We all know that exercise is important for us. It helps keep our heart and lungs healthy, it can help support our mental health and will keep our muscles and joints moving, reducing their risk of injury.
However, for a lot of people the thought of going to the gym or doing a home workout is very unappealing.
So here are some everyday ways you can increase the amount of exercise you are doing without committing to high-intensity workouts.
#1 Walk as much as you can
Walking more and leaving your car at home will not only mean you will be helping to reduce your carbon dioxide emissions but your body will thank you too.
Walking can help your breathing system work more efficiently, as well as your heart. It can also strengthen your bones and muscles, and increase the flexibility in your joints by allowing them to return to a normal movement pattern.
Walking can also improve your mental health and wellbeing, not just your physical health. Walking has been linked with an improvement in memory and reduction in stress and anxiety.
But, admittedly, you can’t walk everywhere.
Why not try getting off public transport one stop sooner, meaning you have to walk a little bit further to get home.
You can also use the stairs rather than an elevator or escalator, park further away from your destination or take an evening walk each day. A walk after you have eaten your dinner has been linked with an improvement in digestion and reducing bloating.
#2 Rise and shine stretch
When you wake up each morning, what do you do? Roll over, check your phone and check the latest updates on social media? Then you slowly drag yourself out of bed and into the kitchen for a coffee.
Instead, try having a stretch before you have your morning coffee. Stretching first thing in the morning can relieve any tension you’ve developed from sleeping the night before. It will also help to increase your blood flow gradually, not causing a sudden spike in heart rate like your early morning caffeine hit, preparing your body gently for the day. #
Just simple light stretches can help to loosen off areas that feel tight. Or if you feel more adventurous, try an online rise and shine yoga class or follow a active morning routine video on YouTube.
If exercising in the morning seems like too much for you, there are also benefits to an evening stretch.
Stretching on an evening can help to relax your muscles, reducing your chance of waking in discomfort during the night.
Despite being much more low key than a HIIT workout, there are so many benefits of stretching. It can reduce your risk of injuries, increase your flexibility and range of movement, increase blood flow to your muscles and increase physical performance. As well as helping to boost your mood!
#3 Gardening
Gardening is an excellent way to keep mobile without engaging in strenuous exercise.
Working in your garden is an excellent way to get all-round exercise for improving strength, endurance and flexibility and can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other medical conditions.
Gardeners also have a reduction in the amount of cortisol in their body. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can also make it more difficult to sleep. Having less cortisol is linked to feeling less stressed overall, better quality of sleep and improved social wellbeing.
#4 Completing housework
It seems that half of us love chores and the other half hate them. However, they are essential to our everyday life and they also come with some surprising health benefits.
Any type of movement will start to increase your heart rate, which in turn improves your cardiovascular capabilities and therefore your overall fitness.
Additionally, the movements needed to clean can be awkward ones and this bending and unusual movement can increase your flexibility.
#5 Stand up more
Standing engages your leg and core muscles as you balance. This means it is a much more active position than sitting.
In return for engaging these muscles, our body also starts to burn calories. Sitting burns roughly 60 - 100 calories per hour, whereas standing burns 100 - 200 calories per hour.
Standing also helps to improve circulation when compared to sitting.When we are standing, our muscles contract more, aiding in the return of blood to the heart. This improves circulation around our body, meaning you have a better supply of oxygen, a healthier heart and reduced build up of fatty deposits in your blood vessels.
While vigorous exercise brings many known benefits, we can also improve our physical and mental state by doing day to day activities. These small changes can help us to live happier and healthier lives without having to hit the gym every day.
