Who's Looking After You? Tip Ten, Keep Moving
I’m pretty sure you already know the benefits of doing exercise (or keeping moving as I term it). They include controlling weight, keeping healthy, improving mood and increasing energy. So why, when keeping moving produces all this good stuff, is it so difficult for us to do when we are busy (or even when we’re not)?
Government guidelines recommend that adults aged from 19 – 64 should do a minimum of 150 minutes moderate aerobic exercise per week. I’m not here to convince you to do this (although we should really!), I’m here to persuade you that it’s a good idea to keep moving when we’re busy. So here are my top tips.
- Be Honest. Let’s face it, when we don’t want to do something we tell ourselves all sorts of stories - we don’t have the time, it’s too far too go, it’s too expensive, the list is endless. To all these reasons, I would say ‘Really? Really?’ There is always time, whether it’s getting up earlier in the morning, using your lunch hour or forfeiting half an hour of night time TV. There is always time. If you choose not to, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to get moving and there are lots of the things that you can do that don’t cost any money at all, walking and running being two examples. So here’s what I say ‘Stop with the excuses and get moving!’
- Be realistic. Be realistic about what you can achieve. We don’t all have to be Olympic athletes to stay fit and healthy. In the past I have tried running and high impact aerobics but no longer being in my youth my body just couldn’t cope with the stress I was putting on it. I soon re-evaluated my expectations.
- Find something you enjoy. Not only did my body reject high impact exercise, my mind did as well. So nowadays I stick with what I love – walking, yoga and Pilates. Ok so they may not help me run for the bus but they do keep me active and certainly help with my overall health and well-being. My best advice is find something you really love to do and then it will never become a hardship.
These are my three very simple top tips for keeping moving, not just when we are busy but throughout our life. With so many benefits why would we want to restrict ourselves?