The most loved excuse to avoid exercise, “Who has time to work out, I remain so busy.” It is time to think how to overcome excuses for healthy life full of energy and fun.
Working professionals, students, entrepreneurs, homemakers…you’re not alone in the race to fit in the exercise regime. It’s important to keep in mind that we have evolved from nomadic ancestors who spent all their life moving around in search of food and shelter, traveling large distances regularly. Our bodies are built in a way to move and walk around. On the contrary, we have developed new age sedentary lifestyles. Our body need everyday exercises.
Have you ever pondered what mental blocks refrained you from exercising? ‘I’ll-work-out-later’ approach stands the biggest hurdle to cross.
Why exercising is crucial for our health?
The daily workouts and movements help to burn calories, make your muscles strong and improves brain function to name a few
- Take the stairs
You must have heard this statement a trillion times!
Take the stairs to a healthier heart. It also helps with balance, and improves lower-extremity strength. You can go a stair further and even do some heel raises off the edge of a step for calf strength or even hop two stairs up…depending upon your prevailing heart conditions. Skip the elevator, your body and heart will thank you.
- Stand up often and walk around
If you’re tied to your desk or office for several hours and cannot break away to go for a short walk, do the next best thing. Just stand up! Again, find ways, however small, to move your body and avoid sitting for long periods of time. Standing up may not be “rigorous” exercise, but it’s still doing your body good and better than remaining sedentary. Even you can volunteer your boss’s coffee mug to his or her table and burn calories and earn praise.
- Stretches at your desk
It’s very likely that you’re still going to be sitting at your desk in front of a computer for several hours a day. It’s just unavoidable for most people. Aside from making sure that you’re sitting in a good chair or on an exercise ball, don’t forget that you can still “move” even when you’re seated.
- Set an alarm to go off every 45 to 55 minutes and perform the stretches as shown.
- Hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds.
- Avoid any exercises that cause pain or discomfort.
Some suggestions– Seated or standing, lace the fingers together and stretch them up towards the ceiling. Take a deep breath as you stretch up as high as you can, then exhale and open the arms, sweeping them back down. Repeat for 8 to 10 times.
- Park far away
If you drive to work, you can trick yourself into taking more steps by simply parking farther away from your building than usual. Doing these things in combination (parking far away, taking the stairs, walking around your building, stretching) will significantly increase your activity levels each day without disrupting your schedule or cutting into your work time.
A little dose of daily exercise is always better! Stick to it.