Right, I’m going to start by saying I am not a PT so if you need any gym-specific advice make sure you get in contact with a PT and obviously check with your doctor that you’re ok to be exercising…
Ok, so that’s that bit over with…
I decided to write this post as I regularly get asked how you can add a bit more exercise into your daily routine. These a just a few suggestions that have either worked for me or for people I know…
- Walk more. I’m pretty lucky as I live about 5 minutes walk away from the town centre. That means that if I need a bit of shopping or to pop to the bank, I’ll always choose to walk rather than drive. Adding the walk there and back to the walk round town can total up to a fair few steps over the week. You could walk to work every other day, or head out to one of the local country parks or the woods if you want to get away from traffic noise. You can track your steps with a fitness tracker or on your iPhone.
- Catch up on your shows whilst exercising. If I’m running on the treadmill, I’ll usually put my iPad on. This has two functions; firstly it enables me to catch up on whatever box set I’m currently watching and secondly, it covers up the treadmill display so I don’t get bogged down with how many miles/minutes I’ve done. You could also do something like sit ups, squats or press ups during every commercial break. If you watch a couple of hours of TV a night that’s probably about 6-8 3 minute sets you could get through.
- Exercise whilst socialising. Instead of going to a coffee shop to meet your friends, make a drink in one of those travel mugs and meet up with a friend for a walk instead. Rather than going out for lunch, ride your bike to the park and then have a picnic. You could sign up to do Parkrun with you friends on a Saturday morning (and it’s free!). You could even join a local team as that way you’ll get to exercise, meet new people and take part in any socials the club runs.
- Find an exercise that’s fun so you don’t feel like you’re exercising. Go dancing, go on a hike, go on a bike ride, play football in the park…
- Start doing yoga. Whilst its better to go to a class as the teacher can help you with the correct alignment and you’ll gain the social benefits, you can find some great yoga classes and tutorials on YouTube. So if you’re unsure about whether you’ll enjoy yoga, you can try it out at home.
If you want to try yoga, come along to the 11am Sunday class at Lifting Room CrossFit in Weedon, Northants.
