Fitness hacks for busy lives

Who doesn’t want to look and feel their best? But it’s not easy. You have to exercise and eat right and those are perhaps the most difficult things to do. Finding the time to exercise is next to impossible when you have a zillion chores at home and work deadlines to meet. Often, there are too many things to do and not enough hours in a day. But that doesn’t have to mean you can’t achieve your fitness goals. You just have to find innovative ways to squeeze some squats and lunges in your routine and get your heart rate up to burn those calories. We are here to arm you with some simple hacks to make fitness a part of your daily life, all without you having to set aside a fixed time for it.

 Make it a group activity

Go for a run or a Zumba workout with a friend. Enjoy a stroll after dinner with your partner. Play badminton with a neighbor. If you make fitness a group activity or engage in it with a partner, you will enjoy it and stick to it. 

 Dance to a song every day 

Play your favorite song and dance to it as soon as you get out of bed or before you take a shower. You can also do this in the evening after coming back from work. It will help you burn some calories as well as put you in a good mood.

 Do 20 squats every two hours

You can easily do about 120 to 150 squats in a day if you simply break it down and do 20 every two hours. You can do this at work too. Simply get up from your seat and do 20 squats before sitting down again. Squats are great to tone your calf and thigh muscles.

 Hydrate

Drink water. We can’t stress on this enough. If you are hydrated, you are less likely to reach for cold drinks or other sugary beverages when you are thirsty. Make sure you have at least eight large glasses of water every day.

 Play with kids or pets

If you have children or pets, this is a great way to feel good as well as get your heart pumping. Toss a ball or play chase to have a good time and make some memories while burning some calories.

 Focus on small things

You might not be able to go for a 40-minute walk, but you can make it a point to get in 500 steps after each meal. You might not be able to join a gym, but you can take the stairs instead of the elevator. Look for little things you can do to stay active. Don’t underestimate its power.

Walk when on the phone

If you are at home or at work and you have a phone call to make, do so moving around. Better, head out and go for a short walk. A 10-minute phone can fetch you a thousand steps. This is a really great way to get your step count up.

Stand on one leg

Studies have found that this feat of coordination provides a proper brain workout, improving neuroplasticity. There’s also the option to close your eyes to make it much more challenging. Do this while brushing your teeth, making tea, or while putting on makeup.

Switch up your commute

If you regularly use the car to go to work, consider walking or cycling to work at least once a day. You might have to leave half an hour early but the results will be worth it. You will also be lowering your carbon footprint and contributing to a cleaner planet.

Do some chores

Every day, do one chore around the house that you normally don’t do yourself. It could be sweeping the stairs, vacuuming the carpets, or cleaning the windows. You will have gotten some exercise in, freed up your house help’s time for something else and, best of all, you will have a clean house.

Use little pockets of time

The most common excuse people have for a lack of exercise in their lives is not having the time for it, yet most of us watch TV on a regular basis. During television breaks, get up and do something—10 burpees, 15 crunches, or some stretching. It all adds up at the end of the day.

Do a 10-minute YouTube workout

Really, nobody is so busy that they can’t do a 10-minute workout at home. There are fitness apps and YouTube channels that provide great mini workouts that can tone your entire body in minutes. If you can’t do anything else, make sure you do at least one of these every day.