Discovering time to exercise is like trying to get more laughter in your life: It's usually easier said than done. To master the tricks, you need to be part escape artist and part strategist, but most of all an opportunist. The moments that you can grab for activities come suddenly and pass swiftly, and if you don t take advantage of them, every cell of your body pays a certain price. Here are some ideas to help plan your playtime.
Take the stairway. Whenever you have a choice, climb the stairs instead of getting on an escalator, a moving walkway or an elevator. You burn ten times more calories climbing the stairs than you do sitting still. If this means you need to allow yourself a few more minutes to get to your office or to make your way through an airport, so be it.
Forget close parking spots. Parking at the mall? Shopping at the supermarket? Instead of cruising the lot to find the closest space, go for those vast empty spots on the far side of the lot. It won't take you that much longer to get to the store (no, you won't miss the sale), and the long-distance walking boosts your metabolism and burns calories.
Lengthen the drop-off point. When you're taking a cab, allow some extra time and have the driver drop you off a few blocks from your destination. If you're taking a bus, get off a stop or two before you need to, then cover the distance with some fat-burning strides.
Make every minute count. When you're standing in line, for example, you can tighten and relax your gluteus muscles (that is, your rear end). When you're on the phone and someone has put you on hold, you have a good opportunity to do a few repetitions of abdominal breathing techniques.
Use commercial time wisely. TV commercials aren't for snack-fetching, they're for stretching. Get up, stretch, move around. If you're upstairs and there's a quick chore to be done downstairs, or vice versa, seize the commercial break as an opportunity to get it done. Or hang a jump rope near the TV and skip to the jingle. Even that small amount of activity will help you break out of the fat-making mold.
Schedule physical activities with friends. Make active dates with friends and do some physical activities together. If you're accustomed to meeting for lunch or drinks, figure out some other meeting arrangement and make sure it involves exercise. Maybe your lunch partner has been wanting to take up tennis again, and so have you. Maybe you can get some people interested in a pickup game of Frisbee, table tennis, basketball, soccer or volleyball. Even if your lunch hour is literally that, no more than an hour, you and a friend can plan on a short lunch together, followed by a long walk.
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