How To Be More Active (And Move More Daily)
Stay fit and healthy by moving more! Learn how to be more active during the day outside of scheduled workouts. Physical activity outside of the gym is just as important in living a healthy lifestyle as what you do in the gym. So, shift the couch habit and use these ideas to move more daily!
Staying healthy is about so much more than what you do in the gym. Think about it: workouts take up only 45 minutes of your day (so not a lot).
It’s what you do with the other twenty-three hours that matter!
Unfortunately, it’s common practice to sit, veg, and relax during many of those hours. Learning how to be more active helps:
- you blood circulate
- boost your mood
- keep you mobile
- relieve stress
Our bodies were made to move. So, finding ways to move more during the day is crucial to our health- both mental and physical.
Ways To Move More
Learning how to be more active during the day isn’t as complicated as it sounds. You don’t need to schedule anything into your day.
Nor do you need to do anything intense. You truly just need to move.
And not even all at once! Movement is best done throughout the day to break up a sedentary lifestyle.
There’s no specific time to hit or limit. Just move more.
Tips To Moving More Daily
While shifting a habit is never easy, there are a few tricks!
You need to find ways to move that you actually enjoy. Don’t do things you hate- it defeats the purpose. Instead, find ways of being active that bring you something positive: more energy, a better mood etc.
If you need to at first, set a timer or make a plan! Eventually, being more active will be second nature. However, at first there is a bit of a habit shift.
Below are 10 simple ideas to be more active during the day. There’s something for everyone!
Get Active With Walking
Sound simple doesn’t it? But getting outside for a walk is insanely beneficial. Walking and moving help food digest.
It boosts your movement for the day and getting outside in nature has its own set of benefits. It’s the easiest and most cost-effective way to learn to move more.
Likewise, people have found that being outside helps boost your mood. And we all know that exercise comes with endorphins. So, keep it simple and just walk more! Grab a buddy or your headphones and just get out.
Even walking in mini intervals around the office, the block or your house is a step in the right direction to break up the work day.
Play with your kids
I can hear some of you gasping. I don’t mean to offend anyone, really, it’s not my goal. But playing with your kids is a great form of exercise.
I’m all for puzzles, games, and coloring but I also believe you should climb on the park equipment, play tag, hide and seek, pull wagons, and go tobogganing.
Not only will you get the benefits of playtime, but you’ll also have an awesome relationship with your kids.
House Work
Clean your house! Vacuuming, mopping, and tidying all get you moving.
Remember the goal isn’t intensity it’s just to be more active throughout your day.
Bike Riding
Most of us live within a quick bike ride of whatever errand we want to run. Instead of jumping in the car, bust out the bike!
That extra five minutes makes a big difference. It gets your blood pumping, your muscles working and it’s one more thing that keeps you fit.
How To Be More Active: Take The Stairs
You’ve heard this one before and I’m going to add to it: don’t just bounce off the ball of your foot by climbing the stairs, use your full foot and step through!
This helps activate the entire leg and gives you more bang for your buck. But seriously, take the stairs more. It’s a simple thing you can do that adds up.
Yardwork
Do you know how much work gardening is?!
It gets your outside, moving, carrying, and bending. Gardening, raking leaves, shoveling snow- all things that need to be done and keep you active and healthy.
Find a new activity you love
A hockey team, a Zumba class, tap dance, or ninja. If you have an activity you look forward to it won’t be working out. This can be in addition to your regularly scheduled workouts to help you get active.
Get excited about staying active and being able to do things you enjoy. Exercise and movement aren’t a punishment but a reward. Not all of us are able to exercise.
Make Better Dates
Dates with friends and with partners always center around food. A lot of sitting and sometimes chatting (coffee, lunch, dinner, food, a show, etc.).
Instead, grab a girlfriend and go for a walk. Go hiking with the hubby. Try a new group or sport with a group of friends.
Whatever it is, just make it some sort of movement. You don’t need to give up your friends in order to move more but sometimes it is worth asking if you’re being supported. Like-minded friends go a long way.
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Coffee Time Stretch
If you have ten minutes for a coffee break, stretch! This sounds so beyond corny but just getting up and moving from your desk helps wake up your muscles. There’s no need to go into a whole downdog just move. Walk about, stretch your chest.
Creepy people like me drop into squats, do some hinges and rotate but there’s no need to be that kind of freak 😀 The basics will suffice.
Embrace The Random
If you’ve caught up with me on Instagram you’ll bear witness to my random spurts of arm balances, pull ups, high knees or even medicine ball slams. The truth is, I get bored easily. When I’m playing with the girls I do something sporadic and fun.
When I’ve spent the morning writing I take a break to do some slams and warm up my muscles. You most definitely don’t have to be intense about this, I just hate sitting for long and like to remind my muscles they work.
Don’t forget to pin these tips on how to be more active during the day!
Keep it simple and focus on movement, not workouts.
Every little bit makes a difference. Being healthy isn’t just about your workouts but about your lifestyle. Humans weren’t made to live on the couch, sit in cars, or at the table all day.
We were made to move. Don’t think you need to spend hours in the gym, make what you do outside of the gym work for you.
Get active, fit, and healthy by moving throughout the day (and maybe even possibly enjoying it!), not just during your gym sessions.
Great ideas and LOVE your bathing suit top 🙂