Some people love exercise; I am not one of those people. I like to eat big, however, so I have to (at least sometimes) engage in physical activity of some sort to avoid doubling in size.
I subscribe to the idea that little (read: bearable) increments of exercise throughout the day that add up to a half an hour are as good as 30 consecutive minutes. Better, maybe. So.
Here’s what I do in increments on the days that I can’t talk myself into going to the gym (ugh!):
- Hula hoop. I keep one in my cubicle at work. Some days if I get in early (eg: before any potential witnesses) I go into an empty conference room (one with enough clearance!) and hoop for 10-15 minutes.
Hooping! - Yoga. There are several yoga poses that you can do at your desk, in line at the supermarket, even in the car.
- Gardening. Depending on the time of year, that might mean berry picking (straw, blue, black, in that order), weeding, dealing with tomato staking and harvesting, digging potatoes, watering, and so on.
Yukon gold potatoes from our garden - Walking. Go to the ocean for a walk. Also, getting out for 10 or 15 minutes to walk on a work break is usually doable. Problem: I often walk to the gelato store…nothing like a caramel turtle or a cappuccino fudge brownie gelato to lift one’s spirits… 🙂
- Bike ride. Not in “treks” or “marathons” of any sort; just in circles in the driveway or around the block on flat pavement.
- Dance! Crank up the stereo/iPod/mp3…almost painless. 🙂
A bonus is that all of the above can be done with your child present. Maybe they will even participate. You can feel good because a) you are setting a good example for him or her and b) not having a babysitter is not valid excuse to blow it off.
What do you do for exercise? Do you love it or hate it?
Karen Creamer Author, Coach, Speaker 