Aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day, everyday, no excuses. You can do all 30 minutes all at once or split them up in 10 minute increments throughout the day. Some ideas:
Get off the bus or train a few stops early, park the car farther away to extend your walk, bike to a train stop
Wake up 15 minutes earlier and exercise as soon as you wake up, go to bed in your work-out outfit
Walk your dog as much as the dogwalker or get a dog
Work-out or walk during lunch hour, have sneakers in the car or at work to be prepared
Create new social habits and/or get exercise buddy, i.e. meet a friend for a walk vs happy hour
Do things you enjoy, i.e. take a dance class, golf, play tennis
Invest in a jogging stroller if you have a toddler
Do jumping jacks during commerical breaks
Skip the elevator, take the stairs
Buy a jump rope, try this routine:
Minute 1: Jump in place to warm up (no rope).
Minutes 2-4: Jump with a slight bounce between each rope jump.
Minutes 5-7: Alternate feet (as if you were running in place).
Minutes 7-9: Slalom jump (keeping feet together, jump a few inches to the right and then to the left as if jumping moguls).
Minutes 9-10: Jump in place to cool down (no rope).
Switch out your office chair for a Swiss exercise ball
Join a charity race, do good, be social, stay active
Pencil it into the calendar
Start a garden in the spring, plow your driveway in the winter
Motivate yourself with a great music playlist or an audiobook
If you're a numbers person wear a pedometer, aim for 10,000 steps/day
Explore the city by foot, we live in a great city for that!
Do you know someone that needs to get moving? Make it easy for them and forward them this list!
There are many preventative measures one can take for better health including, maintaining a healthy weight, eating your fruits and veggies, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, etc. This video highlights how studies suggest that EXERCISING 30 minutes a day gives you the greatest return on investment, making the biggest difference in your health for your efforts.
For a complete articulation of the role of exercise as preventative medicine watch:
Some highlights include:
“Exercise can reduce the rates of pain and disability for arthritis patients, reduce the progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s”
“...Reduce the progressions of diabetes by 58%"
"....Reduce the risk of hip fracture in post-menopausal women by 41%"
"....Reduce anxiety by 48%"
"....Reduce depression by at least 30%”
"Low fitness is the strongest predictor of death, above obesity, smoking-related disease and high blood pressure.”*
