The Benefits of Movement
For 2020, many of us made a resolution to exercise more. However, in our previous post we talked about how important it is to set achievable New Year’s resolutions through the use of both long-term and short-term goals. If you are finding that your goal of exercising more often is overwhelming, we have good news! It is okay to start small. If you break down your long-term goal of exercising more, you’ll realize that incorporating more movement into your daily routine is a manageable short-term goal.
A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that just 20 minutes a day of movement leads to overall improved health, with 60 minutes a day leading to maximum health benefits. The best part is, these benefits are experienced no matter how your minutes are accumulated! That means. as you work towards your long-term goal of exercising more, each and every step is progress towards improving your health.
How To Incorporate More Movement into Your Day
Every step you take throughout the day adds up and before you even realize it, you will be reaching 20-60 minutes of movement a day! There are so many simple ways to incorporate more movement into your day, but here is a few of our favorites!
- Park further from the entrance of your office, school, or shopping center.
- Take public transportation, ride your bike, or walk to your destinations if possible.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you have the option.
- Walk to a co-worker’s desk or office to talk to them instead of calling or emailing them.
- Have walking meetings.
- Take a short walk during your lunch break.
- For every hour of sitting, get up, stretch and walk around for 2-3 minutes.
- Aim to tidy up the house or your workspace everyday.
- Start taking morning or evening walks.
- When you are watching TV, walk around, stretch, do a few pushups, etc. during commercial breaks.
Following these tips will not only help you reach your short-term goal of incorporating more movement into your day, but it will also serve as a stepping stone to help you achieve your long-term goal of exercising more! For additional information, click here!
