By: Michelle Sweeney, Nutrition Peer Counselor, UC Davis Fitness and Wellness Center
With all the Instagram models posting their favorite workouts and #fitspo constantly trending it’s hard to ignore the fact that fitness is becoming an increasingly popular trend. But what do you do if there aren’t enough hours in your study packed day? Or maybe you’re just starting your fitness journey, don’t know where to start, or don’t feel comfortable going to a gym yet. The good news is that you can add activity into even the busiest day. Here are a few things to try.
- Take the Stairs
It sounds easy but if you have a class on the third floor of a building, it can definitely get your heart rate up by simply skipping the elevator. If you have time before class starts, go back down then up the stairs one or more times.
- Set an alarm for walking breaks
Set an alarm every hour to remind you to get up and walk around. Even if it’s just a lap around the house or office or even walking down to the bathroom, it will increase your metabolism slightly and make you more alert and focused until your next walking break.
- Establish stopping points in studying or work to do a quick 5-min workout
Whether it’s each time you finish a chapter or when you’re switching to another subject, quickly do 5 squats, 5 push-ups, and a 30 sec plank. As you get stronger you can increase your repetitions and time.
- Start and end your day with exercise
Whether it’s 25 sit ups after you get up and before you go to bed, or 5 minutes of stretching and centering yourself, exercise every morning and evening will help kick start your day and help you unwind and de-stress before bed.
- Alternate between jumping jacks, sit-ups, push-ups and lunges on commercial breaks.
Everyone loves a good TV binge, but stay active while you’re doing it by doing a different exercise for every commercial. That way you’ll get a small full-body workout during every commercial break. For those Netflix lovers out there, while you may not have commercial breaks to remind you, pause the show in between episodes to do a small 10 minute circuit of different exercises for a minute each.
Even for the most active individuals, incorporating activity throughout the day is important for your metabolism, joint health, flexibility, and general energy levels. So plan to get active!
Healthy Aggies at UC Davis 