Popular Exercise Hacks

Is it difficult for you to fit exercise into your busy daily routine?

Do you feel as though you’re rushing from appointment to appointment, from work to home to family to errands to never-ending responsibilities?

You’re not alone. In fact, not even 1 in 20 adults exercises daily; most work overtime every week. Even if your work isn’t asking you to come in early and stay late, you’re probably spending time with kids, dealing with home maintenance, or enjoying some well-earned alone time.

Working out doesn’t have to be an occasion, though. It doesn’t need to involve a long drive to your local gym, hour-long runs on the treadmill, or regular meetings with a trainer. In fact, exercise can be worked into almost any activity in your day!

Here are a few of our favorite hacks for creating a fit lifestyle:

Walk to Lunch

If you work in the city, your office is likely surrounded by great restaurants. Take an evening to find the top five or ten healthy options, and plan to walk to one or two each week. It may be hard to motivate yourself to walk to a new lunch restaurant without a plan, but with a plan, this time is something you’ll start to look forward to.

Even if you work in the suburbs, there are likely several interesting food places within walking distance. Make a point of walking to lunch at least twice a week, if not more often.

If you bring lunch with you to work, try to go for a walk at lunchtime anyway! There’s no rule that says you can’t walk around the block just to get in a few extra steps.

Alternatively, if your work has stairs, consider taking 10-15 min of your lunch break to walk up and down them or around the premises.

Get your Family Involved!

You might skip your workout in favor of spending quality time with your family. Time with your kids is important, but your physical health needs to be a priority too; fortunately, working out with your kids will boost both your health and theirs.

Many adult workout videos are appropriate for older children. Some YouTubers’ channels are entirely dedicated to fitness routines that include both parents and kids. And if you have younger kids, try initiating a game of tag or taking them for an after-school walk or bike each day.

There is a variety of workout accessories that can be used by both children and adults. Our Shreveport wholesale fitness equipment can help you save money on buying a set of weights, exercise bands, or other accessories for the whole family – make it special by purchasing bands and weights in each child’s favorite color!

By including kids in your routine, you’ll get to enjoy the extra family time, and your kids will learn to take care of their health for the rest of their life.

Make it a Date

Do you feel forced to choose between time with friends (or your spouse) and time at the gym?

Activities like hiking, biking, rollerblading, ice skating, and even attending fitness classes together can be great substitutes for eating out. Some of these are more appropriate for catching up on each other’s lives (walking and biking, for example) but all are great ways to spend time together.

If you make this into a weekly date, you’ll have a built-in accountability partner ensuring you follow through with your workout plan!

Good starting places to look for classes and groups include your local recreation center, Meetups.com, and Yelp.

Bring Exercise into the Office

If your company approves – or if you work from home – consider setting up a treadmill desk in your office. These desks allow you to walk at a slow pace while reviewing reports, talking on conference calls, and sending emails.

One of our favorite treadmill desks is the Life Fitness Treadmill Desk; if you’re interested in seeing how a treadmill desk would work for you, visit our Fitness Expo Stores Shreveport and ask one of our friendly experts.

Add Exercise to TV Time

After a long day at work, it’s easy to sit in front of the couch, switch on Netflix, and binge-watch a favorite show. That’s not the healthiest option – but it’s the easiest.

Instead of staying sedentary, make a commitment to use your TV time for exercise. Treadmills are a common favorite for TV-room fitness equipment, but elliptical machines, stair steppers, and even vibrating fitness machines (like the Power Plate M7 Vibration Machine) are even more space-friendly options to subtly add to your collection.

To evaluate your TV room fitness options, come to our Fitness Expo Shreveport professional fitness equipment store. Our consultants would be happy to recommend a machine that fits your needs and your space.

Take More Adventures

Adventures can be used to boost your daily fitness in two ways:

• Training for an adventure can motivate you to keep a consistent workout schedule
• Planning regular fitness adventures can supplement your daily activities with exercise

If you have a bucket list experience that’s fitness-related, like summiting a mountain, completing a charity run, or scuba diving in a specific part of the world, your bucket list can be a motivating factor in planning workout time. Simply set a “goal date” to check off that item in your bucket list and work backward to plan your workout.

If you’d like weekly adventures, find smaller fitness opportunities in your area. Maybe you have a local Zumba studio, salsa dancing club, or aerial yoga class; or perhaps you’d like to join a local hiking or biking club. Whatever you choose, you can make new friends, gain new experiences, and enjoy a workout – all without going to the gym.

Final thoughts

By adding walking into your social time, family time, and even working hours – or planning adventures that make fitness more fun – you can slowly ease into a workout schedule no matter how busy the rest of your life seems. Working out may feel like a nuisance, but it’s a critical part of avoiding long-term health complications and feeling good about yourself today.

From treadmill desks to taekwondo, finding a fitness routine can be a fun – even exciting – experience for anyone.