How To Incorporate Movement If You Don’t Have Time

We often view movement or exercise as a way to lose weight or maintain weight. We lose sight of how important movement is for our overall health, not just as a way to stay slim. Many people have negative connotations with exercise or movement because a lot of the time people that do work out don’t necessarily enjoy what they are doing, eventually leading to burnout. That is why finding intuitive movement is a game changer in being physically active.

Intuitive movement is about exercising or moving your body based on intuition. Intuitive movement should be flexible and should be something that you enjoy and feels natural. If you want to know more about Intuitive Movement check out my blog, which explains what intuitive movement is, how to incorporate it, and why to incorporate it into your daily life. 

We all know physical activity and movement are important to our health, but what exactly do we get from it? Here are a few specific benefits of physical activity:

• Reduces cognitive decline

• Reduces depression

• Reduces risk of heart disease

• Reduces risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures

• Reduces risk of type 2 diabetes

• Improves cognition and memory

• Improves satiety cues

• Improves balance and strength

• Improves stress tolerance

• Improves sleep quality

Think about it, which benefits are appealing to you? How would selecting activity make you feel, mood-wise, and how would it affect your day-to-day quality of life?

Now, we know movement has a ton of benefits, but let’s be realistic, how many of us have extra time in the day to participate in movement? Life can be crazy! Maybe you are a stay-at-home mom with several small children running around. Maybe you are a single father and struggle to make ends meet with work and taking care of your children. Maybe you live in an unsafe area and you aren’t sure you can be physically active outside. Maybe you are a college student with tons of classes, extracurricular activities, and homework. Whatever your story is, I get it! 

Here are a few ways you can aim to increase your physical activity and movement throughout your day without taking up too much time. 

Decrease your sitting time. 

“A person can eat, work, shop, bank, and socialize without having to leave the comfort of their chair.” - Henson 2016

Fun fact- the average person spends more time sitting than sleeping. Sitting for long periods of time can impact your physiological status and metabolic health. I don’t say we should stand more to hit your AppleWatch “stand goal” or to stand up, do jumping jacks and sit back down. Rather, it is about getting up and breaking the stillness of sitting. 

So how much time a day do you think you are sitting? Here are a few examples of sitting you may not have even thought of:

• Driving

• Sitting at your desk

• Watching TV

• Reading

• Texting/talking on the phone

• Paying bills

• Researching

• Simply relaxing

When I sit down (oh gosh) and think about it, the time I spend sitting down is crazy! So here are a few ways to help break up prolonged sitting.

1. Set an alarm to get up every hour and stretch, check the mail, do laundry, take out the trash.

2. Walk around the house or outside during phone calls or meetings (as appropriate).

3. Change reading locations every hour. 

4. While at work, schedule a walk and talk meeting with a small group (as appropriate).

5. Consider getting an adjustable desk to stand up and sit down.

6. Consider getting a walking desk if that sounds interesting to you.

7. On an airplane get up and walk the aisle every hour. 

Focus on NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

If you don’t have the time to get in the gym and break a sweat, don’t worry yourself! You can still incorporate movement you enjoy in your everyday life. NEAT is the energy expended for everything we do except sleeping, eating and exercising. Mundane daily activities may play a role in metabolic and cardiovascular health more than you know! Here are a few examples of NEAT: 

• Fidgeting

• Cleaning your house/vacuuming

• Taking the stairs

• Carry your groceries instead of pushing in a cart

• Giving your dog a bath

• Gardening

• Mowing the lawn

• Parking in the farthest spot in the parking lot

I challenge you to think about different NEAT movements you do in your day to day and try incorporating a few more if that is something you are interested in!

I hope this helps you get creative and find ways to move your body! Our bodies are so amazing and treating them with love and kindness is the best thing we can do.