4 Tips for Scheduling in Fitness
By: Lina S. Yates
Life moves so fast these days. The irony is that we need to stay fit in order to feel balanced, but finding the time to squeeze in exercise during the day can be quite a battle.
Luckily, it doesn't take a whole lot of time to get an appropriate amount of exercise. There are so many ways you can add fitness into your day.
Staying Fit at Work
Many employers these days have health and fitness programs in place, so if you're lucky enough to have a fitness-oriented employer, make sure you take advantage of these benefits. And if your employer isn't focused on health and fitness? There are still a lot of ways you can add fitness to your workday.
Here are some examples of what you can do to schedule in fitness into your work day. Whenever you have the choice between the stairs or the elevator, opt to give yourself a workout by taking the stairs. Walk everywhere. Don't hand your project envelope to the mail personnel. Hand deliver it to your coworker on the next floor yourself.
Want some more ideas? You can practice Pilates movements at your desk. There are sitting stretches you can do, too. Or if you have the room, take a few moments every now and then to do some basic stretches. You can even practice simple Yoga techniques! There are lots of fitness opportunities all around you. Keep on the alert for them, and you'll soon find it easy to keep fit during work.
Fitness At Home
Great, you're home, so working out is so much easier now, right? Wrong! Home requires just as much attention and responsibility as work, as well as being mom or dad at the same time.
One great way to incorporate fitness into the home routine is to involve your children. You'll find that kids don't look at exercise as work - it's play! So squeeze in some family time and stay fit, too. Take a walk together or play tag.
Other ideas for home fitness include turning housework into aerobic exercise. Get that vacuum cleaner going and use your arm, back, and core muscles to propel it back and forth. Load the dishwasher and maintain proper posture as you bend and straighten, keeping your abdominal muscles tight. Sweep the driveway as fast as you can for a quick aerobic blast!
When You're Out and About
You can even turn running errands into proper little workouts. Standing in line at the grocery store? Don't zone out! Strengthen your buttock muscles by contracting them for a count of 15, and then releasing them. You can do the same with your abdominals. And it keeps the wait time feeling short rather than long.
Find yourself waiting in line? Try standing on your tiptoes for a count of 10, to strengthen your calf muscles. Or if you find yourself sitting in traffic, you can do arm exercises and simple stretches while you're waiting. Other motorists might think you look strange, but you're getting fit, instead of sitting there getting steamed over being stuck in traffic!
Spontaneous Movement!
Feeling a little lazy or bored? Go to the park and speed-walk for a nice bit of fresh air. If the weather isn't very nice, or you just feel like being inside, do some mall-walking. If you're lucky, your mall might even offer a reward programs where you can earn points for walking at the mall. You can then redeem these points for gift certificates or coupons!
There are a lot of opportunities to add a random bit of fitness into your life. Just keep your eyes open, and they'll start popping out at you! Remember, fitness definitely can be a spur of the moment thing.