Tips To Be More Active

One of the biggest excuses people have when it comes to fitness and achieving their weight loss goals is a lack of time. We do all have the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else and everyone’s circumstances are different, however there are lots of ways around this excuse. However, busy your day might be there is always a bit of time somewhere in your day where adjustments can be made so that you can get some exercise in and stay on track to achieve your fitness goals.

The main priority for your health and fitness is calorie expenditure. You need to have a daily goal of burning a certain number of calories in order to stay healthy and achieve your goals. For example, you can use an activity tracker and aim for around 500 calories per day or this can be measured in steps which would be 10,000 steps.

The main purpose of all this is movement. Staying active. Don’t think that just because you work a sedentary job or just spend long periods of time stationary or sitting down that you can’t do things to achieve your goal, because you’d be very mistaken.

START YOUR DAY OFF STRONG

Get up a bit earlier than you have to and go for a walk. It doesn’t have to be at a certain pace or time, it just needs to be something active to get your day started in the right mentality and being active straight away. If you can manage more than this, then go for a run instead and if you have enough time you can use this as your time to get a workout in. Most gyms nowadays are open 24/7 and if not, they still open early so people who don’t like to train later in the day can get a workout in before their days get going.

TRY AN ACTIVE COMMUTE

If it’s feasible, ditch the car or public transport and try a more active way of getting to walk. Where it’s walking, cycling, roller blading, you name it, there are many different ways of using your body as your means of transportation. This is usually a popular way for people to get to work and if you only live a few miles away or your commute is 30 minutes or less then it should be a method that you should seriously consider. Especially as the weather gets warmer and the sun is up earlier.

BE MORE MINDFUL OF MOVING

There are always different ways in which we can be more active and the best thing to do is just be more mindful of your actions and think outside the box. For example, if you usually get the elevator up or down a few floors then simply take the stairs. Instead of a short bus or train journey you can walk instead and if that’s not possible just get off a stop or too earlier and walk the rest of the way.

BE ACTIVE AT WORK

Sitting down for long periods of time tends to be very bad for your health in the long-term as well as your muscles and joints so try and get up at least a few times per hour. Instead of asking a colleague to grab something for you like something from the printer or a cup of coffee, go and do it yourself, your muscles and joints will need the stimulation.

USE YOUR LUNCH BREAK WISELY

A lunch break is a good period of time to do something active. A lot of people who work near a gym use the time to get a workout in and even if there isn’t a gym nearby, you can always change into your training gear and go for a quick run and perhaps even add some outdoor exercises before you eat. If you only have a short lunch break at the very least, if it’s nice weather, just go outside for a walk and find somewhere quiet to sit down and have your lunch.

MAKE YOUR FREE TIME ACTIVE

Your free time, however limited, should be carefully used so that you can do things that you enjoy and also burn some calories in the meantime. Whether you go to the gym, join a sports club or anything else, you can always make time to do something active between other things. A lot of the time people with kids have trouble staying active but this is a great way to do fun activities. Kids love to be active and there are all sorts of activities and games you can do with them that will be fun and burn calories all in the comfort of your own home and garden, or even the local park.