Surprising Ways To Work Exercise Into Your Day

Everyone needs to exercise to remain in shape and healthy, there is no denying it. Most doctors will recommend thirty minutes of moderate exercise five times a week as a minimum, though of course, those looking to build muscle, lose weight, or train for an event may need to increase their exercise time and intensity significantly.

Although it is essential to work out, one of the most popular excuses for individuals not exercising is simply saying they did not have time. However, everyone has time to fit exercise into their day, regardless of how busy they are. It often comes down to making an effort. With this in mind, here are some surprising ways to work exercise into your day.

Go The Farthest Distance

Everyone will need to take breaks throughout the day to go to the washroom, just as everyone will need to get into the building and many to the appropriate floor to start their workday. Many individuals simply choose the washroom closest to their desk or ride in the elevator each morning. But for those looking to add more exercise into their day, going the farthest distance is the easiest choice. Instead of going to the washroom closest to your desk, travel to the one the farthest away, especially if it happens to be on another floor in the building.

Rather than taking the elevator each morning and evening, walk up and down the stairs. Another way to increase the amount you walk without deviating too much from your routine is to park as far away from building entrances as possible and walk from there. When it comes down to going the farthest distance, evaluate your current activities and see how you can maximize the amount of walking you do throughout the day. Bonus points if you speed walk!

Sit On A Stability Ball

Sitting on a chair at a desk isn’t all that helpful when it comes to fitting in exercise and burning calories. But it can become a low-level workout if you simply switch your chair for a stability ball. Sitting on a stability ball takes more work than on a chair, firstly because there is no back and thus you must stay sitting straight. But also, sitting on a stability ball requires more balance, and your abdominal muscles will stay engaged to help maintain the balance necessary to remain on the ball and not fall to the floor. Though it might not be at the same intensity as a formal gym workout, even sitting on a stability ball provides quite a few benefits, particularly for those who are sitting at a desk all day.

Time To Pace

Phone calls are a part of life, particularly when careers come into play, and even more so for high-ranking individuals or those who deal with many clients. For the most part, however, people will sit down at their desk or on another seat while they talk on the phone. But why not make this time work for you? All you need to do is pace around the room while talking on the phone. Though this is best with a cordless phone or cell phone, even older corded phones have some leeway. Walk back and forth as much as you can while talking. This burns calories and strengthens your legs. You won’t want to speed walk since heavy breathing can compromise the phone call, but every little bit still helps.

Harness The Power Of Commercials

Of course, the optimum piece of advice when it comes to television and making time for working out is to replace the time spent watching television with a formal workout session at the gym or elsewhere. However, this is often unrealistic for many individuals to do. At least, it's often unrealistic to stop watching television entirely. The stories are often captivating, after all. With this in mind, however, every television show has commercials. Try fitting in brief bursts of exercise, such as crunches or cycling on a stationary bike, while the commercials are on. You can even still watch them while you exercise if you so desire! Just remember to pay attention to what you are doing so you do not inadvertently injure yourself.

Adjust Your Commute

The vast majority of individuals drive their cars or take public transit to work. While this might be necessary for some, for lengthy commutes, in many instances concessions can be made. Consider if you live within a reasonable walking distance, such as half an hour’s walk, to work. Why not resolve to walk more often than you drive or take the bus? Alternatively, if it is just a little bit too far, biking to and from work is always an option.

If you do need to use public transit, try getting off a stop or two before you need to and walk the rest of the way. All of these little concessions will add up in the long run. In fact, assuming the walk to work will take you roughly thirty minutes, and you walk to work every day, you’ve already hit the recommended minimum for exercise. If you walk home from work as well, it adds up to one hour of exercise each day, for five days each week!

Only Fill It Halfway

Everyone needs to stay hydrated to avoid splitting headaches, a rapid heartbeat, dry skin, sleepiness, and the other consequences that come with dehydration. The average recommendation is eight glasses of water a day, but individuals may even need more if it’s particularly hot out or they have been exercising. Regardless, staying hydrated still opens up another opportunity to add exercise to a long work day, even for those working desk jobs. Keep a water bottle on your desk, but only ever fill it up halfway. This forces you to get up from your desk and walk to refill the water bottle more often. Increase the exercise even more and heed the previous tip of going the distance and walk to the water source, such as a cooler, fountain, or kitchen that is the farthest from your desk.