Fitting in fitness throughout your busy day

Sandra Hardee, MD

Occupational Medicine

Finding time for fitness, whether you’re at the office or work from home, can be a challenge. Add in pets, kids, household maintenance and everything else we have to fit into our lives and it can seem impossible to balance it all.

Ideally, we should be getting 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week. But how can you squeeze that into your already busy day? Sandra Hardee, MD, offered some ideas on how to fit exercise into your schedule.

In the morning, do 10 squats while you brush your teeth. Repeat this when you brush again after meals and at night. Then, while at the breakfast table or in the car during your daily commute, do 10–20 seated crunches.

Going up and down stairs 2–5 times or choosing to park far from the entrance of your building and walk can help you squeeze in some cardio.

During the day, do high knees for 2–5 minutes, followed by 10–20 glut squeezes in your chair and 10–20 push-ups against a wall, table or desk.

In the evening, do 10–20 walking or regular lunges, 10–20 frying pan deadlifts, 10–20 triceps pushbacks using canned goods, and five counter planks for 15–30 seconds.

Before bed, do some scissor kicks during commercials. Take a quick walk down the block and back, or even just make some time to head out into your yard.

Dr. Hardee said that even 200 steps an hour can keep you healthy.

“If you have a desk job, get up and refill your water bottle, take a walk down the hall, or simply get up and stretch your neck, back and hamstrings,” she said. “If you’re worried about getting your work done and don’t feel you can stop, remember that after short breaks, we are up to 50% more productive than before we paused to take care our ourselves and prioritize fitness!”