March 29, 2024
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Fitness Wellness

How to More Easily Integrate Physical Activity Into Your Daily Routine

man doing a forward lunge stretch

Sitting is the new smoking – or so we’ve all been told. Being sedentary is one of the most unhealthy lifestyle choices we all make or are forced to make because of our jobs.

And not only does sitting for prolonged periods of time damage our neck, back, and legs. It contributes to several chronic health conditions and a lower quality of life.

It follows, therefore, that it’s in our best interests to move more and sit less – but how exactly can we integrate physical activity into our daily routine?

Assess your baseline

One reason most of us spend so much time sedentary is that we don’t have a great concept of how much time we spend in this state.

Using fitness trackers, such as WHOOP, can help you assess how often you’re exposing your body to strain. While strain may sound like a negative, when it comes to your bodily health, a little strain goes a long way to improving your overall health! You want your heart to pump harder and your muscles to activate a few times per day.

Once you get a sense of your baseline, it’s easier to invest in actions that bring you above that baseline. Plus, it helps you track your progress, which can be quite helpful if you’re making fitness a long-term part of your life.

Walk to Work

Of course, this one isn’t practical for everybody. Some of us have to commute many miles to our offices, and even a short car journey could take over an hour on foot.

That being said, for many of us, walking to work is certainly something that’s within our capabilities. Simply using our legs to carry us into the office rather than relying on our cars or public transport is an incredibly effective way to keep our bodies moving.

And, if walking to work isn’t possible for you, try just walking a little more. Park further away from the doors than you usually do, and go for a stroll in your lunch break – anything other than sitting down.

I like to get up and walk around whilst talking on the phone rather than staying seated. Small changes like that, coupled with regular breaks and movement, add up, working to lessen the harmful effects of being seated and contributing to good health.

Move Every Half an Hour

Moving isn’t always easy for those who work in an office, forced to sit and work at their laptops day in, day-out. Unless we have the liberty of a standing desk or working from portable devices, there aren’t many other ways around the sedentary situation.

Instead of replacing the problem, we can get around it simply by making a conscious effort to take breaks from our desks and get up and move around.

Every half an hour or so, get up, do a couple of stretches, take a few steps around (maybe to the water cooler or toilet) and then return to your seat. Granted, you’ll still be sedentary for most of the working day, but simply taking regular breaks from your chair will work wonders for your spine, keep your body moving, and encourage fat-burning.

Exercise

Whilst our daily lives might be sedentary, nothing stops us from getting outside and hitting the pavement in our spare time. Exercises like running, rowing, and anything cardio-based work to keep our hearts and bodies healthy, counteracting the effects of being seated for long periods of time.

Most of us have a fixed view of exercise: we hate it. Even for those who don’t loathe it with a raging passion, it’s still rarely something we look forward to.

Part of the reason isn’t due to exercise as a whole, but our choice of exercises to incorporate into our routine. Running isn’t for all of us. In fact, some studies even suggest that running is one of the worst ways to get fit, so instead of forcing yourself to go out and sprint every night, pick an exercise plan that works for you.

Walking, yoga and swimming are all fun cardiovascular exercises built to shed body fat and improve your overall health.

Exercise might not be for everybody, but there’s definitely an exercise out there that everybody can do. Find that, and stick to it.

Blake Reichenbach
Self-help blogger and freelance writer. Personal development writer and founder and editor of Mind Cafe (https://medium.com/mind-cafe), a Medium publication.