Do you exercise regularly?
If your answer is YES, you're on the right path to healthy living. If no, you might want to reconsider your options, regardless of your lifestyle.
If you want to live a healthy and fulfilling life into old age, you have to consider taking exercise more seriously. The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Everyone benefits from exercise, regardless of age, sex or physical ability.
According to research stats obtained from http://www.nhs.uk/, it's medically proven that people who do regular physical activity have:
- 35% lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke
- 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes
- 50% lower risk of colon cancer
- 20% lower risk of breast cancer
- 83% lower risk of osteoarthritis
- 30% lower risk of depression
- 30% lower risk of dementia
- 30% lower risk of early death
- 30% lower risk of falls (among older adults)
- 68% lower risk of hip fracture
To stay healthy, adults should try to be active daily and aim to achieve at least 2 hours, 30 minutes of physical activity over a week through a variety of activities.
Do you need to register in a gym to start exercising?
The answer is NO. For most people, the easiest way to start exercising is to make physical activity part of everyday life; like brisk walking instead of driving around everywhere, taking stairs instead of the escalator/Lift.
However, the more exercise you're involved in, the better.
Ways to Incorporate a little exercise into your daily routine that will work around your busy schedule.
Keep a set of workout clothes handy
You might live someplace that’s out of the way, which can make getting to the gym a chore. Once you’re home after work, there’s very little that is going to motivate you to head out to the gym.
Say you had dinner plans, but they fell through during the day. Having a set of workout attire on hand means you can still hit the gym after work instead of heading home! Comfy clothes also make you more open to getting your sweat on, which might motivate you to hit the gym during lunch or to walk home from the train station or the bus stop instead of taking a cab home from the office. I recommend leaving a bag of clean clothes and comfy shoes at work for when such an occasion arises!
Use a workout app
Exercise doesn’t have to be a solid hour of Crossfit or yoga. You can even do a quick five-minute HIIT workout or perform a series of planks, sit-ups or pushups. I’ve tried the Nike+ Training Club app which has free workouts that cater to different fitness levels and the amount of time you have to spare! Some of them don’t even require any equipment. Just trust me when I recommend starting at a beginner level unless you’re particularly fit.
You can search Youtube for quick five-minute workout routines that you can slot into your schedule just before a shower at the end of the day. The best part? It doesn’t require a gym membership!
Turn everything into a workout
Try little things like leg raises while you watch TV, work on your computer, or iron clothes. There’s an opportunity to work out the parts of your body that aren’t in regular use, which is going to be especially effective for toning up your muscles. It’s not the same as cardio or a proper weight session at the gym, but it’s still going to make a difference in the long run.
You can also buy a skipping rope or hula hoop and use the latter while watching TV! The possibilities are pretty vast when it comes to this tip, and doing a little bit a day will reduce your pangs of guilt for not having the time or energy to hit the gym.
Track your daily fitness
There are so many fitness trackers available right now to suit your level of activity and your fitness needs. Some just track your daily steps, others count calories burned and your heart rate, others even track your sleep cycle to see if you’re getting a healthy night of sleep. I’ve been using the new Apple Watch for a few weeks now and I must say I like that it has a function that shares your daily activity! This means you and your partner or BFF can motivate each other to work out more. The Apple Watch app tracks the number of calories burned, the number of steps taken, distance traveled, number of minutes spent exercising, and the number of hours in the day you were physically active. Having someone to motivate you, even if it’s through an app or by sharing daily stats, is a great way of consciously focusing your thoughts on the need to exercise.