When it comes to making time for exercise, it can be difficult. Here are some pointers that I give to my physical therapy patients and how I manage to stay on the move.
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| 10 Ways to Get More Movement |
Try incorporating a few extra activities throughout the day and week to keep your body moving. Just a few minutes of extra movement here and there adds up over time.
Here are ten simple ways to get more movement into your day without taking up more time in your already hectic schedule!
1. Climb the stairs
Choosing the stairs over the elevator increases your heart rate, improves your balance, and strengthens your lower extremities. If you have a few minutes and are feeling saucy, you can do heel raises off the edge of a step for calf strength, or you can take the stairs two at a time.
2. Incorporate walking meetings
If you work from home or use virtual conference calls, schedule a walk during one call per day.
Put on your headphones, put your phone in your pocket, and go for a walk to solve the world's problems if you don't need to be staring at a screen or looking at spreadsheets. It's a great way to liven up your daily routine.
If you work in an office, bring your one-on-one meetings with you. Walking as a group helps to strengthen team bonds and may even lead to better ideas. Walking has been shown to boost creativity and mental acuity in studies.
3. Pose for the camera & do some shopping
Try walking lunges down the supermarket aisles while holding on to your shopping cart. The cart serves as a good balance point, and depending on the length of your supermarket aisles, you can complete 10–20 lunges in a single pass. Go ahead and try it; it's surprisingly enjoyable!
4. Sit down on an exercise ball
While sitting on the ball, you can do some gentle mobility stretches for your neck, pelvis, and spine, which can help with back pain and improve posture.
Try a hula-hoop motion and tucking and untucking your pelvis to help activate your core stabilisers. Try seated marches or other ball exercises if you want to work on your abs while sitting at your desk!
5. Locate a parking space a long distance away
While we must be cautious and aware of our surroundings, consider parking further away from the entrance of wherever you are going if you are in a safe and well-lit area. A few minutes of walking here and there adds up over time and can help you meet your daily step goal.
6. Increase your sex life
You are, indeed, welcome. According to some older research, sex burns calories at a rate of about 3.1 calories per minute for women and 4.2 calories for men.
So, while it's not the same as a vigorous jog, you can certainly work up a sweat while having sex. Have some fun, experiment with new positions and techniques, and bond with your partner while moving more.
7. Get a pet
Bring the whole family to the shelter and help out by walking a few dogs.
You get to spend more time outside, help a dog and your community, teach your children about compassion, and spend some quality family time moving your body and being active. For everyone, it's a win-win-win situation.
8. Throw a dance party
Remove all of the furniture from the room and turn on some music. This is something you can do while cooking dinner, folding laundry, or vacuuming.
Dancing is an excellent way to burn calories while improving your balance and coordination. You can also make it a game or a contest with your children. Put on some ACDC (or whatever makes your feet tap) and start shaking'.
9. Vary your game night routine
At your next family game night, swap out cards or board games for active games.
To help you remember, here's a list: Scavenger hunts, Twister, freeze dance, potato sack races, pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, hopscotch, jump rope, hula hoop contests, limbo... The games you enjoyed as a child are still enjoyable to play this today.
These games can be played with people of any age, both indoors and outdoors.
10. Stretch or exercise while watching TV
I know this goes against every tenet of "binge and chill," but bear with me.
If you move for 30 minutes while watching a 30-minute show, that's 30 minutes of extra exercise! If you think that's a good place to start, you can even limit it to when the commercials come on.
Keep your exercise equipment near your "binge-watching" spot and do some bodyweight exercises or even foam rolling while you watch your show. A few reps of bicep curls, tricep presses, or arm raises with light hand weights will help you improve your arm strength, posture, and overall health.