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Where does the time go? I suspect you, like many of my friends, struggle to find the time to live up to your commitment to exercise more. Whether your normal day includes spending time at work, school or caring for family, you’re probably exhausted when your obligation ends. Or you might have chores to handle and dinner to cook. All of these responsibilities can make it feel like there’s not much time for exercise—especially not the recommended 30 minutes a day, but it’s really worth trying to be more active.

About one in three Americans is obese—and more middle-age women are more obese than men. Busy schedules at home and at work are often cited reasons for neglecting physical fitness.

Thinking of exercise as something that has to take up a big chunk of your day will probably increase the chances you’ll procrastinate until you finally decide to put it off until the next day. But taking a few minutes here and there throughout your typical day can help you squeeze in a little exercise.

You might try to follow some of these 10 tips to get in a little bit of exercise during your day:

1. When you go outside to get the paper or the mail, spend about five minutes walking down the street and back.

2. Some lucky few may be able to walk to work and back if your business is under a mile away. Riding your bicycle is also a great way to build exercise into your commute.

3. Take the stairs up to your office. If you work in a tall building, say on the 35th floor, take the elevator up to the 32nd floor (or lower if you’re up for it) and take the stairs the rest of the way.

4. If your workplace is too far to walk to, at least park further away and leave yourself a five to 10 minute walk to the front door.

5. Steve Jobs used to like to hold meetings and interviews while taking a walk. Try this to add exercise and create a more productive meeting.

6. Keep hand weights at your desk and use them for bicep curls, triceps extensions or shoulder presses as you’re sitting at your desk.

7. Start walking to a bathroom that is further away when you’re at work. If you live in a two-story house, use the stairs to go to the bathroom that’s further away.

8. Do standing push-ups against your kitchen counter or table while you’re preparing breakfast or dinner.

9. Do jumping jacks, run in place or do some stretching for five to 10 minutes while you’re watching television.

10. If you’re at home, a kitchen chair can serve as a piece of gym equipment. Two easy exercises you can do include dips and push-ups.

11. If you’re into video games, use your game console to find fitness programs or videos that you’d enjoy.

You can pick three of these suggestions everyday, perform each one for 10 minutes, and it’s an easy way to accumulate the minimum amount of minutes you should exercise per day. If that’s too easy for you, or becomes too easy over time, you can increase the workload until you’re hitting 40 to 60 minutes.

I know it’s not easy, but the advantages to even a modest amount of exercise make it worth it. Take your kids or spouse along for an after dinner walk and you can add some quality time together while you’re at it!

Alfred Casale To Your Health
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_casale-1.jpg.optimal.jpgAlfred Casale To Your Health

By Alfred Casale

To Your Health

Dr. Alfred Casale is chairman of surgery for the Geisinger Heart Institute, co-director of the Cardiovascular Service Line for the Geisinger Health System and Associate Chief Medical Officer for the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center. Readers may write to him via [email protected].