Easy ways to add exercise into your day
Take your pets for a spin around the neighborhood each day.
No time to exercise? Most of us can relate to that. I think it’s best to say we need to make the time to prioritize exercise into our schedules. This may mean waking up a little bit earlier, using part of a lunch break, or heading to a local gym or even a park after work to fit it in.
While exercise may never be convenient, chances are you will thank yourself for exercising, as the mental and emotional benefits of regular exercise are just as great as the physical.
“Remind yourself that every little bit counts.”
Include your family, friends, or even pets, as exercise can be as simple as a daily walk around the neighborhood. Optimally exercise should become a routine, similar to going to work on a regular basis. You may not always feel like exercising; however, after a while you’ll start to see and feel the positive changes it can make in your day-to-day life.
Additionally, think of ways you can incorporate physical activity each day to supplement structured exercise. You’ve heard the suggestions about parking farther away, taking the steps instead of the elevator, gardening, and doing housework to add more physical activity.
You may also try wearing a pedometer to help you increase your daily steps (i.e. aim for a specific number of steps and try to meet it daily), make it a point to mow the lawn more frequently, or even just get up and do some jumping jacks during the commercials of your favorite television show.
Be creative! Any movement you do is better than no movement.
Ryan Huxta is an exercise physiologist at Bariatrics Physician Associates, a partner in the Healthy Weight Management Center at Lancaster General Health.
