Keeping active is important at every stage in life and helps ensure that we live long and healthy lives. Most of us are active in childhood and many people carry that through into their early adult lives, but as we acquire more and more responsibilities it’s all too easy to find the time for exercise being crowded out. Ceasing to be active in the prime of life makes it much harder to start again later. How can you make sure that this doesn’t happen to you, or find more and better ways of building exercise back into your life?
Exercise and day-to-day activity
Part of what makes fitting in exercise difficult is that we tend to think of it as a separate activity, requiring special time to be set aside. In fact, there are many ways in which you can keep fit, just by going about your daily activities a little more vigorously. Whenever you would usually go for a short drive, walk or cycle instead. Even taking the bus will keep you fitter if you’re walking part of the way at either end of the route. Speed things up when doing the housework and dance around, rather than strolling. Scrub your bathroom and kitchen thoroughly, rather than relying on chemicals.
Exercise and family life
Children are always full of energy, so being a parent can be a great way to be more active. This could involve anything from throwing a ball around with your kids in the backyard to going swimming together as a fun weekend activity. Kids can get a lot of pleasure out of simple activities, such as skipping or hula hooping, which are actually great ways to stay fit. It’s good for children to see their parents being active because it helps them understand that exercise is fun, and this will likely get them into good habits for later life.
Exercise and work
The most difficult part of life to combine with exercise, for most people, is work, but often there are simple ways around this. An increasing number of people now spend their lunch breaks in the gym because it not only keeps them fit; it makes them feel more alert in the afternoon. Walking around as you take phone calls, rather than sitting at a desk, may be a small thing but it still contributes, and you could also try fitting pedals underneath your desk so you can cycle as you work. Strength-building exercises, such as Pilates, and even some forms of yoga can be practiced discreetly at the same time as you type or do paperwork.
Avoiding problems
One of the reasons why some people are wary of working out a lot is that they know it carries a risk of injury, and they don’t want injuries interfering with other aspects of their lives. While this can be a problem, you can reduce that risk a lot through simple actions, such as warming up properly before you start exercising, and massaging your muscles afterward. If you look through the likes of the Tommie Copper collection, you’ll find copper wear like long sleeve workout shirts which are designed specially to help protect your muscles as you work out. You can also stay safer by making sure you’re properly hydrated when working out.
Keeping fit at home
One way to work around the demands of a busy life is to increase your ability to exercise at home. Simple aids, such as a pull-up bar attached to a door frame, a set of weights or an exercise ball are easy to fit into the home and help you squeeze in a quick morning workout before you shower in the morning, or burn off workplace stress when you get home. With the right gear – which doesn’t need to cost a fortune – you can exercise in the evenings while watching TV with the family, or you can even read a book while you use an exercise bike, so you don’t need to drop other activities in order to fit in keeping fit.
Ultimately, even when your life is hectic, all you really need to stay in good health is dedication. There’s always a way to be active, and the more active you are, the less you’ll find you need to sleep or collapse on the sofa. You’ll have more energy and this will make it easier to find time for exercise – as well as for everything else. Ultimately, keeping yourself active is a win-win scenario.