OK it’s time for a list. Before I had kids, I used to dismiss those who said they had no time for exercise as fairly weak minded. Then I had kids and discoverd that, yes it’s harder, particularly if you are commuting and have a job where exercising during the day can be difficult. So for those who find it tough this is the list I can up with based on things I did when I was struggling.
1. Walk as much as you can during your commute. Leave yourself a minimum of 10,000 steps so that if you do nothing else you do this.
2. Stand up in meetings. Better to get an adjustable desk but if you can’t then stand in meetings.
3. Have one on one walking meetings. Sometimes I would suggest we walked and talked and then stood watching the river go by at Tower Bridge.
4. Chose your hotel carefully when travelling. Make sure it has a gym and schedule meetings to allow yourself time to work out.
5. Use the stairs at work particularly on the way up. There are few better options for building leg strength than walking up stairs.
6. Don’t use the phone to talk to colleagues who work on the same floor as you. Get up and go and walk to their desks. I could never sit still for more than about 15 minutes anyhow.
7. Don’t use the in-house restaurant. If you work in London there are so many options to eat out anyhow that you will get much more variety into your diet by shopping around at places like Pod, Pret, Leon, Itzu etc. but more than this you will walk to these places and take a mental break from work.
8. Eat outside if you can. When the weather allowed I would sit and eat in a small green space of which there are many in London. It’s a good time to mentally unwind as well and ensure you get some sun.
9. Commute by bike. Personally this one was never for me in the UK. Pollution and traffic risk were not to my liking but if you live in a cleaner safer area then it’s a good idea.
10. Run to work. I used to live in Sydney and my commute was a 5K run over the harbour bridge. Nice. I also lived in Wapping for a while so walked or ran into the City.
What else do you do to fit some exercise into your life?
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