, whether you are trying to lose weight or not.
The good news is that exercise doesn’t have to be done at the gym, on a track, or even in workout clothes. Even if your day is crazy busy, here are 10 ways you can sneak some exercise into your routine. Most of these are things you could start doing immediately, and cost absolutely nothing at all.
Wake up and do it
As soon as you get out of bed, do 50 jumping jacks, 20 crunches, and a minute of plank. You can start with fewer jumping jacks and crunches and 30 seconds of plank and gradually build up as your stamina increases. This will take five minutes and not only will it set the tone for the day, it will also give you a quick burst of activity to get that metabolism pumping.
Go the long way
You have probably heard this one before, but it really works: Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Find a parking spot far away from your building so you get a little extra walking. If you take the bus to work, get off a stop before your office and walk the extra distance. It might take you a little more time to get to your destination, but all of those extra steps really add up.
The right time to exercise
Email and call less
If you work at an office, instead of calling or emailing a coworker, get up from your desk and walk over to chat with them. Not only will you get a lot more accomplished in a quick in-person meeting, but you will also burn a few calories walking to their desk. It might not seem like a lot of activity, but all of those small steps can equal big gains when they are continued all day long.
Put your chores to work
Chores have to get done, and lucky for you, they can burn more calories than you think. Just 30 minutes of housework can burn about 98 calories. Take that work outside, for mopping the verandah or gardening, and that number jumps to around 130 calories. Dust and vacuum the house on alternate days, clean your car, or simply go grocery shopping and let your chores double as exercise.
Lift weights
You just can’t be that busy that you can’t lift weights because you can multitask while doing it. Lift while you are brainstorming, watching TV, or talking on the phone. Keep a pair of weights on your desk as a reminder to use them. When you see them, you are more likely to use them whenever you can. Do some basic lifting in short bursts to get that much needed strength training.
Get off that seat
And it gets even simpler. Simply stand up whenever you can. You burn more calories standing than sitting so stand up on the bus, stand up when you are talking to someone, stand up when you are on the phone, and stand up for a minute or two every 15 minutes if you have a job that requires you to sit for prolonged periods of time.
Just dance
You know you want to. Unleash your inner child by putting on some tunes and rocking out for 10 minutes in the privacy of your own living room. The exercise is good for your heart, and the music is good for your soul. And with this, you’ll never have a reason to not exercise.
Stretch whenever you can
Stretching is great exercise and can be done several times a day with little effort. At least once a day, “reach for the sky” – stand as tall and as straight as you possibly can and reach up. Push your shoulders back as far as they will go, and put every joint in your body through its total range of motion. After getting in bed at night, stretch your body from your ankles and toes to your head and neck. Imagine making yourself a foot longer and feel the warm relaxing stretch.
Do one active thing every day
It doesn’t matter if it’s badminton, a yoga class, a long walk, or the 7-minute workout app. Just make sure you do one physical activity every day. If you get into this habit of being active, you cannot do without some form of exercise every single day. Slowly, you’ll notice yourself becoming more energetic and exercise will not longer be something you have to do, it’ll be a part of your lifestyle.
Sit on a stability ball if you work from home
Replace your chair with an inflatable exercise ball to stimulate your muscles and improve your posture while you work. You’ll need to stabilize your position and straighten your spine constantly, which means you’ll stay upright, improving your core strength. Make sure your desk is adjusted to fit the height of the ball so you can maintain good posture and protect your back.
