Easy ways to inject some physical activity into your day
Staying at home trying to balance work, kids and general life can make it seem like there’s no time for exercise. Well, we’re about to make it a whole lot easier for you with these quick and easy suggestions will help you make the most of your time (with no equipment required).
Walk, walk and walk some more
Spending a lot of time on work calls? Turn that sitting time into walking time around the house. You automatically increase your physical activity for the day without even breaking a sweat. Download a digital fitness tracker to monitor your daily steps; you’ll be surprised how far you walk every day. Carrying a baby or toddler while you pace is an easy way to increase the difficulty and the benefit of walking time.
Daily chores for double the exercise
We’re pretty sure that household chores aren’t high on your list of fun. But they’re something you have to do, so you may as well get a daily workout in too. Space out every task by doing a few squats, jumping jacks, situps, birddogs or your own favourite exercise.
Here are a couple of ideas to get you going. For every few groceries you put away, break it up by doing two squats. Vacuuming? Each room needs 10 jumping jacks before you move to the next. Folding laundry? Sit or stand next to a full basket of laundry and twist to grab an item from the basket. Then twist to the other side to lay the item on a pile. You get the idea!
Workout while sitting around
Sitting on the sofa watching TV after a busy day? Be sure to get up and do something during every ad break – 10 burpees, 15 crunches or 20-star jumps. Or if you’re playing video games, make a rule that you can only play while standing up, then do 10 pushups every time your character dies. If you don’t want to keep jumping up and down, you can do planking each time instead. Doing exercise in short bursts like this keeps your heart rate up and has a great effect on your body and mind.
Remember, building up your fitness level is something to be done slowly. Stretch a little each day and explore what exercises work best for you. Start off with one or two activities per day and before you know it, you’ll have a full week’s workout routine.
This Healthy Living article was developed by PepsiCo in partnership with the Saudi SFA
