5 Practical ways to have an Active Lifestyle: Boost Your Daily Movement Around Your Busy Schedule

Many of us don’t move around as much as we should. We work sedentary jobs and sit in cars or trains to and from work.

It can be difficult to find ways to increase our activity levels as for most of us, life is extremely busy. I’ve put together five practical tips you can use to create a more active lifestyle around a busy work life.

1. Start small

You don’t need to set huge goals such as running a marathon or dedicate two hours a day to the gym. Ten or fifteen minutes of activity can be enough for you, especially if regular exercise is new to you. There are a range of training methods designed to be completed quickly such as Tabata training which requires four minutes of fast paced exercise or high intensity training (not to be confused with high intensity interval training) which can allow you to get a full weightlifting session completed in 20-30 minutes depending on your approach.

2. Take a look at your schedule

Take a look at your current work and life schedule. Ask yourself if there’s anywhere available for you to fit some activity into it. This could be getting up half an hour earlier before work for a short run, getting out for a walk on your lunch break or spending twenty minutes in the gym after work.

Think about this as a long-term plan, don’t get too hung up on the idea of making huge changes and seeing results tomorrow. You need to implement a holistic healthier lifestyle and getting your activity levels up any way you can is a good thing.

3. Make exercise enjoyable

Try and come up with ways you can make exercise enjoyable this could range from listening to podcasts or music whilst you go for a walk or run or it could be taking up a new sport that you have always wanted to try. If you treat exercise like a chore, you are more likely to fail in the long term.

4. Take every opportunity

As you go about your day take every opportunity you can to move. When you come to an escalator walk up it instead of standing still. If you have an option between stairs and a lift, take the stairs if you could walk to work in half an hour and you usually drive, consider walking there and back each day, if getting off the bus one stop early means an extra 5 minutes of walking to get to your destination then get off and walk those 5 minutes. You will probably be surprised at how many opportunities you have through your day to get your activity levels up and these things, whilst they feel small can have a big impact.

5. Give yourself a break

Remember that you are trying to balance a healthy lifestyle around a busy work schedule. Sometimes life gets in the way, and you can’t make it to the gym or you aren’t able to get out for that walk. At times like this we can often feel as if there isn’t any point in trying to continue. These things happen. Don’t let one bad day or one bad week derail you, wait for your schedule to calm down and get back to the exercise the next day or the next week.

In conclusion, embracing a more active lifestyle doesn’t have to be a daunting task filled with hours at the gym. By incorporating small, manageable changes to your daily routine, you can effortlessly weave movement into your busy life.

Whether it’s starting with shorter workout sessions, seizing opportunities to be active throughout the day, or simply enjoying the activities you engage in, remember that every step counts.

Life is unpredictable, and it’s important to give yourself a break when things don’t go as planned. The key is consistency and remembering that every little effort adds up over time, to help you live a healthier happier lifestyle.

Guest written by Jonathan Dowell