Are You Moving Enough?

Last week I wrote a post titled Things Fit People Do Differently, and number one on the list was that ‘they find reasons to move, instead of excuses not to’. The more I thought about it, there more I realised how important this tip was, but also how vague – particularly for people who aren’t used to looking for reasons or ways to move. So I’ve decided to expand on it, with some more simple exercise tips that will help you to add more movement to your life. 

Let’s start with a little statistic… according to research released by CARE Australia in 2015, only 7% of Australians are walking the minimum daily steps required for general health and wellbeing. Scary, right? But with so many of us working desk jobs and catching public transport to and from work, when you think about it, it’s not surprising that most of us aren’t getting the recommended 10,000 steps per day.

So the aim of this blog post is to give you some exercise tips and help you with ideas around finding more ways to move your body. I want you to start thinking about when, where and how you can move more each week. Implement these tips – plus any other ideas you come up with – for the next month and see how much better you feel.

Park Further Away from Your Car
We’re conditioned to find a parking spot as close to our final destination as possible. By simply parking your car further away from the grocery store, train station, work, soccer fields (or anywhere else you’re driving) you’ll find you’re easily adding at least a few hundred extra steps to your life each week.

Move at Lunchtime
If you’re lucky enough to get an hour for lunch, use it! If you’re not doing a workout, get outdoors and walk for at least 30 minutes. It doesn’t have to be a power walk; just slip on some comfortable shoes and get out in the fresh air. If getting away from your desk for that long isn’t an option, commit to taking at least 10 minutes – even if it’s just to walk to a cafe to grab a sandwich.

Get Off the Bus or Train Earlier
This one is on every list of exercise tips ever written for a reason. Build an extra 15 minutes into your morning routine and use that time to get moving! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that walking for 15 minutes is better for you than sitting on your butt, and the fresh air before you walk in the doors at work is a great head clearer. Personally, I strap on my super dorky backpack and walk the distance to and from work each day and I love it!

 

Set Yourself Challenges to do While You’re Watching TV

It doesn’t have to be anything groundbreaking, try something simple, like:
By the end of the episode – 100 squats and 50 tricep dips
1-minute plank every ad break
10 burpees every time Matt Preston looks like he wants to make sweet sweet love to the food he’s tasting
This 4-minute ad-break workout

Take the Stairs

Call me crazy, but I see stairs as bonus exercise! Take them over the escalators, EVERY TIME. Same goes for elevators to low floor numbers, travelators and basically any piece of machinery that does the walking for you.

Plan Social Events Around Exercise

We all agree that time is precious, right? I see this one as a particularly ingenious way of multi-tasking. Instead of catching up for a mid-week drink, catch up for a mid-week walk or gym sesh instead. It’s a simple way to move more and ingest less calories! (and hey – if you grab that drink afterwards, won’t you feel better about it?)

Start a 28-Day Fitness Challenge

I might be biased, but I think these are a great idea, as they tend to not take to much time out of your day. I’ve put together an Abs Challenge, a Lower Body Challenge and an Upper Body Challenge, and I know there are lots of others out there as well. Do these first thing in the morning to start your day off right, or on the floor of an evening while you’re watching TV.

Get Moving While You’re on the Phone

This is one of my favourite exercise tips and it’s so simple… next time you take a phone call, get up and get moving! Walk laps of the office, pace back and forth across your living room, throw a few squats in there… whatever floats your boat. They’re called mobile phones for a reason guys.

So there you have it, eight super simple ways to get moving that will hopefully also get you thinking about EVEN MORE ways to move. Have you got any tips on how you find ways to add incidental exercise to your life? Please share in the comments below!