The human body is designed to move. Up until the mid-20th century, most folks have been accustomed to going about and not staying seated most of the time. It was only until technology started making our lives “easier” by gradually taking away most of the physical aspects of our lives that things started to change for mankind. Technology has somehow lifted the burden from us and started doing the heavy work on our behalf.
While technology has been such a boon to man, it has also brought us some negative side effects, namely a sedentary lifestyle caused by a huge decrease in physical activity. This physical inactivity is the 4th leading cause of global mortality which is at about 3.2 million deaths yearly, all related to a sedentary lifestyle.
For this reason, you must learn how to incorporate some sort of physical routine to your day. It is a major part of taking care of your health. If you value things like getting the right supplementation or your oral health care, you should also invest in your physical body.
Adults are recommended to have at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity in a week or 75 minutes of intense workout weekly.
But I’m not the type of person who likes to hit the gym, you say. It’s okay. You can start where you’re at — in the comfort of your home.
7 Ways to Start Getting Exercise into Your Daily Habits
You need to be dissatisfied with your sedentary lifestyle.
Fact: The average person spends about half a day sitting. That’s 12 hours. Whether you’re eating, driving, or getting work done, your sedentary lifestyle contributes to increased health risks to your body. Knowing the risks caused by it should make you say “enough is enough.”
What you tolerate, you cannot change.
1. Put it on your daily schedule.
Find time in your day to have a few minutes of exercise. You can block off an hour from your usual sked and use it for a workout or you can space them out throughout the day. The important thing is you start moving.
Put it on your calendar and stick to your schedule no matter what. Unless it’s up there, it doesn’t exist. Just as you would put up something important such as a wisdom tooth extraction procedure in your calendar, it shows that you value exercise enough to include it in your schedule daily.
2. Set up a workout area at home that’s easily accessible to you.
Look for a suitable area in your home that should be easily accessible to you at any time. Don’t set up in your basement, attic, or garage (unless you frequent those areas). It should be somewhere highly visible throughout the day. A corner in your living room or study should suffice.
3. Perform an exercise every hour.
Every hour on the dot, stop what you’re doing and do a few sets of a particular exercise. You can do three sets of push-ups at 10 to 15 reps per set or a few sets of burpees. It will depend on your program. You don’t need to hit the gym to get a proper workout. There are a lot of home workout programs available online that you can follow.
4. Get a few sets of an exercise in before doing any leisure activity.
Before doing anything leisurely, pay for it first upfront with a few sets of exercises. Before you watch Netflix, do some lunges. If you have some equipment lying around, like a kettlebell, a few kettlebell snatches should be enough to pay for a light snack.
5. Get an accountability buddy.
When you’re working out at home, you might feel tempted to cheat on your reps or even skip exercising because no one’s looking after you. Be proactive and look for an accountability buddy to check up on your progress and make sure you’re getting your daily workouts.
6. Commit to it even if you don’t feel like it.
Lastly, to quote a famous brand, just do it. Even if you don’t feel like it. There will be days that you won’t feel like exercising. Just do it anyway. When it’s tempting to just stay in bed instead of going out for your morning run, get up anyway. Your commitment will determine your success.
For beginners like you, it is important that you learn to manage your expectations. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get the physique that you want. It doesn’t come overnight. However, if you do commit to working out regularly and doing it right — coupled with proper diet and supplementation — you will start seeing results in only a few weeks.
