In our modern, busy lives it can be hard to find time for exercise. While a morning routine that involves exercise is important, that by itself may not be enough. In this short post, I want to share a few in ways in which I have incorporated exercise into my everyday life on weekdays. All of these strategies are easy to implement and not particularly surprising.
Strategy 1: Walk up the stairs to work or school
I currently work on the 7th floor of a commercial building. At the height of the coronavirus epidemic here in Hong Kong, the building management decided to turn off elevator access to certain floors of the building to reduce human traffic — and for a few days, this included my floor. After one day of using the service elevator, I decided to start walking up to my office. This turned out to be such a convenient exercise that I soon decided to cut out the elevator altogether. Even though elevator access to my floor has now been restored, I still take the stairs to get to and from work.
Taking the stairs is a viable exercise opportunity as long as you work or spend most of your time in a place that is above ground level. Your mileage may vary, but I would say that anything within 10 floors is totally walkable from the ground level. If you work any higher than that, you can take the elevator to 10 floors below your floor, then walk up.
Strategy 2: Take a walk before work
I used to ride a “minibus” (Hong Kong jargon for a 16- or 19-seater public vehicle) that took me directly from where I live to my office. However, the frequency of this route could be quite erratic, and I often found myself running late. A few months ago, I decided to make a change — I would take a different bus to a station that was about one kilometre from my office, then walk to work. Since buses run according to a pretty accurate schedule in Hong Kong, and my walk always took the same amount of time (20 min), I was rarely late ever again.
That one-kilometre walk has become a daily exercise ritual for me on weekdays. Besides the health benefits, the walk also helps me clear my mind before my workday commences. I am usually walking in silence lost in my own thoughts, or listening to a podcast episode on self improvement (usually Joel Marion and Dan Long’s Born to Impact podcast.)
You can implement something similar in your commute. Simply get off the bus/train/car a few stops early and walk to your office from there. Or, if you have heavy bags, you could always drop off your things at your office half an hour early, and then go for a walk in a nearby park or around the district. The point is, taking a walk right before work is a great form of exercise, and might just help you with that next mental breakthrough.
Strategy 3: Tiny exercise bursts throughout the day
I might not be able to sneak in a full length workout during the day, but chances are there will be opportunities for short bursts of exercise. This requires getting creative. If I need to go on an escalator I will walk up instead of stand. If I get stuck on a problem I might do a set of 10 push-ups to refresh my mind. Sometimes I lift a heavy bag in lieu of weights as I watch a video. Exercise opportunities are everywhere, and we just need to look a bit harder in order to see them. And while getting down on the floor for a set of push-ups might get you weird looks in the office or the library, if you work or study from home then this is even less of a problem.
Conclusion and a small disclaimer
Now, just to be clear, none of these exercise hacks can replace a regular workout routine. The science shows that we need at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity every week to stay healthy. However, I hope these strategies might help you, as it has helped me, get in some extra physical activity throughout your day, to add that extra boost to your mind and body.