Let’s face it. Exercise can be super boring sometimes. We’ve developed into a world where a lot of physical exercises were incidental, a product of a lack of machinery, and now we’ve got desk jobs that are actively reducing our health.
Let’s get back to that. Not necessarily getting rid of diggers but incorporating incidental exercise into our lives. Take a look at our suggestions to see how you can exercise without even noticing.
On the commute
This is the most obvious one, because the work commute isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It will force you to keep exercising, especially as public service rates and petrol rise. For, presumably, five days a week, you will get a workout into your day, twice.
How you go about it is up to you, and mainly depends on how far you are from home. It’s probably not realistic to run into the office when you live two towns over, but you can cycle.
As a career
There’s nothing more incidental than keeping fit for a living. There are a few ways you can go about this, but, short of becoming a professional athlete, a more common profession is a gym instructor or personal trainer.
And it’s simpler than you think. If you love keeping active you can take a course with Study Active and keep yourself and others active. You’ll get a recognized qualification which you can turn into a career in fitness. You can even specialize and charge a higher rate to help clients with nutrition, long conditions, mental health, and postpartum.
With a high-energy dog
Have you thought about getting a fur baby to keep you company around the house? Maybe you haven’t quite landed on a breed yet. What breed you get is all to do with your lifestyle. What home you’re bringing it to, who’s in the house, how much exercise it can get, etc.
But, if you’re looking to change your lifestyle to be more active, you have some wiggle room on the last one. You can look into big dogs with high energy, like Labradors, retrievers, Huskies, Dalmatians, border collies, and German shepherds.
One tip, stay clear of greyhounds. For a racing dog, they’re surprisingly lazy, so you won’t find any motivation to go out there.
And remember that this is a commitment. If you’re going to get a dog to prompt you into incidental exercise, they’re going to need it as much as you, so don’t go in and decide these breeds are too demanding for you.
Dancing
At the end of a long day, sometimes having a cocktail can help us to relax. But do you know how many empty calories are in those drinks? This is where dancing for fun just to let loose can help. Put on your favourite Spotify playlist and just letting loose. You can do this when you’re stressed, want to unwind, or simply when you need to burn off some nervous energy.
This is blurring the line between incidental and intentional exercise, but you’ll be having too much fun to notice you’re even exercising. Let’s face it, that’s what you’re really aiming for. No one goes on a run for the fun of it. You might feel better after having done it, but it’s not fun!
Whereas dancing is definitely about the fun before the benefits. It’s like having a salad that tastes better than pizza. Why would you avoid that? So, get on the dancefloor—AKA your kitchen or living room. You can even have the kids and significant other squeeze in too so the whole family can enjoy this fun way to get some incidental exercise in.
About the Author
Lucy Hudson is a lifestyle writer who loves to share her knowledge and tips for savvy parents looking to save themselves time, effort, and money.