
~ AD ~
Small ways to be more active…
As a woman who works from home and spends a lot of time sat at a desk, it can be really tricky finding that time to be more active. Time is a big factor when it comes to being active too, I often find my days being a whirlwind of school runs, fitting my work into the day around a toddler, and lots of time in the kitchen cooking homemade healthy meals – not to mention all of the daily housework that needs doing. There’s always a basket full of washing and trails of crumbs to be cleaning up!
I have been wanting to be more active for quite a long time, and I’ve always found a reason not to be due to not feeling like I have the time or energy. However, I’ve really tried to change that mindset this year and I’ve even signed up with an online fitness coach to help me get the motivation that I need. It’s not to say that my life isn’t very busy and consumed by my children and work, but there are lots of small steps that you can take to gradually start fitting a more active lifestyle into your current lifestyle. My fitness coach Gabby helped me realise this and has been amazing!
Small steps you can take…
Turn those short drives into walks.
If I have a super hectic day and can’t afford to swap a walk for a drive, then I won’t, but I try and swap drives for walks wherever I can so that I’m adding more steps into my day. The main one for me is the drive to school on a morning and afternoon, it’s probably a two minute drive and ten minute walk through the park, and I have been so lazy for the longest time just jumping in the car when there’s really no need. It takes 10-15 minutes to walk to the school, so I’ve been walking my little one in his pram, with my eldest riding his scooter to school whenever the opportunity arises and the weather has been dry. I’ve added so many more steps into my week just by doing this and it’s such an easy change to make.
Park Further Away.
Another super easy change you can make is to park further away whenever you drive somewhere. Park at the back of the car park when you go to the supermarket, or park in a car park that’s a short walk away from wherever you’re going that day. I even parked a way down the street from my nail salon the other day, rather than parking along the street right outside the door, and it was just a very small and achievable way to add some more steps into my day. Everything adds up and helps you be more active in your everyday life.
Do more trips up and down the stairs at home.
There have been thousands of times I’ve figured out a way to carry multiple things up the stairs so I haven’t had to come back down to get the things I couldn’t carry, but now I usually make sure I have to make more than one trip. Stairs are a great way to tone thighs and legs and really add one of those active elements into your day. It’s something simple that you probably do countless times a day in your home without even thinking about it, but just making that extra effort to walk up and downstairs a little bit more can be a great help. You don’t even need to have a reason to go up and down them a few times, just go for it.
Adding achievable workouts into your weekly routine.
Gabby was the biggest help for me with adding workouts to my week, if you want to take fitness quite seriously then I’d highly recommend signing up with her, as she sets me my workouts through an app. However, even without a fitness coach you can add workouts to your weekly routine that are achievable for you to do. I’ve added 2-3 workouts to my weekly routine and these are around 30 mins each, but you can add less, or reduce the time of them. Even a 10 minute workout a day would be making your lifestyle more active and do the world of good. I’ve often sat and thought about how quickly 10 minutes can pass when I’m just scrolling social media on my phone, so that thinking process has been really helpful in making sure I change from spending my time mindlessly scrolling to adding exercise into my day.
Getting out and about on a weekend.
I think I speak for most when I say that getting out and about on a weekend is good for the soul. I often have no specific weekend plans and planning a walk in the outdoors is always a great option, plus it can be completely free as there are thousands of free outdoor spaces to go for walks. Although if you’re happy to pay a small amount, there are loads of good spots too. We recently did a walk around Ladybower Reservoir, took a picnic with us, and only paid for our parking and an ice cream. It was such a nice lengthy walk and we had a lovely Saturday, plus spent over 2 hours being active. We even said we need to spend our weekends going on more walks like that as we had such a nice day. If you’re looking to take walking more seriously, adidas do some great womens walking boots too!
Are you an active person, or are you looking to be?
Disclaimer: This post is in partnership with adidas.