The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all adults get at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity exercise every week. Moderate intensity is defined as any activity that gets your heart pumping and makes you break a sweat. Daily exercise can help improve your health and make you feel better, but it takes a constant commitment in order to keep it up over the long term.
Mark Your Calendar
Exercising most days makes it hard sometimes to come up with new and creative ways to work out. Create a weekly or daily calendar and fill it with your favorite exercise activities to give yourself a variety of workout options. Doing this prevents you from using the excuse that you don't have time to come up with a workout routine. Use your down time to research and write down different exercises you can do during your workout so you're prepared when it's time to hit the gym.
Use Daily Activities
Some days you just might not be able to get to the gym. But you can still get your exercise in by recognizing opportunities all around you to increase your heart rate and break a sweat. When you go to the grocery store, park at the far end of the parking lot and take a brisk walk toward the door. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator at the mall. Make time to do intense yard work such as pulling weeds, pushing a lawn mower or raking leaves. These activities may be part of your daily life, but that doesn't mean you can't count them as exercise. Look for opportunities all around you to get your heart pumping, and you won't have to drag yourself to the gym every single day.
Buy Inexpensive Exercise Equipment
After a long day at work or with the kids, it is sometimes tough to find the time to hop in the car, drive to the gym and perform a workout. You may even not want to pay the monthly fee to be a part of a gym. In either case, having some inexpensive workout equipment on hand can make it easier to do daily exercise at home. Invest in a few pieces of small equipment you can store in a closet or under the bed, such as a fitness ball, small weights, resistance bands and a medicine ball or two. Having this equipment on hand will make it more likely that you'll find the time to work out.
Member Comments