Simple, easy ways to add exercise to your everyday life

 

Not everyone is lucky enough to have the time to spend hours in the gym every day (like certain lucky celebrities!) or the spare money to pay for a membership, so when I was doing a business admin 9-5 job around a year ago I used to spend my lunch time googling & researching simple, easy ways to add exercise into a busy lifestyle as I found it hard to fit in a gym session around work.

This post is going to be on my 6 favourite ways of adding in exercises into your day which are so simple & easy to do! You have no excuses!

 

1. This one is my all time favourite. Every time you go to the toilet during the day, do 10-20 squats before you leave the bathroom. This is sooo easy to do & only takes an extra minute to do. So if you go to the toilet maybe 5 times, that adds up to 100 squats! If you're like me & drink insane amounts of water throughout the day, you'll know the annoying feeling of needing to pee constantly so the squats will all add up! After a while doing this became as much of a habit as washing my hands!

2. Similar to the bathroom one, whenever I found myself stood waiting for the kettle to boil or even the microwave to ping, I'd do calf raises or hold a wall sit. I was once caught at work doing squat jumps while the kettle boiled, I got a very funny look & the guy backed out the kitchen but soon everyone got used to walking in on me doing weird things like that. Don't know whether that was a good or bad thing haha. I sometimes use the microwave timer to do 30 seconds knee highs/star jumps/tuck jumps etc then 30 seconds rest & repeat until the timer stops. Simple easy way to add in some exercise while you make your tea!

 

3. Now this is probably the easiest way ever to add more movement to your day. Forget the lift or escalator, always take the stairs. Instead of waiting to go in a cramped lift, run up the stairs. You'll boost your metabolism & probably reach your floor faster than the lift users anyway!

 

4. Another simple, yet effective one is to park a few streets away from your work. Or at least the far end of the car park. This gives you that extra 5 minutes walk before work to get some fresh air, clear your head & stretch your legs before you have to sit behind a desk all day. Doing this every day will add up to 10 minutes extra a day, totalling 50 minutes per week of extra exercise you wouldn't normally have got. Remember, even though they may seem small & simple; the little things all add up!

 

5. I always used to do this one tip at work & I recommend people do this regularly through out the day. I used to set an hourly alarm to go off which reminded me to take a quick break & walk around the building. This helped stretch my legs & get a well needed break from my computer screen. I found doing this helped my aching back from sitting all day & it gave me a little boost of motivation when I sat back down with my work. This can be applied to any ones day, make sure to take regular breaks from whatever you're doing to stretch your legs & clear your head. It can help de stress you & when you sit back down you can have a fresh view on your work.

 

6. Lastly, instead of sitting at your desk on your lunch break & wolfing down your food. Make a conscious effort to get out of the office, even if its just for 10 minutes. Take your lunch to the park down the road or go sit in a cafe instead; similar to the above idea; helping give you a break from the work atmosphere, de stressing you & giving you a chance to clear your head. You might even bump into some cool new people, or a potential partner! You never know sitting cramped up in the office all day!

I hope some of you find theses tips useful, as I can totally understand with peoples hectic lifestyles it can be difficult to fit in some exercise around your other priorities. Even though I have gone back to college, I still regularly do number 1 & 2 every day. I even caught my mum holding a wall sit the other day while she boiled the kettle!

Yes they all might seem very little, simple things. But remember they all add up!

Until next time

Love