Just as Clayton’s is ‘the drink you have when you’re not having a drink’, incidental exercise is the exercise you get while not specifically exercising.
Gardening, hanging the washing out and walking from the car park to your destination are all examples of incidental exercise activities.
Our busy lives can make it difficult to find time to hit the gym or head out for a run - unfortunately exercise often gets put in the ‘too hard basket’ even though we know we need it. Increasing your incidental exercise is a great way to increase how much exercise you get without dramatically impacting on your usual routine.
A few small tweaks, a little adjustment here and there, and you may be surprised at how much better you feel from including that extra bit of exercise into your life.
Here are some helpful tips on ways to increase your incidental activity -
At Work
At Home
And for those of us who don’t watch Free-to-air TV (so don’t get ad breaks) here’s a fun way to get off your butt while enjoying streaming services:
Netflix-ercise!
Watching Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime, other streaming services is how a lot of people relax. And there’s nothing wrong with that …except you just sit there on your butt, doing nothing except lifting your arm to either sip wine or eat chips.
What if we could add a little movement into your binge-watching …in a fun way?
Of course, you can always put the treadmill or exercise bike in front of the screen … but you still have to motivate yourself to use them.
This idea originates from playing drinking games in front of the TV. We would make our margaritas, choose our shows, and then select some ‘prompts’ that would mean we could take a sip.
Only instead of drinking – what if we did some quick exercise on every trigger? For example, if a character performs a certain action, you do a very quick specific exercise while still enjoying your show.
Make a game of it, make it fun, get excited. Imagine scenarios like - whenever someone sits, you yell “SQUATS”, jump up, do 5 squats and then sit back down.
How cool would that be? Make it a family game – younger kids will love it and keep you motivated.
Some examples of prompts --
Character action Your action
Running 10 High Knees
Drinking 5 Bicep Curls
In bed 5 Push Ups
Fighting 10 Straight Punches
Sitting 5 Squats
Kissing 5 Flies
You get the picture …. Use this as a guide, choose a few actions or go wild and do them all! Your brain will get a workout too!
Leisure Time
Some fun family outings to choose from!
- Hire canoes, paddle skis or stand up paddleboards for a fun activity
- Hire push-bikes for the afternoon (or ride your own!)
- Head down to the local pool for a swim
- Keep a soccer ball, skipping rope or frisbee in the car ready to play
It’s amazing how much exercise you can add into your life via both the things you HAVE to do, and the things you LOVE to do.
