Simple Ways to Add Exercise to Your Daily Routine

By now, we all know that exercising is incredibly important. It's the only real way to lose weight, it helps prevent and remedy many diseases, and it increases energy and general well-being. Overall, it's one of the best things you can do to improve your quality of life. Many health authorities recommend getting at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. But the idea of exercising can prove daunting. Sometimes it's difficult to make time in a busy day to take a class or run or go to the gym, or sometimes you just don't have the money to afford a gym membership or fancy workout equipment. But that's okay because there are plenty of ways to get exercise without all the extra time and money. Here are a few simple ideas for adding exercise into your daily routine:

1) Park further away:
When you run errands or go to work or school, instead of trying to find the closest available spot, park far back in the lot and walk the rest of the way. It might be a small difference, but any additional walking is good, and if you get into the habit of doing it, it'll really add up. Plus, it's easier to find parking that way!

2) Learn to love stairs:
Stairs make for great exercise--they're good for working your thighs and butt, and if you run up them they provide a great cardio workout. If you have stairs in your home, just taking a few moments to run or walk briskly up and down them a few times a day is a great way to add a mini-workout to your day. If you don't have stairs in your home, you can seek stairs out at various other places. And of course, don't take the elevator or escalator when you can take the stairs. That goes for office buildings, hospitals, malls, parking garages, apartment buildings, etc. (Of course, keep safety in mind and stay away from empty stairwells when you're alone at night.)

3) Try mini-aerobics:
There are a lot of little exercises you can do throughout the day that don't require any special equipment or space. Jumping jacks, for example, are a great way to take a break from a boring or stressful routine. You do them while watching TV, taking a break at work, or waiting for water to boil. There are so many times you can fit small exercises like that into a day. And you can start slow and work up--start by doing twenty a day and try to work up to bigger numbers over time. Soon, doing a hundred jumping jacks throughout a day will seem like nothing. And you can do the same thing with jogging in place, push ups, stretches, or whatever your favorite exercise is. The trick is to keep it from becoming a burden by doing it in short spurts when you have time available.

4) Make Watching TV/movies a less sedentary activity:
This goes along with #3. If you like to relax or de-stress by watching TV or movies, why not add some exercising in while you're doing it? It's great, because it doesn't feel like exercise when you have something to distract you, and you'll feel better afterwards then you would feel just sitting immobile in front of the television for hours. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a little bit of movement to get the heart rate up and the body active.

5) Offer to do the chores:
Simple and necessary chores like vacuuming, mowing the lawn, gardening, and vigorous cleaning (among others) can help get the blood flowing and burn calories. So instead of passing up on the chores or finding an easy way out, be productive and healthy at the same time. Playing music can help make doing chores more fun and active. To get the most out of the chores, add a little pep to them, move a little faster and/or a little further.

6) Walk more:
I know it sounds obvious, but it can be easy to forget to add walking to your routine, and it's a great way to get some exercise. And it's simple to add--you can walk more by walking to close by stores, friend's houses, restaurants, etc. If that's not an option, just take a quick walk around the block once or twice a day, or take a walk with friends in a park. Or even just spend more time walking around the house, like pacing while you take a phone call. If you're already accustomed to walking places, take a longer route if you can. Refuse to cut corners--always find ways to take longer and/or faster walks.

7) Check out fitness shows and tapes:
If you have cable, Fit TV has exercise shows on all day long, and many of them are only a half hour. They have a big selection, including yoga, belly dancing, cardio workouts, weight training, and pilates, so there's something for everyone. You can find something you like and tape it so you can do it when it's convenient for you. If you don't have a cable but have a VCR or DVD player, you can find cheap fitness tapes and DVDs at used book/music/film stores, or buy them new for only a little bit more.

8) Have fun with it:
One way to keep up an exercise routine is to make it fun. For example, putting on some music and dancing around the house is great exercise. Plus, you can do it while you're making dinner, or taking a shower, or just bored. Another option is to play active games with your friends and family. If you have kids, take them outside and play tag, kick the can, jump rope, or capture the flag with them. Or get a group of friends together to play basketball or soccer, or go ice skating or roller skating.

Those are just a few of my ideas. Readers, if you have any great exercise ideas, plans, or routines, please put them in the comments below; I'd love to hear them!