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27 Simple Ways to Incorporate Exercise into your Daily Routine

Engaging in regular exercise is key to our overall well-being, health, and productivity. A systematic review found that routine physical activity is associated with a reduced risk for premature mortality and at least 25 chronic medical conditions, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. To achieve these benefits, most international guidelines recommend doing at least 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise every week, broken into sessions of a minimal amount of 10 minutes. It is also recommended to do strengthening exercises at least twice a week.

Knowing how beneficial exercise is in every aspect of our lives, how come less than a fourth of Americans and Canadians get the recommended minimum amount of exercise? I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I believe it is because:

  • It is difficult to start any habit, and even more difficult to maintain it.
  • Those that started to incorporate exercise into their life did not do it for long enough to reap the long-term benefits, and rather focused on the downsides, such as temporary discomfort.
  • ‘I don’t have enough time.’
  • They would rather do other activities that might seem more enjoyable and require less effort, such as watching TV.

I used to be sedentary, always making up excuses for not exercising. After multiple trials and errors, I realized that I needed to integrate exercise into my daily routine to turn it into a habit. This is how I did it.

  • First, I tried going to the gym. That didn’t work out very well. It took too much time preparing myself to get out of the house, then taking the bus to go to the gym, taking the bus to go back home again, and changing my clothes once again. There was too much friction to get my workout done.
  • I started working out by myself, in my house by doing some sort of workout on youtube, or by running outside. That worked out great – but only on my days off. The days where I would be working, I would often feel too tired to exercise and had no motivation.
  • Since I do not live too far away from work, I started going to work on foot or by bicycle. Sometimes, I would also run to work. Of course, if there was a snowstorm or heavy rain, I would take the car. This way, I did not need to make the decision of whether I would exercise or not when coming home from work, tired. 
  • If I needed to get somewhere in the city, weather permitting, I would go by bike.

This is what worked for me. Since everyone is different and you really need to try things to see what works best for you, I gathered some ideas and principles on multiple ways to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Who knows, you might find one or two ideas that you like.

Principles

Most of the principles are taken from the book ‘Atomic Habits’ by M. James Clear. I would recommend it for anyone struggling to build new habits into their life, or break bad habits :

1 – Make it obvious

Remove friction. For example, if you want to start exercising first thing when you wake up, place your workout clothes by your bedside. When you get up, change into your workout clothes. You will probably be more inclined to work out, rather than regretfully changing again your outfit. 

An even more extreme alternative would be to go to bed in you workout clothes.

You can also plan the days and the time when you will work out so that you don’t have to make any decision on when to do it (ever heard of decision fatigue?). It will be pre-planned.

2 – Make it attractive

After exercising, treat yourself. The anticipation of the reward will make you want to workout, and increase the dopamine spike. With time, your brain will make a positive association with exercise. The reward could be an activity you enjoy doing, for example, reading a good book or playing some video games, depending on your interests.

3 – Make it easy

If you’ve never worked out in your life and decide out of a sudden to run 10K every day, sorry to deceive you, but it will probably not work. You need to set goals that are achievable, or you will be discouraged to even get started. Or, you will succeed for the first day, maybe even for the first week, but you will be so burned out that you will probably want to stop and not try again for a long time.

When you start a new habit, start small by using the 2-minute rule. You can tell yourself that you’ll do it for 2 minutes only. If you want to continue exercising, it’s your choice, but you have the choice of stopping. Most of the time, you’ll want to continue exercising after two minutes.

You can read more about the 2-minute rule in the following blog post written by M. James Clear :

https://jamesclear.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating

4 – Make it satisfying

Track your progress. Write down your goals and focus on the process. On your calendar, mark the days where you plan to exercise, plan what kind of exercise you will do and for how long. Every time you complete a workout, mark an x on that date, which makes it satisfying.

You can set bigger goals every week, for example by increasing the number of sit ups by 5 every week, which turns it into a game and makes it even more fun.

An alternative would be to use pain if the task is not completed, which might not work out for you since it could create feelings of guilt. For example, you may decide to put money on the line. You can have an accountability partner and tell him that if you don’t exercise on planned days, you will give him x amount of money. Of course, if you get into an accident and you can’t walk, I think it’s safe to say you can make an exception.

5- Change your mindset

If you want to start exercising regularly to lose weight or to impress others with your six-pack, chances are you won’t stick to it in the long-term. When you will be tired or when things will get difficult, these goals might not be enough to keep you going.

