Did you know that the more you engage in physical activities, the longer you’ll live? This is a study conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and according to them, one’s life expectancy increases by up to 4.5 years in those who engage in constant moderate to vigorous physical activities.
It is because the risk of having chronic diseases like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and certain types of cancer is greatly reduced.
In addition to that, regular physical activities lead to improved mental health, stronger immune system and a stronger mind and body.
Despite these facts, the number of sedentary people is still increasing. Why many are still unable to exercise is mostly due to a busy schedule at work, in school or at home. The question is: “How does one workout amidst a busy schedule?”
Well, here are some tricks on how to exercise even if you are the busiest human on earth:
1. Pick a schedule that is appropriate for you.
Choose a specific time of the day when you have the most energy, and days that are less chaotic, at least 2-3 times a week and stick to it until exercising becomes a habit.
Some find it appealing to exercise early in the morning before work or before the kids wake up because it energizes them throughout the day.
Some work out at night as this lets them release all the day’s stress, lets them relax and have a good night sleep.
Some do it in between breaks or during their kid’s nap time.
Experiment with the time of day to know which suits you best. If weekends are the best time for you, then go ahead and be a weekend warrior.
2. Make reminders where you can see them.
Having a constant reminder either through a colourful post-it on your wall, marks on your calendar or a beep from your phone alarm telling you to work out, is a good way to encourage you not to forget or procrastinate on exercising.
Seeing and hearing your workout reminder help set your mind that exercise is still a part of your busy day.
3. Prepare your gym bag (and work bag) the night before.
Preparing all the things you need before going to sleep saves you a lot of time in the morning. You have time to eat your breakfast and you can workout efficiently, instead of rushing to organize everything upon waking up.
You are able to mentally prepare yourself for the next day’s exercise routine and for the upcoming office meetings.
4. Choose short, but effective work outs.
There are tons of exercises to choose from depending on your goals, preference, fitness level and of course, time.
Yes, there are 7-minute or 10-minute exercise programs that have been proven to be effective. You can choose from circuit training or high intensity interval training or Tabata workout.
These types of workout, though short, still help you lose excess weight, increase muscle strength and improve your cardiovascular endurance.
5. Convert tech time into your work out time.
According to an infographic by Mediakix, the average time people spend browsing through their social media accounts is 50 minutes per day. Such a great amount of time indeed!
Why not just put down your smart phone for a short 15 to 30 minutes, and just start exercising? Trust me, if you gradually replace your tech time with a physical activity, your future self will thank you for that.
6. Choose compound exercises over isolation exercises.
Compound exercises efficiently target several muscle groups in the body, unlike isolation exercises, which focus on one joint at a time only. It is faster to do, yet still able to recruit other muscle groups as well.
There are plenty of compound exercises you can do like rows, push-ups, squats, overhead shoulder press, dips and more.
7. Bike, jog, or walk to and/or from your office building.
Instead of riding public transportation vehicles like the train, bus or cab, why not bike to work? Or you may get off your transportation vehicle a few blocks away from your office and just jog or walk to your building.
Biking, jogging or walking, the eco-friendly way of travelling to and fro work, can improve your stamina, increase muscle strength and reduce stress levels.
8. Climb the stairs instead of riding the elevator.
According to a 10-year prospective study of middle aged men, the risk for coronary heart disease was reduced by 2/3, when these individuals performed vigorous physical activities. This can be equivalent to 7 minutes of daily stair climbing.
In fact, going up a few flights of stairs is much more strenuous than jogging. Also, this helps in weight reduction especially observed in those who are overweight.
9. No time to hit the gym? Work out in the office.
Sitting in front of the computer for more than 8 hours a day can be more detrimental to your heart health than you think.
Devising a way to workout in your office space, be it small or big, can reduce your risks.
Incorporate active rests while working to avoid injuring your neck, back and hands. Let’s say take an active rest every 30 minutes to 1 hour. Get up from your chair and do 1 minute of jumping jacks or high knees.
Again, with the limited space you have, you can maximize it to allow you to do physical activities like stretching, arm strengthening like triceps dip and biceps curl and leg strengthening like lunges, calf raises, leg lifts and many more.
