Many of us struggle to find the time to exercise, so it’s always good to find new ways to make sure you’re getting enough physical activity

We’re designed for exercise

Why is exercise good for us? Well apart from the obvious reasons such as

• Boosting mood
• Increasing self esteem
• Reducing the risk of a range of illnesses including coronary heart disease
• General fitness

… exercise is something that as human beings we’re designed for. And it’s only relatively recently that the world of work has become – for the majority – a sedentary one. Sitting at a desk all day isn’t really ideal for our heath either – in fact there are now even offices where special two-level desks are in use that allow workers to spend some time standing as well as sitting.

The sedentary world of desk work

The sedentary nature of desk work means that it’s doubly important that we get the recommended amount of exercise during the course of the week – 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise is the target that’s been set by a number of health organisations. And while the amount of time we spend exercising doesn’t need to be all that much (around 22 minutes per day) recent research suggests that the majority of us aren’t getting this level of physical activity into the day.

Ways to work exercise into the day

The word exercise may seem a little bit daunting – as if it means we need to be playing sports or sprinting or something that requires massive effort. But in fact that’s not the case – and activities that raise the heart rate and allow us to break a sweat include simply taking a brisk walk.

So when you factor this in, there are suddenly quite a few opportunities to increase the amount of daily exercise. If you work in a job where there’s an hour for lunch, and the sandwich shop is,say, seven minutes’ brisk walk away, then that’s fourteen minutes there and back every working day, which amounts to 70 minutes towards your 150 without even changing your routine.

Similarly, if your office and the space where you park your car are a bit of a distance apart, then the time spent walking from your parking space – if the walk is brisk –also adds to your physical activity total.

And at the weekend, there’s plenty of scope to increase your activity rates. If you have a gym membership you could head in and spend some leisure time on the treadmill or go for a swim.

By looking at the opportunities in the everyday routine, you may even find that you’ve got a very good basis of physical activity just from going about your daily life – and that you may only have to add a few activity sessions here and there to meet the total.

Jason is a health enthusiast and wellbeing blogger writing about private healthcare and general health topics.