Let’s face it—our lives are getting busier day by day. Everyone nowadays is consumed with a lot of places we need to be and several errands we need to do. Which is why—most of the time—the only exercise we can do in a day is running late!

When you’re busy—finding the time to exercise can be hard—but don’t worry! It is possible if you get creative. Maybe all you need is a little bit of structure and guidance to get you started.

Check out these tips to add exercise to your busy schedule.

Cleaning The House

Put an end to your inner guilt and combine housecleaning with exercising!  After all—even short and light exercises can improve your physical fitness.  All you need to do is just crank up your favorite music—and get out those cleaning supplies and get ready for squatting while cleaning your house! 

• Combine vacuuming with lunges with vacuuming –  Lunge forward to work your buttocks, thighs—and hips. While you keep your back straight—bend your knees at 90 degrees—without letting your knees go further than your toes.

• Laundry lifts and squats – When carrying your laundry basket—you can tone your arms while doing so by keeping them raised at a 90° angle when carrying the laundry basket. You may also work your legs with lunges and squats as you fold. 
• Wiping windows, showers, scrubbing—and mopping floors make your shoulders and arms work- While wiping the windows or showers— do it in a circular motion and use extra force when scrubbing to burn more calories. If you are aiming for a more intense workout—scrub the floors instead of mopping them. Scrubbing the floor is great for your core muscles! As you scrub the floor on your knees—use both hands in holding the cloth and push your arms out in front of you. Contract your abdomen muscles every time you lean forward—and every time you move straight forward—make sure to lean side to side.

The squat integrates almost all of your legs and core muscles—making it one of the purest tests of strength. 

Climbing up and Down The Stairs

Taking the stairs is easy to access for all type of physical activities that requires no special equipment or training. Climbing up and down the stairs uses around 8 to 10 times the energy requirements when your body is at rest. 

climbing up and down the stairs doesn’t only burn a lot more calories. It also engages all of your abdominal muscles—stimulates all the organs of your abdominal muscles, activates the spine—as well as reduces the risk of leg, knee—and ankle injuries. 

Dancing it Out!

Dancing is one of the ways for people with no time to go to the gym to stay fit. Also—dancing is suitable for all ages—and sizes! Dancing as a form of exercise has a wide range of mental and physical benefits—including:

• Improves your heart and lungs condition
• Increases your endurance, muscular strength, and motor fitness
• Improves strength and muscle tone
• Helps you lose weight
• Strengthens bones and reduces the risk of osteoporosis
• Improves agility, coordination, and flexibility
• Increases your physical confidence
• Improves general and psychological wellbeing

Walking Instead of Taking Your Car to do Errands

There are a lot of reasons to take walking as a form of exercise. Aside from choosing to walk instead of taking your car to do errands—here are the other benefits you get from walking:

• Improves fitness
• Improves cardiac health
• Alleviates depression 
• Improves mood
• Less stress on joints
• Reduced risk for cancer and chronic disease
• Prevents weight gain
• Improves endurance, posture, and circulation.

The energy you are using for moderate-intensity walking could reduce the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

Stop Planning and Start Doing!

If you are truly committed to getting fit, you need to start doing now! You can start by creating a schedule of your workout routine at home—let’s say—for example—climbing the stairs for 5 minutes during lunch break on Mondays to Fridays.

Starting to make small commitments and then building them as you go on your fitness journey is much better than just planning without actually doing anything. 

Remember—if you are unsure of anything, want advice—or just to share your progress—I’m only an email away. You can get in touch with me at CONTACT@ALEXIA-CLARK.COM—and I will get back to you as soon as possible!