10. Park a few meters away from the building entrance.
If you brought your car to work or when you go to the grocery store, parking farther than usual allows you to walk a few meters.
If you want to do some plyometric drills or just the basic locomotor movements like hopping, skipping, galloping or leaping, then it might be a unique way to get to your car.
11. Exercise while taking care of the kids.
There are so many ways to have a fun-filled day while taking care of your children and one of them is to sneak in some exercise while you are playing with them or just cleaning up the toys.
These are things you can try:
- Dance with the kids.
- Play tag with them at the park.
- Squat when you pick your baby up from the floor and lift him/her overhead. This for sure he/she will enjoy and even ask for a second or third bout.
- Squat when picking up the scattered toys on the floor.
12. Work out while watching your favourite TV series.
If your favourite series (the one you certainly cannot miss!) is on and you will be sitting for another hour or two, in addition to the time you spent sitting in front of your computer, this again is not ideal.
Why not spread out the mat, bring out the stability ball, or just do some stationary exercises while still tuned in to your favourite show?
13. Turn house work into a workout.
Housework can be tedious, but there is an amusing way to convert those tiresome chores. Why not integrate your workouts into your household chores?
You may try and simulate the ab wheel roll out exercise when you are wiping the floor with a rug. This exercise strengthens the core, triceps and your lats muscles.
Also, you may try lateral walks while sweeping the floor. This is a great way to strengthen your leg and butt muscles and keeps your back injury-free from too much forward bending motion.
14. Convert your home equipment into exercise equipment.
When you are looking at household items that you can use as exercise tools, you’ll be surprised by the possibilities and you’ll never look at those things the same way again, promise.
Here are possible exercises you can do:
- With your usual chair, you can do push-ups, triceps dip, or split squats.
- On the wall, you can do wall squats, shoulder stabilization exercises with a ball or shoulder stretches.
- On the first-step of stairs, you may do fast feet step toe taps, or climb the stairs repetitively.
15. Select a physical activity that you find enjoyable doing and that suits your personality.
Surfing, dancing, martial arts, running, mountain climbing or soccer, etc. are some of the physical activities that you can do. It must be something that you look forward to doing every day and also makes you energized.
Habitually working out won’t be much of a problem anymore.
16. Enrol at a nearby gym and work with a fitness coach.
If you have access to a nearby gym, it becomes easier to fit a workout into your day. Also, having a fitness coach who can push you and motivate you to achieve your health and fitness goals is another advantage.
17. Join a group exercise program.
It feels a lot more inspiring and motivating to workout with people who have similar goals as you. The energy of the people when in a group exercise class really gets you psyched up.
18. Be creative.
In order to be fit and healthy, sports equipments, gym membership and special skills are not really necessary. There are tons of bodyweight exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home. You may want to turn some home furniture into exercise equipments, or fill old water bottles with sand to act as your weights.
Be creative and be resourceful. Everything that we need to be physically fit may just be lying around the corner.
Getting back into an active lifestyle may be challenging at first, but always remember your health and fitness goals and its many advantages, as these are the reasons you are exercising in the first place.
Also, keep in mind that we are designed to move and not sit around all day. Taking care of ourselves should be our top priority, and also eating the right energizing foods and having enough rest which are essential to our wellbeing and to keep us physically and mentally balanced.
If you want to strengthen your core and back, flatten your belly and achieve your dream abs while keeping yourself injury free, then check out the Invincible Core program.
References:
Training Effects of Accumulated Daily Stair-Climbing Exercise in Previously Sedentary Young Women
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743500906340
A Workplace Intervention to Promote Stair Climbing: Greater Effects in the Overweight
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2006.259/full
HIGH-INTENSITY CIRCUIT TRAINING USING BODY WEIGHT: Maximum Results With Minimal Investment
http://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2013/05000/HIGH_INTENSITY_CIRCUIT_TRAINING_USING_BODY_WEIGHT_.5.aspx?version=meter+at+null&module=meter-Links&pgtype=Blogs&contentId=&mediaId=%25%25ADID%25%25&referrer=&priority=true&action=click&contentCollection=meter-links-click
How much time do we spend on social media?
http://mediakix.com/2016/12/how-much-time-is-spent-on-social-media-lifetime/#gs.NP15VGM