10 Ideas For Fitting Exercise Into Your Day

I think most people instinctively know that exercise offers many benefits (I’ve written many articles already that touch on this very subject), and yet many never actually get around to doing any – which has been me for most of my life.

One of the most common excuses people give for this is that they don’t have time.

I know – I used to say that too.

And for most people, it is just that, an excuse.

The problem is, exercise and keeping fit is not only a physical activity – there’s a mental component to it too, because you need to decide to actually do it, rather than simply saying “I should exercise”.

The latter is too vague, which is why it rarely works.

So, the key is to make the time to do whatever exercise you think is going to be doable for you

Listed below are ten ideas to help you find or make the time to fit exercise into your daily routine.

Exercise When You Are on the Phone

When you’re using the phone, which many of us do more than ever, there are various activities you could be doing at the same time.

While I generally do not recommend multitasking, because it’s nowhere near as efficient as many people seem to think, there are recent studies that indicate one way it can be beneficial – when you combine something that requires thought with something that doesn’t.

And isn’t that a lot of what being on the phone is about? You use your brain to engage in the conversation, but you could be doing some repetitive exercise that requires no real thinking at the same time.

So, unless you need access to your desk or computer, say, you could get up and walk about while you talk.

True, this might not be much, but supposing you did it for a few phone calls a day.

It all adds up – a few minutes here, a few minutes there. It might not be enough to make you fully fit all by itself, but it’s still better than nothing.

But let’s suppose walking around it’s practical.

There are few activities you could do in that situation, including deep knee bends, squats, push-ups, sit-ups, bicep curls.

Another option, if you absolutely need to be sitting down, would be to use one of those under-desk exercise bikes, which could also work if you’re sitting on the sofa at home.

Exercise On Your Way To And From Work

While it’s almost automatic to get in the car and go to work, which is reasonable if you live a long way from the office, you could consider using an alternative method of getting there and back.

For some, walking or jogging might be an option.

For others, cycling may be better.

When I first worked in IT, back in the late 70s and early 80s, I lived about 15 miles from work, and I cycled there and back a few times.

I was surprised it took me under an hour each time, because I wasn’t what you’d call fit, which compared favourably to going by car, which would still take 20 – 30 minutes, depending on the traffic.

If you do this, there a few things you need to plan for, including:

1. Perhaps having a change of clothes. If you walk to work, this may not be important, but if you’re cycling, you might not want (or be able) to spend your work day in those clothes. You can either take these with you (I put my work suit in a pannier on my bicycle) or leave them in the office the day before.
2. Having access to a way to freshen up. When I cycled to work, it was in the days before companies had showers for their employees, so I had to make do with a quick clean-up in one of the staff bathrooms, but these days, you might be able to take a full shower if you want.
3. You need to decide what to do about the weather – sometimes, you may still be able to walk or cycle to work, but in extreme cases, you may have to revert to your car again (or public transport, if that’s an option for you).

So, be creative if you need to be (I knew of a guy who used to ride his horse to work), but see if you can make your daily commute part of your exercise regime too.

Use The Stairs

Allied to the previous tip, if you work in a building with lifts (aka elevators), then you could use the stairs instead for a good work-out.

You might want to start by using the stairs to go down, while still availing yourself of the lift when going up, because that’s usually easier for many people.

Alternatively, even if you go some of the way via the stairs, it helps.

Ultimately, however, your goal should be to use the stairs at all times.

Look For 5 And 10 Minute Holes In Your Day

This will, of course, depend on the type of work you do or the life you lead, but many people, maybe most, probably have short slots during their day when there is some downtime, either because you’re on break or because it’s quiet.

So, even if you can only squeeze in a few minutes at a time, it is, as I said above, better than nothing.

For example, if you’re on break, you could spend the time drinking coffee and playing games on your phone – or you could have a quick drink of water and then get some exercise in (e.g. a quick walk, jumping jacks).

Awaken 15 Minutes Earlier Than Usual

Few people enjoy getting up in the morning, especially if you have to go to a job you don’t like, but supposing you decided to turn this necessary evil into something positive – by getting up a bit earlier than usual so you can fit your exercise in.

