5 Ways To Move More - Stephanie Rogers

November 18, 2015 Stephanie

Let’s face it. As Americans, we spend FAR too much time sitting on our booty’s. Even with that 5am spin class, many of us fail to fit much movement into our daily lives. We spend the majority of our day moving from one sedentary position to the next – bed, car, work, car, couch, bed – with sprinklings of walking mixed in. The average American only averages 5,000 steps a day. That’s not much.

Even if you get an hour workout in every day, countless studies say that that’s not enough movement or enough frequent movement to keep us at our ideal health and well-being. Increased cognitive ability, increased longevity and increased memory are just a few of the benefits of moving frequently at a slower pace – and who doesn’t want those things??

On top of all of that, movement is an integral part of self-care and allows you a platform to really get in tune with your body. When trying to become more balanced in life and in your relationship with food, becoming more and more in tune with your body is essential. While more intense physical activity also plays an integral part of your overall well-being, just moving more in general is a great place to start!

So what is a busy person to do?? Why not get creative and find a few ways to sneak extra movement into your day. I have 5 SIMPLE and manageable ways to do just that. Here we go….

Take a morning walk. Before you get into your day, commit to some movement. Even if you only have 5 minutes, take a quick walk around the block. If you can spare 15 or 20 minutes, even better! Don’t have enough time to leave the house? Set a 5 minute timer and do a continuous set of burpees, squats, jumping jacks or mountain climbers until time is up. Bottom line – get that heart rate up in the AM!
Park farther away. We’ve all heard it before, but how many of us actually practice this one? It’s really so easy, so no more excuses! Take the farthest spot from the door at work, the store, your kids school, the bank and heck, if you’re feeling spunky, speed walk or even sprint from your car to the door.
Take the stairs. Forget the elevator and escalator….find the stairs and use them! You’ll feel much more alive when you get to your floor and your legs, heart and body will thank you for it. Extra credit for taking the down escalator up! 😉
Set a timer at work. How often do you actually get up from your desk and move around? Set a timer to go off every hour to remind yourself to get up, walk to the water cooler or restroom, do some squats in place, stretch and get the blood flowing again. Chances are your productivity will benefit from these mini-breaks as well.
Go for an after dinner stroll. Not only does it help your body digest your meal, but it’s an easy way to fit some quality alone time, family bonding time and/or relaxation in after a long day of work.

There you have it, 5 easy peasy ways to fit more movement into your daily life. It doesn’t have to be an epic ordeal. It can be quick little bursts of movement and simply being conscious of how much you are or are not moving can make all the difference. This next week I challenge you to pay attention to your daily movement. Take a few notes of how much you move and where you think you can afford to squeeze some movement in. I promise the opportunities are there and I promise your body will thank you!

POST BELOW – What do you think? Are these manageable? Do you already do some some of these? What are some other ways you sneak movement into your day?