1. MAKE A PLAN. Decide on the best time of day and put it in your schedule on your calendar.
2. FIND 5 MINUTES. You have to start somewhere. A 5 minute walk can easily turn into 30 minutes over a period of time.
3. LIMIT SCREEN TIME. Consider trading 30 minutes of low-value television time for exercise.
4. BE AN ACTIVE WATCHER. When you do watch TV make the most of it. Do some crunches, planks, push-ups, yoga poses, squats or lunges while watching.
5. DELEGATE CHORES. You do not have to do everything.
6. BE MOTIVATED BY MONEY. Sign up for a class, book some sessions with a personal trainer, take some salsa lessons, sign up for an athletic event.
7. THINK POSITIVE. Positive self-talk promotes healthier lifestyle choices.
8. BE A HOT DATE. Take your husband/date to a cycling class, ballroom dance lessons, go on a hike, or kick a soccer ball around the park.
9. DO BRISK BUSINESS. Brainstorm over a tennis match or while hiking.
10. SOCIALIZE ON THE MOVE. Meet with a friend at a workout class, or go bike riding or for a quick walk with them.
11. WORK IT IN. While picking up toys do squats. Do calf raises while standing at the counter or stove. Climb the stairs with your toddler. Lift your baby in the air repeatedly.
12. FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL CHEER YOU ON.
13. BE YOURSELF. Discover a routine and exercise activity that suits you and your personality. For example, I do not like to go to the gym, so I work out at home.
14. TAKE YOUR SHOW ON THE ROAD. Bring workout clothes with you when you travel.
15. HIT “PLAY”. Exercise videos are cost-effective, private and flexible. They allow you to start and stop your workouts based on real-life time constraints.
16. RISE AND SHINE. Exercising first thing in the morning ensures that you will exercise.
17. DITCH YOUR DRIVE. Whenever possible, hop on a train, bus or subway or ride your bike to work or to run errands. If you can’t do it every day, try once a week. People who take alternative transportation tend to get more exercise than daily car commuters.
18. MASTER THE MICRO-WORKOUT. Whether at home or at work never let yourself sit idle for more than a couple of hours. Take a short walk on your lunch or break. Do stretches. Do some push-ups or sit-ups. Try a set of 12 reps. For specific exercise ideas, see “Workday Workouts” at www.experiencelife.com .
19. WEAR A PEDOMETER. “As we get older we typically take fewer steps per day,” says Wayne Andersen, MD, medical director of Take Shape For life, a nationwide health ads lifestyle coaching program based in Owings Mill, Maryland. “By age 60 most people are down to 4500 steps. Your goal should be to maintain 10000.” People who wear pedometers tend to walk more because they are more conscious of their steps.
20. ADOPT A DIY MENTALITY. Start ding things by hand instead of letting a machine do it for you. This might include snow shoveling, raking leaves, pushing a lawn mower or hanging laundry to dry.
21. WORK WHILE YOU WAIT. While waiting during your child’s practice bring your bike and ride it or go for a walk.
22. PHONE IT IN. when you need to make some phone calls, grab your phone and go for a walk.