Have you been skipping exercise lately? If so, there are a number of ways you can fit exercise into each day to help you achieve a healthier life.
Do you lean towards an all or nothing mindset? Do you put obstacles in the way to prevent exercise from happening?
Breaking down the task of a whole exercise program can often help us overcome the barriers that are in our way. For example, if we know one stretch that will immediately reduce our neck stiffness, why not complete it whilst waiting for the kettle to boil? Perhaps complete those hip strengthening exercises whilst watching the TV? Or maybe pick a handful of lower body stretches to do in your rest breaks while strengthening your upper body (a favourite of mine).
No-one said that exercise has to be completed in a gym for it to count or sitting in a corner facing a blank white wall. Aim to tie an exercise into a routine, behaviour or activity you already do daily. This way you don’t have to put aside more time or muster up higher levels of motivation. If you can find times where you are waiting throughout the day, either sitting or standing, try to pick one of these times to get better at a stretch or strengthening exercise. I’d suggest an exercise which gives you the most relief or bang for your buck. Master one new exercise and often you will find it will snowball onto others.
A great way to exercise is to create an exercise circuit. A typical exercise circuit will include a work period and a short recovery period to get to the next exercise or activity. Some reasons of why an exercise circuit could work in your life would include:
- Time efficient
- Simple – could start with 2 different exercises
- Improve your strength and cardiovascular fitness at the same time
- Cost effective – requiring no equipment, or very little like a chair and a wall
- Flexible – tailor the circuit to fit into the time frame you have
- Variety – mix it up from day to day
A client of mine told me about how she would do 2 simple exercises in between doing jobs around the house after she got home from work. An example was 2 sets of 10 reps after putting on a load of washing, folding some clothes and changing the bed sheets. Such a simple yet effective work out, all as part of her routine for that day.
The ideas here aren’t necessarily a replacement for all of one’s weekly exercise needs, however it can be a great starting point for those who are looking to exercise or for those wanting to get a slight edge towards achieving their health and fitness goals faster.
Other more common examples include parking your car further away, walking and talking for a meeting or taking the stairs. How creative can you get with your exercise? I would love to hear what you can come up with so please share your ideas and help others in similar situations to you.
Until my next post have a great week 🙂
Ben Taylor
ben@tailoredhealth.com.au
0434 451 226
