WANT EVEN MORE HEALTHY IDEAS FROM SHAPE YOUR FUTURE?
Life is busy.
Between work, family, errands and everything else that keeps your day moving, finding time to exercise can feel like one more thing on an already long list.
Here’s the thing with exercise, though: Incorporating more activity into your daily routine goes a long way.
With just 30 minutes of movement each day, you can:
- Lower your weight and blood pressure
- Lift your mood
- Feel sharper
- Reduce the risk of chronic diseases
- Sleep better
And the more you move, the more benefits you see.
Here are some practical tips and quick workouts for when you’re busy. Together, let’s figure out how to move a little more.
Why Daily Activity Is Important
For Your Health
You aren’t meant to sit still all day. Your body is designed to move and play, and the more you do that, the healthier you get.
Just a little movement every day can help you feel sharper, rest better, maintain a healthy weight and lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of disease.
Finding Time for Exercise
With so many competing demands, it’s easy to say, “I’ll start tomorrow.” Sure, the days often feel packed, and it’s hard to find a few minutes here and there, but the first step toward creating a plan is acknowledging that you need to make time to move.
Tips for Fitting Exercise Into a Busy Schedule
Make It a Priority
The next step in moving more is making it non-negotiable. Make it a regular part of the day, like a meal. Add it to your calendar, set reminders or tie it to your habits.
Here are some ways to add a little more movement to each day:
- Put reminders in your calendar. If you always keep your phone with you, let it do some good.
- Find a daily event to schedule it around. Whether you’re getting the kids ready for school or watching your morning show, add a few extra steps around the house. You could also take a quick walk around the block.
- Keep track of how long you’ve been sitting or inactive. Give yourself a certain number of minutes every hour or so to get up, move around or try an exercise or two.
- If you can’t find room during your regular day, make time just after waking up or before bed.
The Little Things Help
Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Bike when you can and park a little farther away when you can’t. Anything that gets you moving and gets your body working helps.
Break up your workday or TV watching with a quick set or two of push-ups, air squats or walking in place to get you up and moving.
Walking 10,000 steps a day gets you moving. Dancing to three or four songs you like gets you moving. Pickleball or frisbee gets you moving. All these little movements add up to a big difference in your energy, your mood and your health.
You don’t even need to leave the house! Check out these at-home workout options for your living room.
Ways to Exercise When You’re Busy
Another way to fit exercise into a busy schedule is to crank up the intensity. Perhaps you see the benefits of raising your heart rate, but you can’t seem to fit in 30 minutes in one sitting.
You can still get those benefits with a few shorter, more intense workouts. Workouts like HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) can get your heart rate up in short bursts while giving you quick recovery breaks — making it perfect for busy people.
Quick and Effective Workouts for Busy Individuals
Bodyweight Exercises
You don’t need a gym membership, equipment or even much space for squats, lunges, push-ups and planks. They’re perfect for quick strength training and raising your heart rate a little.
Yoga and Pilates
Boost your strength and flexibility with a quick session of living room or office yoga and Pilates.
Again, a few 10-minute sessions can fit somewhat easily into a busy lifestyle or a cramped day.
Cardiovascular Activities
Find something fun to get you moving: walking, dancing, riding a bike, cycling or even jogging in place. Even going to the pool with friends and playing games like “Marco Polo” counts.
If you feel like challenging yourself, there’s also a whole host of movements that combine bodyweight exercise with cardio work — like jumping jacks, high knees and burpees — that help your strength while boosting your heart rate.
Strategies for Staying Active Throughout the Day
Active Breaks
Break It Up
If you can’t get 30 minutes in one sitting, break it up into short bursts: a few minutes of exercise here, a few minutes of exercise there. Think of it as “exercise snacking”— a little treat designed to keep your energy and good health up while still getting you away from your chair and moving. It’s the perfect way to break up a long workday.
Multitask
Find ways to work movement into the other parts of your life. Meet a friend for a walk. Call up some friends for a quick dance party or 10-minute silent disco. Get your steps in while you’re on the phone or listening to a podcast. Take an extra lap at the grocery store. It’s a way to exercise anywhere without having to make time to find a gym, and if you’re busy, that can make all the difference.
Overcoming Common Barriers to Exercise
Lack of Time
Make your workouts shorter and more intense. Something you can complete in 10-30 minutes makes a much smaller hole in your schedule and allows you to get benefits without having to bend your daily routines too much.
Lack of Motivation
Set realistic goals for daily movement and track your progress. Start small and level up depending on how you feel. Use a fitness app, a phone tracker or a watch tracker, and check your step count to see how you’re doing.
Physical Limitations
Listen to your body. If something consistently hurts when you run or jump, bike, swim or walk, dial it back. An intense period of exercise does you no good if you’re on the sidelines for weeks or months after because you overtrained or didn’t respect an injury.
Utilizing Technology to Support Your Fitness Journey
Fitness Apps and Online Resources
There are more ways to learn about exercises and exercise techniques than ever before. You can get fitness apps for your phone or tablet, watch videos to help you master techniques and join online forums to share tips, tricks and advice.
Virtual Classes and Communities
Find your people: whether it’s a virtual class or an online community to keep you excited and accountable, there’s a huge support network for anyone who wants to make exercise a bigger part of their daily life.
With an active, excited community behind you, it’s easier than ever to feel the support you need to keep moving.
Just Keep Moving
Finding ways to fit exercise into your life can be difficult, but it’s worth it. With some of these tips for fitting exercise into your daily schedule, you can put your health and well-being on a good track and make daily exercise part of your routine. Let’s get moving, Oklahoma!