Finding time to exercise

"I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I am doing" ~ Marsha Doble

For many of us, by the time we’ve gone to work, taken care of the household chores or run around after the kids, it seems like there’s little time left in the day for exercise. But there are 2 easy ways you can fit in the 30 minutes of daily physical activity that the experts recommend:

• Don’t worry about setting aside a separate time to exercise - incorporate those 30 minutes into your daily routine.
• Break that half an hour into 10-minute bursts – take a ‘snacktivity’ break.

Studies have found that 3 x 10-minute exercise sessions can be just as effective as a full 30 minutes. The evidence implies it is the total amount of exercise that is beneficial, not necessarily the length of the individual sessions.

According to the American Council on Exercise, ‘any movement helps’ and daily activities, such as running errands, can improve your health and probably lengthen your life. A Canadian study in the Journal of Applied Physiology implies that the more vigorous the activity, the less you need to do to achieve the same results – but make sure you build your fitness levels first.

If you're really struggling to find time for physical activity, try writing down what you do each hour over a couple of days, and then work out where you can best fit it in.

Exercise at work

The following useful tips can help you incorporate physical activity into your job, and they needn’t distract you from that pile of work waiting to be tackled.

• Go for a walk outside in your lunch break and ask a friend to join you to keep your motivation high.
• Skip the lift – take the stairs and build in extra flights wherever possible.
• Check out whether your employer offers subsidised gym membership. If they don’t, ask them if they can.
• Walk to and from work. If you live too far away, park further from the office or get off the bus or train earlier – even a 10-minute walk will help as long as it leaves you slightly out of breath.
• Create tasks around your office - put the rubbish bin far away from your desk and get a cordless phone, or headset, so you can walk around while you talk.

Working from home

Although working from home can be just as time-consuming as going out to work, there are still some easy ways to increase your physical activity without spending a fortune.

• Plan your week so you have to walk to the shops frequently.
• Use your stairs to exercise, work in the garden, or invest in some gym equipment, such as a mini trampoline or treadmill. Even a skipping rope is beneficial and great fun too.
• Look for community based activity programmes in your local area. These don't have to be fitness classes, just anything that gets you moving. Conservation groups get you involved in improving your local environment and keep you active at the same time

Exercise for mums and dads

Some parents find their activity levels drop and their weight and /or anxiety increases when children arrive, but the following handy hints should help you put your fitness needs high up the priority list:

• Involve your child in your exercise routine. You can swim together, walk together or just play together. Some couples run with the buggy in tow!
• Find out which local sports and leisure centres have crèche facilities.
• Walk or bike your child to school. This will also be great for helping your child develop an early interest in physical activity.
• Find out if there are evening and weekend activities available at your child's school for the local community.

Tips for solo parents

The biggest barrier to regular exercise for many solo parents when their children are young is not having anyone to mind their child at the right times. Try these strategies:

• If you have friends with children, ask them to train with you – but not at the same time! Take turns to babysit – while one parent is exercising the other is baby sitting. The share a nice meal afterwards.
• If you’re lucky, you may find a gym with an after hours crèche.
• Run or walk with the buggy. But consider the child - a rough terrain may not be a good idea.
• Ask the grandparents, aunties and uncles to help out. 
•  Look for flatmates with children – it’ great to share the load, and the fun!
• If your zoo, like Auckland’s, has a ‘Friends of the Zoo’ programme, or similar, sign up (it can be very economical) – and walk there often, kids love it much better than ‘going for a walk’.

The best time for you

If your daily schedule is simply too jam-packed, one option is to get up half an hour earlier. Use those extra 30 minutes to go for a brisk walk, jog or a swim. Because of our individual biological cycles, we all feel more energetic at different times of the day. You might not be a 'morning person', but it's worth a try as exercise first thing can wake you up and energise you for the day ahead.

Some of us struggle to get up early enough for work as it is, so consider how you could use free time in the evenings for physical activity. Ditch the TV, or even invest in some home exercise equipment and work out while you are watching it. And remember lunch times suit some people best – take some walking gear to work or plan a gym session if there’s one close by.

Other useful ideas

• Keep exercise clothes handy; store them at college, work, with friends or relatives, or in the boot of your car. Then you can exercise whenever you get an unexpected free 10 minutes or a sudden burst of enthusiasm.
• Consider building activity into your time-off and take a cycle tour or walking holiday. Getting in shape for your holiday might be a good incentive, and the holiday may inspire you to keep going when you get home.
• If you own a car, leave it at home as much as possible and walk or cycle to the shops for those small things such as milk or a newspaper.
• Sign up for the Cancer Society’s free electronic LiveSmart Coach newsletter – it's full of tips and tricks for sneaking more physical activity into your day. You can even sign up on behalf of your workplace.