When I was seriously depressed, I used to go for a 25-minute walk around my neighbourhood at about 6:00 am each day (weekends included). That did mean getting up about half an hour or so earlier than usual, but I did find it useful, from both a physical and mental perspective.

So, even if you are only going out to retrieve your morning paper, you could do some exercise since you’re outside anyway, and again, it doesn’t need to be much.

For example, you could do a bit of stretching, some yoga, some tai chi, running on the spot, push-ups, or any number of other activities.

Purchase Multiple Dumbbell Sets

Many of your workday activities are hands-free thanks to modern technology – so why not put those hands to work with a set of dumbbells?

Keeping a set of dumbbells at home and at work ensures that you can grab a quick upper body work-out several times throughout the day.

Add Exercise To Your Workday Planner

Odds are, you probably have a physical or virtual workday calendar – so make exercise a part of your work schedule.

When you combine this with the earlier tip about finding spare moments throughout the day, you increase the chances that you will actually follow through with your exercise routine.

Be Realistic

While it’s good to set goals, you need to make sure they are challenging but realistic.

If you plan to run several miles during your lunch break, but your work schedule is hectic and inconsistent, then this may not be doable – and you’re better adopting a routine you can do on a regular basis that is slightly less strenuous than doing something which may give you more of a work-out but which you can only do on random days.

Make It A Habit

Following on from the previous tip, then as much as possible, you want to create an exercise habit, because that way, you’ll start to do it without even having to think about it.

To be fair, some of these tips don’t lend themselves to creating a habit – you cannot always plan on when you’ll be on the phone, or when you’ll have a quiet ten minutes in the office.

But others, such as not driving to work, or getting up earlier, can easily be turned into habits.

One of the reasons many people fail with a lot of their goals, including exercise, is because they think they need motivation.

However, it turns out that motivation is not that reliable – it’s much easier if you create a habit, however small that may be at first.

There is a really excellent book by Stephen Guise, called Mini Habits, that goes into this concept in great detail, but in summary (and this doesn’t do the book justice at all), the idea is to commit to something tiny that is easily achievable, such as doing one push-up.

Yes, that’s so small a goal it’s almost laughable – but that’s the point.

Once you’ve done your one push-up, for example, it’s relatively easy to tell yourself that you’re already down there, on the floor, so why not do a few more push-ups.

You might even end up doing 20 or 50 of them, but here’s the thing – if your goal was to do 50 push-ups and you didn’t feel in the mood, it would be so much easier to say, I’ll do it tomorrow.

But when your goal is only to do one push-up, it’s almost harder work to find reasons not to do it than to just get down there and do it.

This is how I started with my exercise bike – I committed to cycling for one mile per day, which usually takes me from six to seven minutes.

For me, this is very doable – I go out to the back porch where my bike is set up before I start work, because I know that once I get into work mode, the chance I’ll break to go and do exercise will be dramatically reduced, and besides which, during summer where I live, it’s simply too hot to exercise later on.

These days, I tend to look for a video on YouTube that’s between 10 and 20 minutes, and I cycle while watching this. (This is the type of multitasking that works, which I mentioned above).

Doing it this way, I get to learn something new from the video (or perhaps simply be entertained), and I typically end up cycling for anywhere from three to four miles.

Like I said, this brief summary of the concept does not do the book justice – so get yourself a copy, because I’m sure you won’t regret it.

Trade Sweets and Processed Foods For Healthy Snacks

Lastly, while this is not exactly exercise, it is a healthy habit to adopt.

When you get that mid-morning crash, reach for a handful of almonds or walnuts instead of a sugar-filled, processed snack.

Naturally healthy snacks regulate high energy levels throughout the day – they don’t deliver the crash-and-burn that sugar does, and they don’t cause you to gain weight, which may make you feel lethargic and not like exercising.

Conclusion

While many of these tips are geared more towards being at work, there is no reason why many of them could not equally apply if you spend your days at home (e.g. because you work from home, as I do, or because you are a stay-at-home parent, or you’re retired).

And these ideas are not meant to be an exhaustive list – my intention is that they are all worth trying, while at the same time acting as inspiration to come up with your own ideas on how to fit more exercise into your daily life.

If I can manage to exercise every day – something I’ve been doing for almost four months now – then I think almost anybody can.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Dumbbells
2. Mini Habits
3. Under-Desk Exercise Bike