BY MONIQUE BARTLETT
Most of us have very busy schedules and find it very difficult to fit in time for exercise. To increase the amount of time you exercise, you need to do it gradually. If you change everything all at once you will become overwhelmed and not do anything at all. If you make up your mind to do it, you just can.
Take a look at your lifestyle and decide what type of exercise you can fit into it. You have to understand that even more important than the exercise itself, is sticking to it. So unless you choose something that suits your lifestyle, you are not going to stick on to it.
If you’re an early morning person, perhaps you can fit in a 20 minute walk or run before you head off to work. If you’re an evening person, maybe there is a gym close by that you can go to for 30 minutes before you head home. You can even do simple things such as walking around instead of standing in one spot during the day. If you can stand, then do that instead of sitting. It will help you burn more calories.
The easiest thing in the world is to become a couch potato. Not only do you sit on the couch watching countless hours of TV, you’re usually snacking mindlessly at the same time. Instead of your comfortable couch or chair, perhaps get something a little less comfortable that you won’t want to sit in as long.
If you have a job where you sit all day, take the time to stand up and stretch or go for a quick walk around the office every half hour or so. Today’s world is much more sedentary due to all the technology and social media that has taken over our lives. The same is true for talking on the phone. Instead of sitting down while you’re talking on the phone, get up and walk around. You won’t even realize how much of a difference doing this one thing can make.
If there is the opportunity, use the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you can. Elevators are very convenient but elevators also make us very lazy. Even if you just choose to walk down the stairs instead of climbing up them, it’s better than not doing it at all. If you think about it, it will probably take about the same amount of time to get down when you consider that you first have to wait for the elevator and then have to stop at every other floor besides your own before you get to the ground floor.
Small changes can make a big difference. What small change can you make in your life in order to see results?
