Just the other day, I was visiting with a friend and we both commented about how much less we are moving in a day now that so many of us are working at home. We use to easily rack up 10,000+ steps in a day, now we are lucky if we get 6,000! We are just sitting too much and the trip to the bathroom or coffee pot isn’t as far from our desk as it is at work.
Even if you are back at the office. Getting movement in might just be hard some days!
Moving more is important for both our physical and mental health. Though many of us shoot for 10,000+ steps a day, there really isn’t anything magical about that number. Really, the goal is to make sure you’re simply moving more. Here are a few tips to help you do just that:
- Take a moving break. Every hour, get up from your desk and move. Walk around the house a few times. Walk up and down the steps. Walk down the driveway or out to the garden. Then, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, take a 15-minute walk around your neighborhood. Simple movement clears your mind and makes you more productive.
- Play with your kids. Kicking the soccer ball around or playing hide and seek can rack up the steps.
- Have a walking/talking phone conversation. Call a friend or a family member and while you are visiting, walk either around your house or outside. Even just walking around your yard adds up.
- Don’t fast forward your DVR. Instead, stand up and march in place or walk around the sofa during commercials (stay out of the kitchen though!).
- Go on a walking date with your significant other or your kids. It’s one of my favorite date night activities with Mark.
- Take extra trips when unloading groceries or putting away laundry. If those trips include flights of stairs – Bonus!
- Celebrate Earth Day (April 22nd)– grab a plastic bag, find a ditch and do a little clean up.
- Get a dog. Dogs need walks and nothing gets you up and out of your chair faster than a puppy that has some business to take care of. If you can’t have or don’t want a dog, you can always borrow your neighbor’s dog 😊 They would love you!!
- Commit to the 30 Day Breakaway Program. This fun running, lifting and stretching program is designed to get you ready for a 5K in 30 days. It’s perfect for seasoned runners and those that always wanted to run a 5K. An if you are not a runner or can’t run for some reason — walk instead – it is still a killer workout.
To get those steps in, you don’t need to hike for hours. You just need to use your feet a bit more! So get up from your desk and go move!