How To Accommodate A Fitness Routine In Your Busy Life
Exercise has immense benefits for our health. It helps to keep aches and pains at a bay and also keeps us away from a plethora of health diseases like diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. Regular physical fitness routine helps to improve our generalized health. In today’s, stressful life exercise is a great way to curb emotional illness like depression and anxiety.
In spite of knowing all this, most of us are not committed to fitness. It is very true that modern life is extremely hectic but self-care is our responsibility. Here are a few tips that can make this work.
All physical activity counts as exercise
A fitness routine does not only involve hitting the gym or taking an hour-long aerobic session. Each and every physical activity that you so helps to burn the calories. Even little activities like stretching your legs or arms after an hour of sedentary work or going for a five-minute walk after every hour or two helps your body get active. The ultimate goal is to avoid being lazy and sitting in a single place for prolonged periods of time.
Simple ways to sneak in exercise
We can inculcate exercise and keep up our fitness routine into the busiest of work days by following the below mentioned:
- Warm up. Each morning when you wake up, devote five full minutes to stretching your arms and legs. Rotate your shoulder blades and do some basic neck exercises. Go from the top all the way to the toe. This will open up your body.
- Walk while brushing your teeth instead of standing in front of the mirror. Walk while you are talking on cell phone. This alone has made people manage 10000 steps a day.
- Dance. Put on some jazzy music early morning and swing to the tunes while you get ready for office. This is a perfect excuse to move your body as well as elevate your spirits for the day. Not only you but your family will move along with you.
- While commuting to your office, try to take the stairs instead of elevators each time you get an option. If you need to talk to a colleague who sits on another floor, walk up to him by stairs instead of taking the lift or calling them over the phone.
Can’t devote an hour to exercise?
There are many experts who talk about an entire regime which can be completed in 15-30 minutes. Yes, even Ashtanga yoga has a 15 minutes series. Just search the internet and you will be pleasantly surprised. Weekdays you can schedule these and on weekends you can devote a full hour or more to balance the routine.
On Desk Exercises
Most of us who have a desk job spend many hours sitting which can due to improper posture and continuous cause many health issues like Sciatica, slip disc, frozen shoulder or just make you pile on weight. So make sure you walk around every 20-30 min and take a break. Make sure your posture is correct, spine straight, shoulders square, head upright. If you are going to be sitting for long hours, make sure you take a footrest. Coming back to exercises on the desk, there are many like neck rotation, shoulder rotation, tricep dips, squats etc.
You can take reference from this video;
Invest in a fitness tracker
Buy a basic step-counter from a reliable brand or download an app if you don’t want to invest. This would be a motivating and fun method of keeping track of your daily physical activity. Since you are monitoring your activity, you automatically would be more aware of not being lazy. Invent reasons to walk the target number of steps, each day. This is a very easy way to keep your fitness routine and burn calories. Eventually, you feel start feeling more energetic and have better stamina.
Use weekends to the fullest
Even if you stay occupied all week long, weekends present themselves as the perfect opportunity to compensate for lack of a proper fitness routine during the weekdays. You could hit the gym on Saturdays and Sundays. Also, you can go enjoy a dance or aerobic session with your spouse. If you want something that involves the kids, go to a swimming class or cycling with them.
Buy a home work out equipment
Some basic exercise equipment like a set of dumbbells, pilates, an exercise ball and perhaps even a treadmill(though this occupies space) can be kept in a gym room in your apartment. This would serve as a good excuse to workout at home even when you are finding no time to visit the gym or fitness center on weekdays. At the beginning or the end of each day, you shall at least be able to do some sort of muscle strengthening and cardio right at the comfort and convenience of your home.
If you think about exercise as a fun and necessary activity. None of us is too busy to ignore our health.
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I read the title and I knew I need to read this piece. I always wonder how people take out time to exercise every single day. You have really simplified things for me.
A blog worth reading! In today’s world we often tend to ignore the importance of fitness. thank you for sharing this piece of information, it was really helpful
It is very important to stay fit and dedicate at least some time for exercise, no matter how busy we are. Will try the on desk exercise.
Some time back I have read an article which mentioned how daily routine job can be easily turned into an excellent workout regime at home. You this post reminds me of that article, we have to follow a regime and stick to it.
We might still have a busy schedule, but we’ll be in the best shape of our life. Very nice post to fit into a busy life.
My husband and I are on a journey to get fit. Just this morning we were discussing of writing a post about keeping oneself motivated. We discussed similar points. Walking while talking on phone, brushing teeth etc is a very good suggestion.
Lovely, would love to read the same.
Totally agree with you. I try to sneak in simple workouts in my daily routine as often as possible. Weekends are definitely for squash and badminton.
Great start Varsh!
Wow, I am really pumped after reading this post. Definitely one must require such ideas to accommodate fitness in our busy routine.
You are right, Jiya!
Great tips Prerna! That’s a good idea to walk while brushing the teeth. My job is sitting, I tend to do gain weight. These tips will help me reduce. Love the point of full five minutes exercise
Thank you, Nidhi. I always make sure that I am walking when brushing my teeth because that is also an exercise in it’s own way!
We should give some time to our self. Exercise, walk dance all we can do to keep our body fit. I am doing and will always on run on these tips
Yes. Absolutely, Gurjeet!
Thanks for sharing such a motivational post. I saw many of my friends who are making excuses for not getting time to work out, I will share this post with them.
You’re welcome Preety!
I am reading as these exercises are meant for me only. I have time and desire but lazy to get up and act. Hope these easy desk exercises will help me out.
I am also very lazy but I have realised that I want to stay fit and that’s why I try to accomodate a fitness routine.
I think this is a wonderful article. I already follow the desk exercises because I am more or less confined there for a better part of the day. But I find your tip to exercise on weekends very useful.
Thank you so much, Priyanka!
True that it’s sad to see how in recent days health is been ignored by many, this blog surely sounds like a big-time motivation for them. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you very much, Charu!
I needed these tips! I am struggling to kickstart fitness journey and would use these pointers.
Yes, definitely Shub
Yes exercise is important for our body and mind. There is no need to spend hours on doing exercise. 20mins to 30mins is enough if you are doing it everyday
You are absolutely right, Papri
Fitness should be our priority. Never let other things take its place. If we are healthy we can keep our family healthy.
You are absolutely correct, Nisha!
Yo great post. I have started to incorporate walking a little more in my daily life. Plus I also indulge in short duration exercises like yoga.
yes, Judy. Walking helps out a lot!
Because of work, it has become very difficult for me to take care of my health and have no exercise. I guess will invest in an exercise equipment.
Yes, Tripti. Equipments would be great!
This is a great motivation post for me!! Glad that I found your blog and this was the post that caught my attention!! Your amazing tips are a great start to anyone like me to get motivated to stay active and healthy with a precise routine!!
Hi, thanks. I have always tried to inspire and push women towards fitness.