Finding time to exercise properly is difficult when you have multiple jobs, kids, and responsibilities that keep you chained to your routines. Exercise is easy to incorporate into your everyday life, whether you’re a working mom, a student, or both. You need to understand the possibilities of exercise while you work or study and take the chance to do both.
Why should you exercise?
Exercise will help you to feel your best and keep you living a long, happy, and active life. People who exercise live longer and have fewer health issues as they age. Your routine doesn’t need to be extreme or long to be successful. Finding a way to work it into your everyday life will make you feel more healthy and proactive.
Starting small with your activities can help you build your way up to the levels you want to reach. It all starts with a goal to be healthy and active. Being busy can keep you motivated to move.
How can you exercise at work or at school?
Sitting at a desk all day can make you tired and reduce your movement to almost nothing. There are plenty of ways to exercise, whether you work at a desk or as a cashier every day.
Taking a walking break
Whether you have half an hour or a full hour for lunch, you can take that lunch break or personal break to walk. It can be as little as circling the parking lot at a brisk stride or exploring the city around your place of work or school. Be mindful of your time, and don't stray too far unless you can get back before you need to clock back in or be in your seat for class.
Exercise Ball
Sitting on an exercise ball at your desk is an easy way to keep moving and get your core engaged. An exercise ball requires you to adjust your balance to keep yourself from falling constantly. The adjustments encourage you to use your core and your leg muscles to keep yourself from sliding off the ball and keep you fully engaged in what you are doing.
Standing walk/run
While a bit harder to do in a crowded office, you can make a habit of standing up at your desk and doing leg lifts that mime walking/running. They can be slow at first and then increase in speed as you become more confident in your balance. Even slow leg lifts will work your thigh muscles and get your blood flowing.
Calf raises
While you are sitting at your desk, you can lift the heel of your foot off the ground, rest your foot on the ball, and alternate between feet. The exercise sends blood to your calf muscles and helps to strengthen them and build them up as you work.
How can you exercise at home?
Same as exercising at work, exercising at home is easy to work into your day when you identify how it works best for you.
Don't use a chair or couch for television
When you come home from work or school, you’re tired. All you want to do is relax on the couch and watch the latest episode of your preferred television program. But this is an opportunity to move. You can do the walking exercises mentioned earlier, practice yoga, or walk around your living room while doing some light cleaning.
Go walking or jogging early or late
Getting up early seems impossible, but if you can go to bed on time, you can work in a morning walk or jog before the rest of your family gets going. While it might not always be possible to go after work, you can try to fit it in later into the evening.
Take up an after-work/after school family activity
Motivation to exercise increases when you can share it. You and your family can find a shared passion in a single activity such as mother-daughter dance classes or Tae Kwon Do lessons. You will be able to get the whole family moving and spend time with your kids. It is a good way to build relationships, along with building muscle and losing weight.
How to Track Your Progress
Sometimes it's hard to tell if any of your efforts are paying off. Progress is not immediate. It will take a few weeks for you to see a difference in your energy levels, stamina, muscle tone, and weight. There are many different apps you can use to track your daily progress and encourage you to keep moving.
Before you start your new exercise routine, you should go to your doctor to make sure your new exercise routine is safe for you to do. They can check your heart rate and blood pressure with tools like a stethoscope and blood pressure monitor to make sure your body is ready to start moving.
Final Thoughts
Becoming active is a good goal to have, regardless of your age. Your body will appreciate the extra movement and you’ll have numerous health benefits from your efforts. These benefits include losing weight, reducing high blood pressure, and even increasing your sex drive.
