Everybody would love to become physically fit and stay in shape, but modern lifestyles make it tough to achieve that goal. Our lives have become so busy, filled with stress, and centered around our devices. By the end of most days, you probably feel like reclining in your favorite chair in front of the TV isn’t just something you deserve; it’s all you can do.
It’s great if you can commit to the recommended level of physical activity for adults. But when you take the time to work out for 30 minutes each day, it’s counter-productive to then spend the rest of the day in idle mode. What can you do to increase your overall activity level outside of the actual workout period?
DIY jobs
Assuming you get eight hours of sleep for ideal rest and recovery, you still have over fifteen hours left to be more active. This can take place as you work, run errands, or do other things that consume most of your time each day. It frees up your time; you won’t feel so guilty about missing a workout because your baseline activity is higher.
Some tasks that need to be done around the house, such as water heater installation, are best left to the professionals. But many of the simple ones are DIY projects awaiting your attention. If you’re in average physical condition and are reasonably sure-footed, there’s no reason you can’t clamber onto the roof and clean the gutters. You can check for loose tiles and replace them while you’re at it.
Go over your maintenance checklist, and think about the tasks you can execute without compromising the results. You’ll probably find a few opportunities to get stuff done, save some money, and be more physically active at the same time.
Chore exercises
That’s not a typo. You can take care of core exercises during your actual workout sessions. But chore exercises are an easy and accessible way to incorporate more physical activity into things you do daily. You’ll eventually run out of seasonal maintenance tasks to do unless your home is a creaking old relic. Chores never go away.
The secret to making this work is observing proper form. Are you carrying your laundry to the washing machine? Engage your core and keep a neutral spine, and lift the bag overhead. Move the furniture around when you’re vacuum cleaning, and squat down low to reach those concealed spots. Your whole body will grow a little stronger each day. And your house will be extra clean and orderly.
Add natural movement
If your typical day at the office involves little activity beyond sitting down, standing up, and taking short walks to and from your desk, you’re hardly alone. Millions of Americans today are working at sedentary jobs. This increases the risk of health problems while lowering life expectancy.
The issue can be partly offset by your efforts to add volume and intensity to your daily physical activity. But you can also benefit from adding range and variety. Most people do little more than stand, sit, walk, and maybe pick up and move a few light objects each day.
The practice of MovNat was built to counteract this effect of restricted movement in our lives. It allows us to rediscover the different ways to use our bodies. And in the age of remote work, when you spend a lot of time in the privacy of your home, you can move naturally as often as you like.
Crawl out of bed, sprint up the stairs, jump around in the yard, and hang from door frames; you can spend a few minutes each day in this way. And your body will get reacquainted with a variety of movements besides the ones you use all the time.
Make your life more strenuous
You can go beyond these practices and seek more ways to inject some activity into your daily routine. These can include taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking farther away from your office.
You can also try to substitute current leisure activities, such as playing video games or watching TV, with more physically engaging hobbies. Activities like woodworking or welding can be stimulating while enabling you to create useful objects.
By taking these steps, you’ll be sticking to your daily routines, but you’ll be adding a layer of physical activity to them. It makes your life strenuous in a good way. And that can be the perfect complement to your regular workout routine.
