Home Meet Dr. Kris Therapies FAQs First Visit WCB ICBC Office Hours Fees Orthotics Newsletter Articles/Tips Massage Therapy Contact	HOW TO FIT FITNESS INTO YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE   Copyright 2003-2007 Dr. Krisjan M. Gustavson. Please ask permission to reproduce.  We all know the benefits of exercise, yet many of use still find it difficult to incorporate physical activity into our busy lives. Most of use have good intentions, but do not seem to find the time to exercise. NOT ENOUGH TIME is the number one excuse for remaining inactive. Five or ten minutes isn’t going to effect anything. If it is, you are in serious need of a time management seminar. TOO TIRED is the second most common excuse. Sitting at a desk all day will make you feel tired and sluggish. A little physical activity will blast oxygen to your brain and muscles. For any of the other excuses you come up with just remember, they are only that, acknowledge them for what they are and do it anyway. Remember how important it is to your well being to add physical activity into your lifestyle. Do not think exercise; think fun recreational physical activity that just happens to include moving your body. What can we do at home? Modern technology has taken the physical activity out of chores. You need to replace the lost physical activity with something else. For instance, when you are watching television, use the commercial breaks to, fold laundry, make a bed or unload the dishwasher. When working at a desk or computer remember to take “physical breaks” every 40minutes, for 5 minutes to tone your muscles with a few easy stretching and strengthening exercises. With a little creativity, you can think of many ways to combat being a high tech slug. What can we do at the office? Next time you need to talk to a co-worker, why not hand-deliver a message instead of picking up the phone. The simplest way to increase your physical activity at work is not to use the elevator. Walk a few flights of stairs. Remember you don’t have to walk all of them. Bring your walking shoes and a change of socks to work and turn your coffee break into a “stress-reduction and revitalization break.” This is not that hard to accomplish, remember that you are not aiming for a cardio workout. What can we do with our cars for short trips? For most of us, it is just force of habit combined with very little time. If we stop to think about this, does an extra 10 minutes really make such a big difference to our schedule? Think of the saving of wear and tear on your car and think of the benefits a quick walk will do. If you must drive, park in the farthest space in the parking lot, so you will have to walk for an extra few minutes – remember it all adds up! Walking Walking is the easiest and most popular way to increase your level of physical activity. Try to incorporate walking every day… go window shopping, walk around your neighbourhood. Go check out the local car lots and see what’s new. If you make this fun, there is a greater chance that you will continue. The key to success is variety; so change your routes, change your pace, change your stride, but make it fun and interesting. Remember that you can also get a work out at home while you are watching TV. You will just have to move your clothes off the treadmill, bike or stair climber and get started. Quality time and better health all in one Replace a few hours a week of your family time with something a little more physical and fun. Try the game follow the leader when you go for nature walks. Go bird watching, press flowers, take photo’s … just get moving. Plan ahead Get organized. Planning helps to overcome the tendency to put off the activity when the time comes to actually “do it”. Remember to place your runner and socks by the front door the night before so they are ready to leave with you to go to work. If your family is going hiking on the week end, make sure that everyone’s out door gear is ready and near the door, also that all supplies including the food is ready to go. This will help you to overcome the “ I’m so comfortable and cozy let’s go next weekend” scenario. Make the commitment to increase your physical activity on a daily basis. You will soon find out that it is much easier than you thought and that the reward of feeling better and having more energy will motivate you to keep “up the pace” and to find more creative ways to fit fitness, into your daily schedule.
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© Copyright 2003-2007 Dr. K. M. Gustavson	Home Meet Dr. Kris Therapies FAQs First Visit WCB ICBC Office Hours Fees Orthotics Newsletter Articles/Tips Massage Therapy Contact