Session 8:
Find Time for Fitness
Let’s brainstorm some ways to fit fitness into your daily life.
Some ways to fit in fitness anytime include:
- Breaking your 150 minutes into 10-minute chunks.
- Schedule it. Put it on your calendar like an appointment and make it a priority.
- Tweak your schedule. Get up 30 minutes earlier so you can walk before work. Or have dinner 30 minutes earlier so you can walk after dinner. For many of us, there’s usually an opportunity to get a few minutes of activity after lunch or dinner if we finish up a bit earlier. Walking after a meal can also help you avoid the drowsiness that sometimes happens after we eat.
To fit in fitness while you get to places:
- Get off the bus or train one stop early and walk the rest of the way.
- Park your car farther from the place you want to go.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Walk or ride your bike to get to places.
You can also fit in fitness while you watch TV:
- Dance or do side steps.
- Lift weights or use resistance bands.
- March or jog in place.
- Pedal a stationary bike or walk on a treadmill. You may even want to think about watching TV as your reward for these activities – and only let yourself watch TV if you do something active at the same time.
To fit in fitness while you get things done:
- Ask family and friends to pitch in so you have more time to be active.
- Mow your lawn with a push mower.
- Move briskly while you.
- Rake your lawn, weed your garden, or shovel snow.
- Shop.
- Sweep or mop your floor, carry laundry, or vacuum.
- Walk your dog.
- Wash your car.
Add activity to your social life:
- Go out dancing with your friend or partner.
- Join a walking club, golf league, soccer club, or softball team.
- Play soccer, tag, or kickball with your kids or grandkids.
- Push your child or grandchild in a stroller.
- Take a fitness class.
- Talk on the phone with a friend while you march in place, walk, climb stairs, or pedal a stationary bike.
- Walk with a partner, family member, friend or coworker.
- Having an activity buddy to support and motivate you to get moving can make all the difference in how many steps you get in your day. You are more likely to stick with consistent activity if somebody else is counting on you to show up.
And finally, to fit in fitness at work especially if you have a desk job:
- Ask your co-workers to hold stand-up meetings.
- Join a nearby gym: Stop before or after work, or go during your lunch break.
- Sit on a fitness ball instead of a chair.
- Take a brisk walk during your coffee or lunch break.
- Take part in a fitness program at work.
- Talk to coworkers in person, instead of emailing them.
- Use a copy machine on the other side of the building and walk around or march in place while you talk on the phone.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
So far we’ve talked about getting physical activity for 30 minutes at a time or for 10 minutes at a time at least 3 times throughout the day. But what about those days when neither of those are realistic options? What if you only have ONE 10-minute block of time? A typical workout can be a two minute warm-up, followed by an interval of running or cycling as hard as you can for 20 – 30 seconds, followed by a two minute break, then repeating that interval once or twice, and then a two minute cool down.
You actually can get many of the same benefits from a longer workout in just a single 10 minute session if you are willing to work hard. It’s called High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT has been shown to improve:
- aerobic and anaerobic fitness
- blood pressure
- cardiovascular health
- insulin sensitivity
- cholesterol, and
- abdominal fat and body weight while maintaining muscle mass.
HIIT can be more tiring than lower intensity, longer physical activity so you won’t want to do it every day. And most people should have a base level of fitness before starting HIIT.
HIIT is not for everyone, and it’s certainly not something you should start doing before consulting your doctor. But if your doctor is OK with it, HIIT can be a very effective approach for people with limited time.
Reviewed by Emily Matson, MS, RDN
on July 14, 2020. Emily is a Registered Dietitian with her Master's degree in Nutrition from Bastyr University in Kenmore, WA, and is one of our Brook Experts.