4 Easy Tactics To Help You Incorporate More Exercise Into Your Routine

Exercise is hard, even though we all know we need to do it regularly. Whether we're overweight and trying to lose it or getting older and want to prevent some of the problems old age can bring, getting into a regular exercise routine can truly be the remedy. But with the busy lives we lead, many people find it hard to fit exercise into their routines. Exercise doesn't have to be painful and boring, however - here are four easy tactics to help you incorporate more exercise into your usual routine.

1. Walk Or Bike To Work

Instead of driving or taking the subway, the easiest way to start incorporating more exercise into your daily routine is simply to walk or bike to work or school. Approximately 65-100 calories are burned per mile, depending on your weight. Since you have to go to work or school every day anyway, this is the easiest way to make a small change to your day that adds some physical activity. It also has the added bonus of decreasing your carbon footprint on the environment and can even help you be more alert, energetic and productive at work or school.

2. Think Of Fun Ways To Exercise

There are much more fun ways to exercise than going to the gym or jogging around your neighborhood. For example, playing sports such as tennis can give you quite a workout. Swimming is also a very good option because it utilizes different muscles than other exercises and the force of the water makes you push harder. This results in a better workout. If you don't know how to swim or can't swim particularly well, there are plenty of adult swim classes offered in your area. Swim classes can also be a good way to incorporate some swimming exercise into your regular routine.

3. Find Fun Smartphone Apps

Fun smartphone apps that rely on exercise to play can be a blast. Some popular ones in recent years have included Pokémon Go, Zombies, Run! and many more. Many of these games encourage players to play every day and provide in-game rewards and incentives to do so. This makes it easy and even a little addicting to add a bit of exercise to your day. You could also simply track your fitness on your smartphone with a number of different apps that have some pretty comprehensive features. For example, they can sense whether you're walking, biking or running to give you more accurate data on your workouts.

4. Squeeze It In When You Can

You don't always need to commit to half an hour or more of exercise. Even getting up from your desk at work and walking around for a few minutes can be beneficial. Standing while doing some work can help prevent musculoskeletal damage that can result from sitting behind a desk all day. Even at home, you can find some time. For example, if you want to watch a show on TV when you get home from work, you can add in some exercise for the duration of the commercial breaks, such as jumping jacks or jogging in place. Don't forget that regular household chores, like cleaning, can actually give you some pretty good exercise as well. Short and speedy workouts, planned correctly and varied well, can have just as much benefit to your body and mind as more prolonged exercise.
If you go about it the right way, exercise can actually be a lot of fun. Whether it's through fun activities like sports, swimming or smartphone apps, or even just short bursts of energy, you can easily find time for some exercise throughout your regular day. See if any of the suggestions mentioned here can finally help you keep that New Year's resolution you make every year to exercise more.