By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
Are you among the millions of people who have no time to exercise? It’s the number one reason cited for not moving more. We all have good intentions, but when time is short, try these tips to maintain an active day – and to stay connected to a healthy lifestyle. Some activity is always better than none!
- Try a brisk 5 minute walk 4-5 times a day.
- Focus on good posture at your desk to strengthen your body core.
- Take a break every hour to stand up and stretch; try to touch your toes.
- Sit on an exercise ball (or exercise cushion) instead of your chair at home or at work.
- Schedule a “walking meeting” when you can.
These are all “learned” habits….and it takes about 3 weeks to make a habit stick. I did this myself – and while the first week was tough, it became easier with time. These tips are also easy to maintain.
What other tips can you share with us, to move more when there’s no time to exercise?
I tried Tony Horton's (of P90X fame) Ten Minute Trainer program. It's a set of five 10 minute workouts that focus on working different muscle groups. You can do one a day over the course of a week or if you have more time you can do two or more in a row to customize your own workout. It really helped me because it's harder to make an excuse to not exercise when it literally takes 10 minutes!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! The flexibility of how many ten minute workouts to do on any given day takes a lot of pressure off With a baseliine of 10 minutes, you've succeeded for the day! Thanks for sharing this tip!
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