Everyone knows that we must exercise at least 5 times a week to maintain good health. Regular exercise keeps our body mass index in check, enhances our metabolic activity, and easily removes toxins from our bodies.
Having said that, it is still not easy to follow the weekly exercise routine. So, what is the solution to it? Well, there are other ways, in which you can still make your body move a bit. You can acclimatize your body and make it believe that it is good to work out. Stating slowly and doing mini-workouts help in preparing your body for hours-long workout sessions.
Taking Stairs
Do not avoid stairs! That lift, which takes you up and down in your office premises and your home, ditch that. Try to take stairs whenever and wherever possible and this has to turn into a habit.
It will be very difficult to do this because the body gets used to comfort very easily. You will need to push yourself, initially for a few months, to take the stairs. Once your body accepts walking up and down, it will get comfortable & easy. Trust me, this hack keeps you healthy and it works.
Getting Daily Essentials
Milk, bread, eggs, fruits, and veggies are some daily essentials that every household needs first thing in the morning. Also, we have a lot of apps that do doorstep delivery of daily essentials and these home delivery has become essential part of lives of people.
However, you can break this pattern and make it a habit that you will step out of your house and get the daily essentials. Do not even subscribe to the app that does doorstep delivery of daily essentials. Make yourself vulnerable because your body tends to respond naturally to vulnerable situations like these.
Clean Your Own Place
You can start your day by cleaning your place. Mopping the floor once a day will not take much but it will prepare your body for a proper workout routine. If mopping gets overwhelming, you can even start by dusting furniture and arranging various objects in your home.
You need not do it daily; just once a week on weekends will also do the trick. You can also get into the habit of washing your car and keeping it clean.
Park Your Car Far Away
This hack is my personal favorite! At the end of the day, you can deliberately park your car a bit far away from your home (maybe 500 meters or such). This way you will be able to walk to and from your house daily.
There is another benefit to parking your car far away; you get a parking spot very easily! There will be times when you would not want to walk but then you will not have an option because you will have to park only in the space allotted to you (so, basically, you need to create situations that do not leave you with the option to back off in any way!).
Get a Dog
Yes! This is a very good hack to get some exercise. If you get a dog, you will need to take your dog on evening and morning walks (you can choose to outsource it, but then do not do it!).
With a dog, it is not just about taking it on daily walks; but it is also about playing games like fetch with your dog on a daily basis. This will involve a lot of physical activity & the best part is you will enjoy this kind of physical activity.
Join a Sports Club or a Fitness Committee
There are times when you need a push and making friends with people that can push you, can help you immensely in maintaining your exercise routine. To ensure this, you can join a sports club or a community of like-minded people.
You must like to play some sport (tennis, badminton, swimming, etc.). Join the sports club where you will be able to take some sports of your choice. Sports involve a lot of physical activity and is an absolutely fun way to keep your body fit. Also, get good pair of sports shorts on discount to get that extra dose of motivation.
Keep Some Workout Equipment in Your Home
It is important to keep the equipment right in front of your eyes. This will condition your mind to use the equipment at least once or twice a week (at least on weekends!).
Your mind already knows and believes that you need to do some kind of physical activity; not using workout equipment will make you feel guilty and you will eventually succumb to following a healthy workout routine. You will at least try to take up less physically intensive form of exercise like holding yoga postures for good health.
Go on a 10 Minutes’ Walk
Setting a small target tricks your mind into believing that it is doable and achievable. You will want to achieve this easy target daily.
Put an alarm on your phone for 10 minutes and walk only for the allotted time. It will be a slow start, but it will be a start for sure.
To conclude
You need to understand that not following a fitness routine has nothing to do with your physical body but everything to do with your mental body. (in short, your mind is lazy & does not consider working out as an essential activity). All we are trying to do with these hacks is to make your mind believe that working out can be a fun activity as well. You can even take bits of help from different health apps to prepare your body for a good workout session.