Fitting in 30 minutes of Exercise to Your Day
The best way to deal with something that is too big to handle at once is to break it apart into more manageable pieces. That can be said for projects at work, moving, home renovations, kids’ science fair projects, and yes, even exercise.
While at least 30 minutes a day is recommended to maintain good health, sometimes it’s hard to find 30 continuous minutes in your day to devote to exercise. But, those 30 minutes of exercise don’t have to happen all at once for them to count. You can break up the 30 minutes into smaller blocks of time that might make it more manageable for you to tackle. For those who have had gastric band, gastric sleeve, or gastric bypass surgery, exercise is essential to losing weight and getting healthy. Once you are cleared to exercise, you’ll need to make exercise a priority for your health.
Let’s take a closer look into how you can break up your 30 minutes of exercise to fit into your day.
Split it 15 minutes in the morning/15 minutes at night
Take the dog for a 15 minute walk in the morning.
At night, walk around your house or jog in place during commercials while watching your favorite shows. Or, turn the pool light on and go for a swim. Play soccer or catch or hula hoop for 15 minutes with the kids.
Break it up 10 minutes in the morning, afternoon, and night
Before you shower, spend 10 minutes getting sweaty. Try jumping jacks, push ups, lunges, and planks for 10 minutes.
At work, take the stairs down and go for a quick 8 minute walk, then take the stairs back up to your desk.
At night, walk around the house while you talk on the phone with a friend for 10 minutes.
Fit it in while you wait
Waiting is hard, but exercise can fill the time.
Do 1 minute front, right, and left planks while you wait for your coffee to brew (3 minutes)
Walk around the house while you brush your teeth (4 minutes)
Do jumping jacks while the shower warms up (1 minute)
Do standing push ups against the counter while you wait for a pot or kettle to boil (10 minutes)
Take the stairs up to the office and back down instead of waiting for the elevator (5 minutes)
Dance to your favorite song while you wait for your partner or kids to get out of the bathroom (3 minutes)
Spend 1 minute on each side doing warrior 1 and 2 yoga poses before bed (4 minutes)
It all adds up. See what works best for you with your lifestyle and preferences. These are suggestions that can be used to inspire you to think about how to fit your 30 minutes into your day.
Exercise is important to maintain a healthy body and mind, and is integral in helping Dr. Shillingford’s bariatric patients achieve their weight loss goals. These suggestions are provided by Dr. Shillingford, M.D., P.A., a board certified general surgeon specializing in laparoscopic and bariatric surgery. Dr. Shillingford’s lap band, gastric sleeve, and gastric bypass patients frequently cite exercise as one of the things that have helped them achieve their weight loss goals, and also something they find easier to do after they have lost weight. Dr. Shillingford’s bariatric patients come from all over South Florida including Boca Raton, Wellington, Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, Miami Beach, as well as Orlando, Jupiter, and Jacksonville.
