The American College of Sports Medicine recommends getting at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous cardio three days a week. You should also strength-train your major muscle groups at least twice a week. Exercising for the first time, or just figuring out where to put the workouts in your daily schedule, can be daunting. But if you keep things simple, you can turn exercise from a must-do chore into a healthy everyday habit.
Walk
Exercise doesn't have to be complicated. Walking is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise because almost everybody can do it, you don't need a gym membership, and you don't need any special equipment beyond sturdy shoes and appropriate clothing. Start with a five- to 10-minute walk every morning and slowly increase the duration, or add more 10-minute sessions into your day, until you meet the ACSM's 30-minute recommendation.
Commute Wisely
Commute to work by biking, walking or even inline skating, if at all possible. If you live too far away to commute by human power alone or feel unsafe on the trails or city streets, drive or take mass transit to within walking/biking/inline skating distance. Then go the rest of the way under your own power. At the end of the workday, you'll have another built-in exercise session to get you back to the car or bus/train stop.
Garden
According to Harvard Health Publications, gardening can burn 400 calories an hour if you weigh 185 lbs. Even if you don't have a garden of your own, you can make an elderly neighbor happy by offering to weed for her, or pick up a little extra money hiring yourself out for grunt work like spreading soil. Yard work, such as raking leaves or chopping and piling wood, burns a significant number of calories too, especially if you keep the pace as brisk as possible. Those chores have to be done anyway, so you might as well get some benefit for your effort.
Visit on the Trail
Quality time with friends and family is an important part of any well-balanced life. Instead of inviting your loved ones to catch up over drinks and dinner, take a walk or hike together instead. It doesn't have to be anything complicated; you can do laps around a park or through mall corridors as you visit.
Warm Up
Spending an extra five or 10 minutes to warm up before every workout might seem like a waste of time. Do it anyway; the extra time gives your body a chance to prepare for the exercise to come. The workout won't feel as difficult, you'll perform better and you'll reduce your risk of injury too.