Rather than thinking about weight loss when you want to give up, you need to change your identity. That might sound presumptuous, but when things get difficult, try telling yourself: I am an athlete, even if you don’t feel like it. An athlete exercises whether it’s sunny or not outside, whether or not they had a bad day.

Trick your brain by telling yourself that you’re an athlete over and over again! One day, you will start to believe it.

Ideas

1- If possible, rather than commuting to work/school by car, walk, run or ride your bike, then clean yourself with wipes (or take a shower if you have the option of doing so), and change into your work clothes. If you’re worried about being tired or smelly when coming to work or school, you can take the bus when going to your destination, and come back home running/walking.

2- Wake up earlier and go for a run/walk, then go to work/school.

3- If you’re a student, listen to podcasts or youtube videos on a subject you’re studying while exercising to avoid ‘losing time’.

4- Purchase a stationary bike and listen to music/podcasts or watch movies while exercising. Here’s an example of a stationary bike:

FitDesk Desk Exercise Bike

5- Sign up for a group fitness class and invite your friends to join you. Hold each other accountable!

6- This may sound a bit extreme but it’s just an idea! If you have to sit down all day on your job and need some extra money, apply for a job that is physically very demanding, part-time; for example, apply to work as a gardener, or even as a waitress. You can also quit your job if you particularly dislike it and apply for the new job full-time.

7- Chose a workout on youtube (it can be a dance workout, a pilates class, a yoga class… the possibilities are endless) and follow it from the comfort of your own house. It’s free!

8- Invite your friends to go running with you.

9- Sign up for an expensive gym membership. You’ll probably feel bad for spending all that money for nothing if you never use it.

10- While sitting down, from time to time, extend your legs in front of you and contract your muscles. Take small breaks to get up from your chair and walk around.

11- Participate in zoom workout videos.

12- Study/work using the Pomodoro technique (25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of break). During breaks, do some sort of exercise, or at least walk around. You could do push-ups, pull-ups, or stretch. It is actually one of the best ways to take a break and will increase the blood flow to your brain, giving you an energy boost and a better focus. 

13 -During your lunch break at work/school, take a walk or even go for a run outside (but don’t forget to eat!).

14 – Clean up around your house. It can be physically very draining if you do it right! Mop the floors, clean the surfaces, etc. You can listen to some music/podcasts if you need some motivation. You get to kill two stones with one bird.

15- If you have kids, play with them. Crawl, jump or dance around with them. It’s a great bonding time!

16- Purchase a stationary pedal exerciser and place it under your desk.

FitDesk Cycle Under Desk Cycle

17- Purchase an adjustable standing desk. Alternate between sitting and standing up to avoid staying in the same posture for long periods of time.

Height Adjustable Standing Desk- Adjustable Computer Desk, Sit Stand Desk Frame & Top, Manual Stand Up Desk, Great for Office & Home Use, 120 x 60 cm [48 x 24 Inches], White

18- Avoid using your car by going to places by foot/bicycle. Even better, get rid of your car and only rent it if you need to get out of the city.

19- Purchase wearable weights and wear them when going out of your house, or while cleaning up.

Reehut Ankle Weights,Durable Wrist Weight (1 Pair) with Adjustable Strap for Fitness, Exercise, Walking, Jogging, Gymnastics, Aerobics, Gym, 1 lbs Each (2 lbs Pair) – Green

Z ZELUS Weighted Vest 20lbs/ 16lbs/ 12lbs. Weight Vest with Reflective Stripe for Workout, Strength Training, Running, Fitness, Muscle Building, Weight Loss, Weightlifting

20- Do some gardening. If you don’t have a garden, you can rent a garden space near you. It will not only allow you to get some exercise using a large range of movements and muscles, but it will also boost your mood by getting some vitamin D and by simply being in nature, stimulate your senses, and you’ll get to eat organic vegetables.

22- Wear a fitness tracker. You can set goals and track your progress, which may motivate you to exercise more often.

Apple Watch SE (GPS, 40mm) – Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band

23- Take the stairs instead of using the elevator.

24- Dance around in your house!

25- Park your car as far as possible when running errands.

26- While talking on the phone, stand up and do a few legs raises or toe stands to strengthen your legs.

27- When going out with your friends/family/significant other, plan for outings that include physical activity.

References

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/physical-activity-tips-adults-18-64-years.html

Warburton DER, Bredin SSD. Health benefits of physical activity: a systematic review of current systematic reviews. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2017 Sep;32(5):541-556. doi: 10.1097/HCO.0000000000000437. PMID: 28708630.