9 Quick Fun Easy Ways To Get More Exercise (Excerpt from Budget Behaviour Belief)

[Leah Salmon]

(Taken from "Budget, Behaviour & Belief - Boost these B's to beat disease" out 9th Dec at www.budgetbehaviourbelief.com) 

If our ancestor from 200 – 300yrs ago could see some of us now, they’d be disgusted at how lazy and out of shape many of us are due to our poor food choices and lack of exercise.

 

When I start working with clients and take a brief history from them, it’s amazing how many of them have no structured exercise and don’t even have a lifestyle that includes any amount of strenuous physical activity on a regular basis.

 

You see there are weeks when I don’t put on a DVD and get jiggy with Gillian Micheals, but every day involves some levels of heavy lifting from lifting and carry 1 (or 2) babies and children, laundry, mopping and sweeping, hovering, making beds, carrying and packing groceries etc and in my house, you have to move quickly before when it comes to housework, take too long with it and you’re sure to be interrupted by an argument that needs quelling, a spillage or breakage, a ripped off nappy causing havoc or a student wailing for help with their sums. So I can confidently say that as a busy homeschooling mother of 5, i have an active lifestyle, but even I need some structured exercise.

 

I’d say about 50% of clients I work with have lives that involve driving or being driven to work, sitting down at work, driving or being driven home, then sitting at the computer or TV before sitting in a bath before bed.

 

I appreciate that our society is made in a way that promotes and encourages this pattern, but unless you use step one from this book and find the time exercise, we will end up like the people in Wall.E minus the cute rusty robot.

 

The main benefits of regular physical exercise (to name just a few) are:

1. Along with a good diet, it helps maintain your weight
2. Helps control blood sugar levels which can in turn reduces cravings and comfort eating (especially if as soon as a craving or desire to comfort eat hits, you get up, do some exercise then have a long drink of water)
3. Strengthens your heart and stops you getting out of breath doing simple things
4. Relieves constipation and improves your digestive systems
5. Improves your circulations, so the toxins get more easily removed from your body and the nutrients from your diet are more easily absorbed.
6. Improves your mood and helps relieve stress

 

A few fun, quick or easy ways you can easily get regular exercise into your life

1. If you have a bike, do a search for a local bicycle riding club, many areas have them, where locals get together and all go for a ride in the evenings or for long faster rides on the weekends
2. Find a local martial arts or dance class to join
3. If you have young children, challenge them to a race, a game of hide and seek, give them a piggy back ride or a game of tag.
4. Do the housework (sweeping, mopping and hovering particularly) while dancing to really fast soca, dancehall, afrobeats, samba, calypso, house and garage, hip hop, disco or another favourite upbeat music.
5. If you or your children have a trampoline, jump on and do 10 big star jumps.
6. Make a promise to yourself that you'll always run up stairs, never walk again (unless you have some really cute heels on, in which case, whip them off!!! Woooo Whooo!!!) 
7. Never sit down when you're on the phone if you don't really have to. When I'm on a business or coaching call, I much prefer to walk up and down the room or garden, whilst occasionally stretching, bending or getting into horse stance. 
8. Do a YouTube search for 'Office Worker Exercises" for really simple exercise you can do while sitting down at your desk or around your desk. 
9. Wash the windows on your house or wash and wax your car as quickly as you can (make sure you do it properly though). Think of Karate Kid "Wax on, wax off"

 

Make sure to do a good warm up or at least a few stretches before you start anything to strenuous and if you've been told that you have a medical condition that prevents you from exercising, find a professional exercise coach (I’d recommend a certified CHEK Practitioner) to show you what you can do. 

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The whole book will be out on 9th Dec, but you can download the first chapter *FR*EEE  now at www.budgetbehaviourbelieft.com 

For now, take care and stay healthy 

Leah 

The Naturally You Coach 

www.budgetbehaviourbelieft.com