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Girl about Town: Every Little Bit Counts

 

clock and weights


We know we need to make the time to get regular exercise – but we’ve all got crazy-busy lives, right? It’s easy to see how your own health can fall lower and lower on the priority list as your other “to-do’s” keep stacking up. However, nothing helps you feel as good, as energized, and as ready for your day as good ‘ol physical activity. So why do so many of us resist doing it? We feel like we just don’t have the time.

 


60 Minutes or Bust?
I used to look at my day and, if I didn’t have time to devote to a 60-minute workout, I would just accept the fact that I wasn’t going to get to exercise that day. This way of thinking could (and did!) quickly lead to many days where I didn’t exercise at all! As a result, I ended up feeling lousy. Enter short bouts: Once I stopped looking at my exercise as “all or nothing” and started to see the opportunities throughout my day where I could do something, a whole world of possibilities opened up to me.

Track Bouts
Get the most out of doing short bouts by tracking them. Record keeping is really important because it helps you see how all those little activities you’re doing throughout the day really do add up. Record keeping doesn’t have to be labor-intensive (I keep very simple records, using the HMR Weekly Progress Chart).

Short Bout Easy Wins
Here are some ways I incorporate short bouts of physical activity into my day:

 

  • Walk to work. (If this isn’t an option, walk 5 minutes out and 5 minutes back before you get in your car to head off to work – same on the way home.)
  • Take the stairs whenever you can.
  • Walk for 10 minutes before sitting down to eat lunch (or dinner).
  • See if a meeting with a co-worker can be taken outside to walk and talk.
  • Take a break from staring at your computer with a quick walk around the office for 10 minutes.
  • Workout DVDs. When pressed for time, you don’t have to do the whole workout – put it on and do part of it for 10 minutes.
  • While watching TV, use the commercial time to do squats, lunges and/or crunches.
  • Wear your workout clothes when housecleaning. Sounds silly, but it can be exercise! (Some good music helps too!)


Here’s my question: What other short exercise bouts could you do when your time is at a premium?
 

 
 
 

by JessieDavenport on 04/08/2013 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, motivation, exercise, strategies

About the Author

JessieDavenport

Jessie has worked at HMR since 1999, helping to develop video content for trainings and the web, and program materials for HMR Programs nationwide. She is a modern-day Girl About Town, on a mission to spread the word about good health as a vital part of good living.

Comments (9) Post a comment
I get multiple bouts by getting off the train a few stops early before or after work--its amazing how ten minutes here and there adds up!
by sailGirl on 04/11/2012
I think that exercising while watching TV is such a great strategy. It's kind of a win win. You can watch your favorite shows and feel that you are getting something accomplished at the same time. Thanks for sharing.
by debbiec on 04/11/2012
Hi Everyone - I appreciate your comments. I love the additional short bout ideas you've shared too!
by JessieDavenport on 04/11/2012
Jessie: Your blog motivated me on my 7 hour drive home from Philadelphia yesterday. I took two opportunities to jump out at a rest stop and run around with my sons for 10 minutes each. I am sure everyone in McDonalds thought we were crazy running in circles in the grassy patch in the parking lot, but it was fun!
by DrJeanene on 04/09/2012
One of the best things I have learned from HMR is that small bouts do count! I used to have all or nothing thinking also. It seems most days I get most of my PA from short bouts. I usually accumulate over 3000 calories over the week, so small bouts do make a difference. One of the best investments I made was in a pedometer. It makes record keeping so easy. I use the Omron HJ112. Some of my favorite strategies are parking far away in the parking lot and walking laps as I talk on the phone at work and at home. The pedometer keeps up with all my extra steps for me.
by Debbyrnfit on 04/05/2012
thanks jessie, before hmr i would blow off excercise when i couldn't make the time. In hmr ive made it a priority so its easyer to make my mininum pa and excede it. i use treadmill,eliptical, gym,chores to keep moving your idea about wearing my workout clothes is one im going to use thank you scott
by gotalive1 on 04/05/2012
Great idea about watching TV and do commercial squats and lunges!! I never thought about that but I'm sure that really would help.
by Chrissy78 on 04/05/2012
I love the strategies that you suggest. Thank you!
by BrendaB on 04/05/2012
Great ideas Jessie! I will try inserting some of these into my routine.
by ivandrago on 04/04/2012