I have been active and athletics have been an important part of my life. Currently I take Yoga, Pilates and Strength classes at TruFit Studios in Beautiful Fountain Hills, Arizona. Yet, there are many times now when I don't have enough time to get in a work out.
As Realtors. we're out showing homes, going on listing appointments, talking on the phone and doing the necessary paperwork to complete our transactions...pretty sedentary. Well, here are 25 ways to get some needed exercise, as authored by Joan Price:
25 Ways to Exercise for Successful Realtors Who Barely Have a Minute!
You think you don't have time to exercise? Research shows that frequent short bouts of exercise have cumulative effects, and a bunch of fitness bursts confer almost the same health and weight-loss benefits as one longer session. Here are 25 innovative ways you can fit many minutes of exercise into your day-a few at a time!
•1. Don't Drive to Work. Park your car at the location of a stop you want to make
after work-post office, coffee house, bagel shop-rather than at your own
workplace. Hoof it to work, then back to your after-work spot. If the force is
with you, your car will be where you left it. Alternative: leave your car where it's
easy to find parking, even if-especially if-it's a mile or two away from work.
•2. Stand and Deliver. You'll feel less tired and your brain will work better if you
stand as much as possible while you work or study. Take "standing breaks" at
least every hour and work standing up, if possible, for 5-10 minutes. You'll burn
25% more calories. Don't lean over your desk, though-find tasks that let you
stay upright, like returning phone calls, reading or jotting notes using a
clipboard. If you pace as you work, you'll burn almost four times as many
calories as sitting.
•3. Phone Push Ups. Each time you make a phone call, do push ups against the
desk while you wait for the person to answer. If you don't have a speaker
phone, do one-armed push ups. Change arms with each call.
•4. Jog Online. Use those annoying down times when you're waiting for a printing
file or a slow-loading Web page and get up and jog, dance, or march.
•5. Burn 'Em, Don't Eat 'Em. Skip the pastries and get outside. Walk around the
block as briskly as possible. You'll energize physically and mentally, and do
better work when you get back. At a 4 MPH pace, you can burn 100 calories in
15 minutes.
•6. Pump Rubber. Keep DynaBands (stretchy latex resistance bands that work your
muscles as though they're lifting weights) at work. Step on the bands and do
five minutes of shrugs, squats, upright rows and lateral raises. These will wind you up better than caffeine.
7. Skip a Step. Surely you already take the stairs, not the elevator. Pump up the
intensity by taking the stairs two at a time.
•8. Lunge the Stairs. Do lunges up a flight of stairs. (Do not try this on the return •9. Grin and Bear It. Offer to lift and/or carry anything that needs moving-change •10. Drive Not Thru. Give up drive-thru windows. Park the car and walk to the bank. •11. Be a Bag Boy or Bag Lady. Forget rolling the grocery cart to your car. Pick up •12. Shop Till You Drop. Park your car at your last errand, not your first, so you •13. Ab Alert. Do isometric abdominal intervals anytime, anywhere you stand or sit. •14. Subtle Butt. Isometrically contract your gluteals (rear end muscles) any time •15. Crunch Each Room, Before you eat dinner, do ten abdominal crunches in every •16. Walk a Dog. If you don't have your own, offer to walk the neighbor's dog. The •17. Just Do Two. So you don't have time for a full-body strength-training workout- •18. Ring Your Feet. Pull away from the TV in the evening and go dancing. Pick a hot •19. Work the House. If you must stay home, turn on some fast-paced, motivating •20. TV Circuit Training. Work out to your favorite TV program. Dance or jog while •21. Phone Sprints. When the phone rings, don't reach for the closest extension. Run •22. Letter Aerobics. Guilty because you owe letters to countless friends and family •23. Take a Date Hike. Plan a hike and a picnic lunch at a romantic spot at the beach •24. Curb Your Calves. Anytime you have to wait on the street for a bus, cab, street 25. Study on the Hoof. Having trouble justifying leaving your house to exercise,
trip down!)
the water jug at the cooler, move in the new printer and carry out the old, fetch
cartons of supplies for your office-mates-whatever's needed. Your co-workers
will think you're Ms. or Mr. Helpful, and you'll get your exercise.
Even better, park in some other bank's parking lot and walk to yours.
your bags and carry them. Help some elderly shoppers by carrying their bags
(with their permission). If you do use a shopping cart, return it to the store from
the parking lot, and pick up any additional carts you find on the way.
won't be tempted to drive from one spot to the next. If you're half-way through
your errands and already carrying plenty of packages, make a detour to your
car, park the parcels, then jog to the next errand on your list.
Contract your abs six times slowly (6-second rep), then six times quickly (2-
second rep), then six times super-slowly (10-second rep), and repeat.
you're stuck waiting-in the post office line, at the dentist's office, wherever.
You can do these sitting or standing, but if you're wearing tight jeans and the
person behind you winks or grins, you may be attracting more attention than
you think.
room of the house. If you have roommates, warn them first.
neighbor will owe you a favor, and you'll burn calories, more if your dog is
young, speedy and determined. Social advantage for singles: Potential dates
who won't look at you in a bar will melt and make a fuss over your handsome
pooch.
no problem. While dinner cooks, choose one muscle group and its opposing group, and train them with free weights or DynaBands.
spot where dancing wins over drinking. Depending on tempo, type and
intensity, an hour of social dancing burns 230-390 calories-get out there!
music and do some useful physical work. Rearrange the furniture. Turn the
mattress. Pack up books and magazines to donate to the local library or
hospital. Clean out the garage or that closet of clothes that were in style when
you graduated from high school.
the program is on. During commercials, drop down for pushups or crunches on
the rug.
for the one farthest away, preferably up or down a flight of stairs. Set the
answering machine to pick up in four rings so you have to hurry.
members? Audio tape letters instead of writing them. Get on the exercise bike,
treadmill or stair machine with your tape recorder in hand, and tape your news
and views. More fun than laborious writing, lets you accomplish two things at
once.
or in the woods. Carry all the gear yourself.
light or person, do extra-slow calf raises on the curb: let your heels hang off the
edge, and contract your calves to lift to tiptoes, 4 seconds up and 4 seconds
down. Tighten abs and buttocks to help you balance, so you don't have to grab a sign post.
because you have a report to prepare, or a manual your boss said you had to
read by Monday? Read the notes you have to study or brainstorm into a tape
recorder. Take that taped info with you into the wilderness, and repeat the
information as you listen and hike. Your mind will be more alert so you'll think
better and learn faster. And the scenery beats the wall in front of your desk.
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