How to Incorporate Exercise into Your Every Day Life

Everyone knows that exercise is important, but for various reasons, many people struggle with making exercise a normal part of life. Although it's ideal to participate in a regular exercise routine, it's possible to increase your level of exercise without ever walking into a gym or starting up an exercise DVD.

One of the best ways to incorporate exercise into your everyday life is to walk as much as possible. Here are some ways to do just that.

HOW TO PREPARE TO INCORPORATE EXERCISE INTO YOUR EVERY DAY LIFE

1. Get a pedometer. A pedometer measures how many steps you walk while you wear it, therefore, it is the best way to know how much walking you do in a day or week. It's best to get a pedometer that measures not only steps, but how many miles you walk and how many calories you burn through walking. Wear the pedometer the entire day, except for times when it is not possible to do so such as when you're in the shower.

2. The first day you wear the pedometer, try not to change your normal routine. In order to measure your progress, it is helpful if you can establish how much you walk in a typical day before you begin to focus on increasing the amount of steps you take each day. Write down the number of steps you took on the first day before you go to bed.

3. Make a list of ways you can increase the amount of steps you take each day. I will give you several ideas in this article, but since each person's situation is different, you may have options for walking that I don't think of, or you may not be able to do some of the things I suggest. Use the ideas below as a starting point and then be creative to come up with more ideas especially suited to your situation.

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR DAILY STEPS

1. Park far away from the entrance to your office, the entrance to the grocery store, etc. Rather than attempting to get the closest possible parking place, intentionally park near the back of the lot. Note: for safety reasons, do not part in areas that are dark or that are so far away from the entrance no other cars are near by.

2. Don't take the elevator; take the stairs instead. If you work in an office building, or live in an apartment or condo located above the first floor, avoid taking the elevator as much as possible. It's important to remember that you do not have to take the stairs the entire way. For instance, if you work on the 15^th floor of an office building, climbing 15 flights of stairs each morning will likely be too much to start with. Depending on your current fitness level, start with climbing between one and two flights of stairs, then take the elevator the rest of the way. As you get into better shape, you can gradually add the number of flights you climb each day.

3. Walk rather than make a phone call or send an email to your coworkers. If you work in an office environment where you interact with many other people, as much as possible, walk over to another person's office to relay a message rather than picking up the phone or sending an email. It isn't always possible to do this, but whenever you can, walk and talk rather than sit and type.

4. Walk in between shops when shopping in a strip mall. If you have more than one store to go to in a large strip mall, rather than getting in your car and driving to the other end of the strip mall, walk from store to store.

HOW TO MEASURE AND INCREASE YOUR EXERCISE PROGRESS

1. Continue to wear your pedometer daily and make note of the number of steps you take each day. Compare those figures with how many steps you took on the first day you used your pedometer, prior to starting your new exercise focus.

2. You will note that some days you walk less than others. That's fine! But if you notice that you didn't walk as much on one day, make a point of being more conscientious about walking more the next day.

3. Set small goals and gradually increase them. For instance, if you found that on the first day you wore your pedometer that you only walked ¼ of a mile, set a goal of walking ½ a mile per day for the rest of the week. Gradually work up to walking one mile or more per day.

Eventually you may want to join a gym or participate in some type of formal exercise routine, but even if you don't, simply incorporating more exercise into your daily life through walking as much as possible will make a big difference in your overall health and energy level.