By Hartford HealthCare Senior Services Staff
Are you lacking in motivation and/or time for exercise?
Here are some tips to add more physical activity to your day:
- Take the stairs. If you have a choice between the elevator or escalator and the stairs, take the stairs. It’s a great way to add activity to your day without taking a lot of time.
- Quick workout. Do you have 6-10 minutes to devote to exercise? Many workouts are built to fit your schedule. Do them in the morning, during your lunch break, or in the evening. Interval training workouts can also be short and effective.
- Find a fitness buddy/fitness app. Sometimes accountability is missing from our exercise routine. Find a fitness buddy so you can keep each other motivated and accountable. You can also find a buddy through health and fitness apps. Log your exercise and your progress, join challenges and stay focused.
- Schedule exercise. It can help if you exercise at the same time so it becomes routine.
- Exercise in the morning. This is when you are most likely rested, depending on your work schedule. You tend to have fewer reasons to skip your workout and it can help you feel fresh and energized for the day ahead.
- Do physical activities you enjoy. Do you love dancing? Dancing can be a great way to be active. Do you like nature? How about a hike?
- Figure out what you enjoy doing and find a way to make it more physically challenging. We can all come up with plenty of reasons we shouldn’t or “can’t” exercise, but we are cheating ourselves out of a healthier lifestyle.