Exercise is vital to sustaining stamina across the years of life, preparing it better for healthy ageing. It reduces weight gain, boosts energy levels, and helps optimize the secretion of hormones and functioning of the circulatory system. Unfortunately, over the course of our busy lives, exercise often gets pushed to the last priority for want of time or other distractions. Here are some ideas that can help us add exercising to our daily routine without having to grudgingly drag ourselves to the gym:
1. Walking is perhaps the simplest option, to begin with. It improves cardiovascular health, strengthens muscles, reduces body fat and improves body endurance. We don’t need a reason to walk. We can make this a part of our lives at home and in the office. A few behavioural changes, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking while on phone calls, walking to lunch, meetings, or to buy groceries, can incorporate a fair amount of exercise into the daily routine.
2. When it comes to exercise, consistency has more impact than intensity. Even a 30-minute exercise routine 6 days a week can be more effective than a week of working out 2 hours a day and then being irregular, the weeks after. On the contrary, too much exercise without breaks might lead to injuries and pain. Hence it is worth experimenting briefly with various forms of exercise to decide on something we enjoy doing. While some people prefer the calm intensity of yoga, others like the challenge of long-distance running or lifting weights. The idea is to do something that feels less like exercise and more like fun so that we stay consistent over time.
3. Boredom and laziness are human tendencies – there’s no point beating ourselves about it. Having a workout partner doesn’t just help us overcome our boredom – it also keeps us motivated to improve and give it our best. Options vary from starting out together, joining someone who can guide/coach us or sticking to a group, as in the case of cyclists or runners. Exercise can be a joyous experience when shared with people with similar goals and interests.
4. A fitness tracker gives the user a metric of progress for a day’s physical activity. The tracker records information like the number of steps, distance, heartbeat etc that keeps us engaged and motivated to improve our performance. We can also go a step further and use it to control diet, monitor sleep and heart rate or exchange information between like-minded members in the app community.
5. Finishing the workout early in the morning helps avoid cancellations due to other distractions. Very often, plans change during the day due to our professional and social commitments. Setting aside time for exercising in the morning can force us into a discipline that can be extremely beneficial long-term. While this may be less appealing to the night-owls, mornings offer some great advantages like fresh clean air, better mood and focus, more energy, and a lower temperature.
At the end of the day, exercise is a personal choice and needs to be done in combination with a healthy diet and good lifestyle choices to make a difference. Choose Elements Wellness Fit and Slim Therapy to aid you on your fitness journey!
