As more and more cautions of living a sedentary life are publicized, you may feel challenged to discover ways to incorporate more physical activity into your everyday life. In the busy times we live in, adding anything else into your schedule is probably hard to imagine!
These suggestions will help you infuse more physical activity into your life using your normal daily routines:
1. Use housekeeping as a physical activity. Just keeping up on your minor housekeeping tasks can provide daily activities which keep your body moving in all kinds of ways. Sweeping, dusting, mopping, and vacuuming are all wonderful ways to stay active.
- Of course, it’s necessary to avoid over-doing chores in any given day. A less taxing way is to do just one or two home-keeping tasks daily.
- Another method to structure your housekeeping duties is to clean just one room per day. This rotation method can be spread across 5 or 6 days during your busy week, which ensures you’ll get some physical activity each day from cleaning rather than be overloaded on a single day.
- At any rate, keeping your home in tip-top shape is one of the best ways to keep your body vibrant.
2. Accept exercise as a daily event. Regard exercising the same as you do taking a shower or brushing your teeth. In other words, see exercise as a normal part of life. Once you change your mind-set about how you view exercise, you can accept it as a naturally recurring aspect of your daily existence.
- Before you shower in the morning, take 20 minutes for a quick walk, run, or exercise DVD. When you do physical activity first thing in the morning, you’ve got the energy to get through it. Plus, you’ll go in to the rest of your day feeling like you accomplished something.
- Alternatively, throw your bag of work-out clothes into your car so that on your way home from work, you can stop in at the health club for 30 minutes of exercise. It will help you de-stress from work and renew your energy for a great evening.
- Or, play music and dance before dinner. You can do this while it cooks. Nothing gets you moving and burning calories like listening to your favorite tunes and dancing. Get the entire family into the act! Your mood will lift and your stomach, hips and legs will get toned while you’re having fun.
3. Exercise while watching TV. Think about a television show you watch each evening that lasts 30 minutes. The steady schedule of the program will help you keep your exercise consistent, too. Do some toe touches, squats and modified sit-ups to burn calories and maintain a toned appearance while you watch your favorite show.
- Stay active in your community. When you volunteer to help out in your community, choose an activity that keeps you moving. Help clean a local civic organization hall or serve food at a local church or community club.
Avoid a sedentary lifestyle by making exercise a priority. Use these tips to help you get started and then think of other ways you could bring exercise into your regular routines.
Daily exercise can be a normal part of your healthy life – without having to fit another time slot into your busy schedule!
