How often have you heard (or used!) the excuse, "I don't have time to exercise?"

Most people believe that the only way to improve fitness is to put aside a chunk of time to devote just to exercise. These people neglect to take advantage of bits of time available throughout the day to exercise. These snippets of time will add up to a significant amount of time by the end of the day and will add to your overall fitness while helping to lower your stress level.

Here are some ideas, many of which you will have probably heard before!

• Park at the far end of the parking lot and walk briskly to your destination.
• When waiting in line, do kegel exercises.
• While brushing your teeth, alternate balancing on one foot.
• Bring fitness shoes to work; when you take a break, take a walk.
• While driving, concentrate on pulling your abdominals in tight.
• For errands close by, walk or ride your bicycle.
• While on hold on the telephone, stand and do some lunges or squats.
• When alone in an elevator, do some wall push-ups.
• While sitting anywhere, practice proper posture to avoid back pain.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator. For one floor, slowly take two stairs at a time, pushing up through the heel.
• While watching TV, do some floor exercises (leg lifts, abdominal crunches, etc.) or relaxing stretches.
• Jump rope for 5 minutes.
• While cooking in the kitchen, do some calf raises and glute squeezes.
• Carry your own groceries to the car.
• While cleaning the house, alternate using each hand to work arms evenly.
• While your kids are playing at the park, go along and play with them!

Use these ideas and add some of your own. Stop thinking of fitness as occupying a set timeframe in your week. Make a commitment to yourself to start adding up your exercise minutes throughout the day, every day.


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Sheri Pieper