20 Ways to Squeeze Exercise Into Your Hectic Schedule
In this increasingly breakneck world, where jobs and families demand more of your time, you probably have trouble squeezing physical activity into your already packed schedule.
But according to the Mayo Clinic, even busy people find time for exercise. It all boils down to making it convenient. Here are some tips from the clinic to help you do just that:
• Wake up earlier than usual so you can get in an extra half-hour walking or doing the treadmill;
• Exercise later in the day if you’re too stiff in the morning;
• Do these household chores at a quick pace: mopping and scrubbing, mowing the grass with a push mower, raking leaves, digging in the garden;
• Exercise with hand weights, a stationary bike or treadmill while watching TV;
• Take the entire family on walks or bike rides;
• Walk your dog;
• Join a dance or hiking club or golf league to get encouragement from others;
• Join a fitness club so you can get professional help and membership fees will keep you motivated;
• Sign up for a softball, soccer or volleyball team;
• Hike through a local park with friends and family;
• Park as far away as possible from the shopping mall or grocery store, and walk several laps around the mall;
• Keep walking or running shoes in your car when you stumble upon a chance to exercise;
• Walk or bike to work, or get off the bus a few blocks from your office and walk;
• Take the stairs, or get off the elevator a few floors below your stop and walk the rest of the way up;
• Take fitness breaks at work;
• Start a lunchtime walking group with your co-workers;
• Schedule physical activity as you would any other appointment;
• Pack your jump-rope or hand weights when you go out of town for business or pleasure;
• Choose a hotel that has a fitness facility;
• Take a brisk walk around the airport if you’re waiting long for your plane.
Source: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
(by Marcela Vanharova)
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[…] I think that if I had a personal trainer, I’d be able to figure out what my workout goals are. Without one, I’m sort of floundering, or in some cases, not working out at all. I came across a blog tonight that can act as a virtual personal trainer of sorts by providing information on weight training, and it’s written by a personal trainer at aerobics instructor. Marcela has worked in Las Vegas training people for the last 3 years and is now sharing information on weight training via her blog. Fitness has always been her life, and she’s worked as a dancer, a choregrapher, and a physical education teacher too. She has a Ph.D in Kinesiology, and a Master’s Degree in Physical Education, so it’s safe to assume she knows what she’s talking about. Marcela has some great tips on her blog about portion control in eating (avoid all-you-can-eat buffets!) , how to squeeze exercise into a busy schedule (definitely something I need help with - blogging only works my fingers out, nothing else!) and she’s got a whole category on training tips and ideas. Marcela even shares what SHE eats so you can see how a pro handles her food intake and calorie count! […]
Pingback left on December 17, 2006 @ 11:54 pm
[…] Have you ever thought about personal training? Check out the No Excuses Gym blog. I love the post about germ-free gym workouts and the 20 Ways to Squeeze Exercise Into Your Life list is good. […]
Pingback left on December 26, 2006 @ 7:08 am
[…] While surfing the net I stumbled upon a fitness blog which has some pretty useful and helpful tips about weight loss and working out. I like it even more because she doesn’t focus only on issues related to weight but also gives good tips about things like medical issues with working out and personal training for example. One of my favorite posts was the one about how to squeeze exercise into your daily routine, which becomes an issue when I am going to school and working all the time. Some of the stuff is simple such as parking far away to increase walking distance (although I’m not too fond of that when it’s freezing cold outside) or taking the steps instead of the elevator, which I can utilize since UB is such a big university. Losing weight and working out isn’t really that difficult, excuses just tend to dominate a rather large portion of it. I intend to at least make my pants fit comfortably by the end of January, we’ll see how that goes though. Posted by Manda at 7:31 pm on December 30, 2006. Filed under: Adverts, Health No one…yet. […]
Pingback left on December 30, 2006 @ 7:31 pm
[…] I stumble upon this blog about fitness and one of the post talks about ‘20 ways to squeeze exercise into your hectic schedule’ caught my attention. After reading it, I realized that I actually have time to do at least 10 of the said ways to take up some form of exercise. Things like park you car further and walk to your work place and also talk a short walk in the park and so on. Apparently, there’s a park near my house, but I never really made use of it. Before I used to walk with my wife there but with a baby around, its hard to find those time. We didn’t want to bring Raelynne there also because afraid of mosquitoes biting her. […]
Pingback left on January 10, 2007 @ 1:31 am