10 Creative Ways to Incorporate Exercise into Your Daily Routine

Exercise is important because it affects my physical health, mental health, and brain functioning. Because of this, I like to find ways to incorporate exercise into my daily routine to ensure that I am getting plenty. I also like to have a variety of options so that I am exercising my different parts of my body. Some ways I incorporate exercise into my daily routine is by doing it as part of the things I already need to do or doing it as activities for fun and spending time with family. Below are different ways I exercise.

Walk for Transportation

I try to walk places if it is within reason. For example, I usually walk my son, A, to preschool and back, we walk to the park, we walk to his doctor appointments, and sometimes we walk to the store. Other times we go on long walks just for fun. This way we get plenty of exercise and A learns that the car is not the only way to get around to different places.

Hiking

When the weather is nice and we are looking for something fun to do outdoors, hiking is a great option. It gives us an opportunity to spend time in nature and explore while also climbing up hills and over fallen trees. Hikes can vary in distance and difficulty so it can really be as short or challenging as you want it.

Dancing

Sometimes while I am cooking or cleaning I will put on some music. Once in a while I dance while I am doing these things or a lot of times A will ask me to come dance with him so then I will take a break from what I am doing and go dance with him for a few songs. I feel like this is some great bonding for me and A and also great exercise that is fun.

Biking

One thing we sometimes do when we are looking for something fun to do as a family is go for a bike ride along the trail by our house. This gets us some more outside time and we get to exercise our legs. Sometimes we will stop and hangout at the park or we may just do a quick ride near our house. Bikes go pretty fast so it can be a quick ride or a longer one on the trail.

Kayaking

Kayaking is a really fun way to exercise your arms and spend time in nature with others. My parents have a few kayaks so once in a while we all go kayaking together on a reservoir or a river. Because I don't go often, it really works out my arms and they probably really need it. It's also a great way to get some sunshine.

Housework

Housework is a great way to get some exercise by doing things that already need to be done. For me, this is especially true with vacuuming. I can feel my ab muscles being worked out every time I vacuum. Other things include doing dishes, doing laundry, making the bed, and scrubbing the bathroom or kitchen. Depending on what I am making, cooking can also be good exercise too.

Frisbee

Frisbee is another good arm workout, for one arm at least. We like to play disc golf but sometimes A and I throw the disc back and forth to each other. If I am playing disc golf, I also am walking around and picking up the disc which adds to the exercise.

Yoga

I like yoga because it stretches out all the parts of my body that I didn't realize needed to be stretched out. I also like testing out my flexibility and improving my balance. It's such a calming experience while also allowing opportunity for growth without the pressure to do the moves perfectly or keep up with a certain pace. More so, it is one of those types of exercise where it meets you where you are at and can work you up from there as you get more skilled.

Take the Stairs

I try to take the stairs every time it is an option. It is a simple way to get exercise by doing something that I already need to do. Being that I take the stairs so often, it's not really even something that I think about or dread because my body is so used to it. I also lived in the basement when I was growing up and in my current house both bathrooms and my bedroom are upstairs so I have always gotten a lot of use on the stairs.

Squats

A quick exercise that I can do when I don't have much time is squats. For example, today I just put on a song and did squats during the duration of the song. Quick exercise, only took a few minutes, and I can feel it in my muscles that it was effective. To incorporate some arms, I can just add some dumbbells if I wanted to.