As we immerse ourselves in work, family life and extracurricular activities, it’s so hard to fit in physical activity and movement in our everyday lives. There are so many excuses for us to give as to why we aren’t doing physical activity:
- We need to look after the kids
- The gym is too far away
- I’ve got too much work to do
- It’s just easier to jump in the car to get from A to B.
As the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines recommends 150-300mins of physical activity per week, there is that part of us that feels guilty when we don’t get that much physical activity in per week.
So, what can you do to combat this and rack up those minutes?
If you play a sport or go to the gym pretty regularly, then that’s great! But not everyone can or wants to play a sport or go to the gym.
If that’s you, sometimes it’s better to think of physical activity as being ‘movement’ rather than a specific sport or a workout that you might usually associate with going to the gym to complete. There are so many ways to ‘move’ throughout the day that aren’t getting yourself to the gym or out for a jog.
You might also be familiar with the term ‘incidental physical activity’, which works on the basis of getting physical activity through tasks or activities that you might do in your everyday life. If you can accumulate incidental activity throughout the day, you can easily get the recommended 150-300mins of physical activity, just by adding a few small activities that over time, you won’t even notice!
Here at Precision Physio we’re all about promoting physical activity in a way that you can fit in to your daily life. We’ve put together some ideas of how to fit physical activity into your everyday life.
- Park your car further away:
We have a tendency to drive our car everywhere – to the shops, to work or to the park to walk the dog. While driving the car seems to be inevitable at times, one way to get in some exercise is to park your car a bit further away from your destination and walking that extra distance. If you’re one to take public transport, get off at the stop before your destination and walk the extra distance. Don’t forget to pack your umbrella as we head into the winter months!
- Do a quick work out during your lunch period:
Many of us have fairly sedentary work days, sitting at a desk or computer. One way to mix things up is to do a quick workout during your lunch period – whether that be a power walk to go and get your lunch (or while eating your lunch!), a core work out or a quick sweat at a nearby gym or swim at a nearby by pool, you’ll find it invigorating to spend some time out of your chair.
- Turn a social event into an active outing:
Join a dance class with your friends or loved ones, go rock climbing for an hour after work or go trampolining with the kids! This can be a really fun way to get some physical activity in as well as hanging out with your friends or loved ones!
- Go to the local park:
Turn a walk to the park into a way to catch up with a friend or family member or think things over if you need some time to yourself. If you have children, take your kids to the local playground and be involved with their favourite game on the play equipment. If you have a dog, take them for a walk to the local park (or dog beach if you are lucky enough to be close to one!).
- Move during an ad break at tv time:
At night time, it’s so easy for us to just plop ourselves in front of the TV to watch our favourite show, a documentary or the news. Why not mix it up by doing a core exercise, some squats or burpees, some star jumps or a quick walk up and down the house in between the ads?
- House work/gardening:
Remember that mowing the lawn, spending time doing some gardening, or even cleaning the house is a form of physical activity as well. Use the opportunity of doing household chores as a form of movement/incidental exercise!
We hope that we have inspired you to use some of these strategies to get more physical activity in your own life. If you have any questions or have any other ideas of how to get active, we’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below. Equally, if it’s injury or a lack of physical confidence that is holding you back, contact our team and arrange a time to come see us, so we can get you sorted and ready to live your best life.
