Articles

Work Exercise Into Your Busy Schedule

By Angie Enloe, R.Ph..

At Bellevue Pharmacy, we hope to educate patients on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. No healthy lifestyle is complete without exercise. The benefits of exercise have been drilled into our heads over and over again. Most people have good intentions, yet still find it difficult to find the time to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives. Adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise most days of the week, preferably daily. (Children need at least 60 minutes a day.) Doing less than this will minimize your health benefits. Moderate aerobic exercise is generally defined as requiring about as much energy as walking 2 miles in 30 minutes. Exercise should be an enjoyable part of your life. Whether you're watching TV at home, working in your office, or on vacation, it's easy to fit short bouts of exercise into your day. Even if you're starved for time, these tips can help you get the essential physical activity you need to live a healthy life.

At home:

• When watching TV, use commercial breaks to climb the stairs five times.
  
• Go out for a short walk before breakfast, after dinner or both. Start with 5-10 minutes and work up to 30 minutes.
  
• Stand up when talking on the phone.
  
• Do some housework. It burns calories and the chores have to get done anyway.
  
• Mow the grass (a riding mower doesn’t count), rake leaves, prune, dig, and pick up trash.
  
• Walk or bike to the corner store instead of driving.
  
• Crank up the tunes and dance around the house (don’t worry, no one is looking).
  

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Or if your work in a high rise building get off a few floors early and take the stairs the rest of the way.
  
• Grab a co-worker and walk around your building on your break or during lunch.
  
• Park at the far end of the parking lot.
  
• Brainstorm project ideas with a co-worker while taking a walk.
  
• Walk down the hall to speak with someone rather than e-mailing or using the telephone. Face-to-face conversation is often better anyway, as it avoids misunderstandings and leads to better bonding and teamwork.
  
• Get off the bus a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way to work or home.
  

At play: