Easy Ways To Fit More Incidental Exercise Into Your Life

Let’s face it, we all lead busy lives.

Between work, kids, pets and all those social events, it can be hard to find time to fit in a gym session or a 5km run.

This is where incidental exercise comes in. According to Queensland Health, incidental exercise refers to “any activity built up in small amounts over the day,” and if you’re a busy bloke, it could prove to be a key part of your weight loss journey. Here are a few ways you can incorporate incidental exercise into your busy life!

Sure, driving to work can be tempting, but you’re going to get a lot more health benefits if you decide to walk or ride to the office rather than take the car. You may need to wake up a little earlier, but at least you don’t have to deal with peak-hour traffic. 

Is walking to work a little too much to ask? We get it. But if you happen to catch public transport, we have a little tip for you. One simple way you can incorporate a bit more exercise into your commute is to get off one or two stops earlier and then walk the rest of the way to work. 

Yeah, it’s a pretty obvious point, but we think it’s worth reinforcing. Whether you’re at the station, the shopping centre or the office, it won’t hurt to take the stairs rather than the lift or the escalator. Not only will this benefit your waistline, but it should also help strengthen the muscles in your legs. 

Just because you’re in the office doesn’t mean you have to chain yourself to your desk. There are plenty of practical ways to get exercise in the workplace. Need to speak to a colleague? Try walking over to their desk rather than flicking them an email or a private message. Have a work meeting? Encourage your co-workers to do it while walking rather than sitting at a table. 

The way we see it, walking to the shops is the busy man’s CrossFit. Not only do you get the benefits of increasing your step count but you can even get a bit of strength work in by lifting and carrying the bags back to your home rather than just popping them into a boot.

Think about it, when you garden, you move around a lot. How often do you need to bend over to remove weeds and plant seeds? Likewise, there’s a lot of lifting involved when lugging around bags of mulch. Gardening can also be very good for your mental health, as being in touch with the natural world is a proven tactic for reducing stress.

Is your need for exercise cutting into your TV time? It doesn’t need to be this way. Ways to incorporate internal exercise while watching telly include putting an exercise bike or treadmill in front of your idiot box, doing weights while streaming a show, standing up rather than sitting down on the couch, and stretching on a foam roller while watching the footy. The possibilities are endless!

Little kids have a lot of energy, so why not take advantage of that? If your child is dying to go down to the park, walk down with them. If they’re sporty, take a ball with you and join in the fun. If they’re on the equipment, see if you can join in. Or if they’re keen to just do their own thing, take a stroll while you supervise them.