Five Quick & Easy Ways: Get Fitness In Your Day!

Following up with last week's post, I thought I would elaborate more on how to make fitness happen throughout your day.  As a full-time student and working professional, I have become more aware that life is extremely busy, super urgent, and always chaos.  I mean life is so busy that we barely have time to exercise, eat, and if it wasn’t innate, to breath.  Clearly, life is too busy!  Or is it?  If you didn’t pick up on my sarcasm, I was kidding about all of that. Like many of my peers, I get caught up in autopilot freight train mindset.  So along with myself, I am asking you to SLOOOWWW down and make time for your self and your health today.

In between meetings, classes, taking care of the family, or getting to work, I challenge you to try out these 5 ways to add fitness into your day.  I’m sure we’ve all heard the “do some dips at your desk” or “stand up and perform squats.”  But I’ll be honest, even as a figure athlete and with my education; you probably won’t catch me doing dips on a regular basis behind my desk.  However, you will catch me doing the following…..

Dr. DiPietro doing her daily work :) Why sit for 8 hours?

• Working From a Stand-Up Desk:  Dr.Loretta DiPietro, PhD, the Department Chair of Exercise Science at The George Washington University and Director of the Master’s of Public Health Focus on Physical Activity and Obesity practices what she preaches.  Instead of condemning yourself to your desk for 8 or more hours a day, why not stand?   

•  Taking The Stairs: Living on the sixth floor of my city apartment building, the six flights up and down add up over the day.  The same rule goes for work and campus buildings; the elevator is not an option. So whether you are shopping at the mall, coming out of the metro, or at work, take the time to take the stairs!

•  Walking for Transportation (as much as possible): The added perk of city living has allowed me to ditch the car and use my legs.  However, growing up in the suburbs, this wasn’t practical. My advice is, if you live in a city, walk as much as you can.  And if you are in the ‘burbs or rural towns, park in spot far from your destination, that way you can get in some extra steps!

•  One-minute Workout: These are the best!  This past weekend I was watching the super bowl with Dr. DiPietro, and she was getting in her core workouts on commercial breaks! 60 second that’s it.  Now, you can catch me doing those squats I didn’t do in the office in my kitchen while making dinner.  Lunges, squats, planks, you get the picture.  Throw in a few one-minute workouts today.

• Multitasking Cardio and TV Time:  Not having cable this past year has made my life much more productive!  Time I would spend watching TV, is now used for writing, reading, and catching up on sleep.  However, when I get the urge to watch my addiction, The Real Housewives, I compromise by going to the gym and getting in a cardio session. Don’t worry you don’t have to watch The Real Housewives to make this work!  It can be the morning news, the evening shoes, or anything else – just remember the cardio part too!

My sister, Krissy, and I getting in our incline walking while catching up on life.
Getting  it done and having fun...always!

And there you have it, five quick and easy way to get fitness into your day!