I’m sure the vast majority of us can agree that weight loss, an improvement in our physical fitness – or simply wanting to become healthier – has been either a New Year’s resolution of ours or a priority on our to-do lists at some point.
However, the sad fact is that the vast majority of these goals are abandoned unconquered, due to a variety of factors.
Yet one of the biggest excuses – and one that we are all affected by at some point or another – will no longer be valid by the end of your reading this article.
What is this grand excuse?
Not having enough time of course.
However, new research has come to light showing that all physical activity taken throughout the day adds up to give you a quality workout that you would otherwise have to visit the gym to achieve.
Each and every single minute you take part in moving your body will count to the minimum recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity.
And that’ll help prolong your life and help you in meeting health guidelines.
The idea is to get your heart rate up.
And while you don’t have to go to smash out an intense game of tennis, or hit the gym incessantly – or even attempt a sprint session – it doesn’t mean that you can slowly walk down to the shops; the goal is to get your blood pumping.
The study found that these little increments of activity throughout the day contributed positively to the attainment of healthy weight indicators such as a lower BMI, and helped the test subjects shed weight in a sustainable way conducive for maintainable weight loss.
It’s also been found that it’s far more motivational to people to know that activity which they more naturally engage in throughout the day still contributes to fitness.
Which means that not everyone has to carve out time for a full workout that’s not easily achievable for everyone – with our busy lifestyles and work commitments.
There are many ways to get your heart rate up to help increase your ‘daily workout’.
A few ideas include washing your car; cleaning the house with tons of energy and vigor; taking your dog for a walk; walking to the shops instead of driving everywhere, or even just parking your car further away from the shops.
Ways to involve a young family might include taking your kids to the park, pushing them on the swings or on the see saw.
Or you could try and involve all the family by making exercise a game or competition.
Compete to see who takes the most steps during a day, or have a dance party and see who can dance for the longest. Play musical chairs or tag.
Not only will you get in some physical exercise but you will also get to create some special memories with your children.
Measure your activity – with an activity tracker?
The easiest way to measure all of the additional movement you are putting in during your day is to wear some kind of fitness tracker.
Fitness trackers don’t just measure how many steps you take, these leaders of innovation have been upgraded to track your heart rate, sleeping patterns, the amount of steps you take on the average day; and it can check whether you are engaged in vigorous intensity exercise such as sprints or if you are in a more moderate physical activity such as walking the dog.
Tracking your movements will greatly add to your motivation and aid you in seeing the results of your hard work.
