Exercise is a very important part of weight loss. And I admit, it’s not something that I am always good at doing. It is so easy to come up with excuses not to do it.
“I’m too tired.”
“I have too much to do and don’t have time.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
Etcetera, etcetera. Trust me, I am the queen of excuses. Not something I am proud of. In my efforts to lose weight I have begun to incorporate exercise into my normal day through a variety of ways without having to necessarily set aside a certain amount of time.
A few examples:
If I go into the basement to do a load of laundry I may do a set of curls with the dumbbells and then do lunges across the basement till I get to the washing machine or dryer. On my way back I will reverse this and do the lunges & then do another set of curls. When I go up the stairs I may take 2 stairs at a time to work my leg muscles some more.
If I go upstairs to our master bedroom to get another load of laundry I may lie on the floor and do crunches until my stomach hurts & I can’t possibly do another one.
If I need to go to the store for a couple items (that aren’t real heavy!) I may walk to the store & back. The store is about 1 ½ miles from my house. This is a little time consuming, but it’s so relaxing to be outside walking & so much more enjoyable than the treadmill! Not everyone is within walking distance of the store, but there may be another errand you need to do that you can incorporate exercise into. You get the idea.
I’m sure there are other things that you can think of to break up the monotony of exercise. I also know that exercise may be more beneficial if you do it all at once so your muscles get warmed up and really worked out instead of getting breaks, but sometimes we don’t have or want to take an hour from our day to dedicate to exercise.
I do know that for myself, whether I exercise in short spurts or all at once, I always feel better afterwards!
“I’m too tired.”
“I have too much to do and don’t have time.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
Etcetera, etcetera. Trust me, I am the queen of excuses. Not something I am proud of. In my efforts to lose weight I have begun to incorporate exercise into my normal day through a variety of ways without having to necessarily set aside a certain amount of time.
A few examples:
If I go into the basement to do a load of laundry I may do a set of curls with the dumbbells and then do lunges across the basement till I get to the washing machine or dryer. On my way back I will reverse this and do the lunges & then do another set of curls. When I go up the stairs I may take 2 stairs at a time to work my leg muscles some more.
If I go upstairs to our master bedroom to get another load of laundry I may lie on the floor and do crunches until my stomach hurts & I can’t possibly do another one.
If I need to go to the store for a couple items (that aren’t real heavy!) I may walk to the store & back. The store is about 1 ½ miles from my house. This is a little time consuming, but it’s so relaxing to be outside walking & so much more enjoyable than the treadmill! Not everyone is within walking distance of the store, but there may be another errand you need to do that you can incorporate exercise into. You get the idea.
I’m sure there are other things that you can think of to break up the monotony of exercise. I also know that exercise may be more beneficial if you do it all at once so your muscles get warmed up and really worked out instead of getting breaks, but sometimes we don’t have or want to take an hour from our day to dedicate to exercise.
I do know that for myself, whether I exercise in short spurts or all at once, I always feel better afterwards!
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