Having the discipline to introduce activity into every day routines

May 26, 2015

No matter what age or size you are, being active on a daily basis is so important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle! Eating healthy food will definitely help you on road to a better you, but in my experience, the ‘healthy glow’ comes from a combination of being active and eating healthy. It’s so easy to discipline yourself into a more active lifestyle, but the question is, are you dedicated enough to embrace the challenge.

You have to give yourself the time and commitment to incorporate activity into your everyday life to make it happen, and when you do, you will be so elated with the results, that it will just fall naturally into your lifestyle.

As we get older, we naturally lose muscle mass each year, about 1% per year after the age of 25 and our maximal oxygen capacity also declines by about 1% per year, and there is nothing we can do about these declines over all as they are a natural part of ageing. However, there is lots of research that shows that if you stay active throughout your life, you will be healthier in old age and you won’t suffer the declines in fitness and health that other people who don’t exercise may experience. So when we use the term ‘use it or lose it’ it refers to you challenging your muscles, lungs, and heart through exercise.

If you use them they will serve you well throughout your life by continuing to function well in old age. It may seem easy to say that you will be active in your everyday life, but you need to actually make a conscious effort to do so and start with the small things in your life that are easy and enjoyable to take on.

Top 10 Tips on how to introduce Activity into your every day routines:

Get up 20 mins earlier in the morning: This will give you 20 mins extra of activity. Whether it be tidying up your room, preparing your dinner for later, walking some of the way to work instead of driving, making yourself a healthy lunch instead of buying a sandwich etc. Those 20 minutes a day, add up to almost 2 and a half hours a week where you can be more active!
Keep hydrated throughout the day: Not only is keeping hydrated good for you, but it will make you head to the loo every hour, getting you off your chair and moving!
Walk to your colleague’s desk with messages instead of emailing: Another opportunity to get up and moving away from your desk instead of letting your fingers do the walking!
Take a walk at lunchtime: Set yourself a goal of a 20 mins walk at lunchtime each day. Get your music ready on your headphones, and enjoy the rhythm of your walk. It’s a great opportunity to recharge your soul before your afternoon work. Or why not use the opportunity to catch up with people or even check out your podcasts on the go.
Have ‘walk meetings’: We have so many ‘meetings’ at work these days that can be done away from the meeting rooms. Make the great outdoors your ‘meeting room’. It may even inspire you and even help you think with a different perspective. Make the suggestion to have a walk for a meeting that you have regularly each week, so that you may even look forward to that meeting, and so will everyone else. If you only have a quick 20 minute meeting, then that’s 20 minutes more you have to spend being active instead of sitting at your desk.
Go for a walk after dinner: Most people head to the couch after dinner, but this is actually a perfect time to get out and active. I find that the best time to go for a walk is when the traffic is gone, and I have had my dinner and I use this time to catch up with friends either walking with them or chatting to them on the phone. Not only is it a great time to get outdoors and get some exercise in, but it keeps me away from snacking my way to bedtime!
Cycle or walk to work if you have the time: This is a perfect way to start your day, and I find that any day that I do walk or cycle to work, it clears my head and motivates me so much more to get things done, than if I were to drive. Driving can be so much more costly and stressful than walking or cycling. If you work too far to work then why not use public transport, get off a stop earlier and walk some of the way there. Try it out for a week and see how you get on.
Park as far from the door as possible: Whether it be the supermarket, school, work or even the gym, park your car away from the door and walk that bit further. When it comes to dropping off the kids to school, why not try parking one road away and walking that little bit extra. Not only will it get your and your little ones some extra ‘active points’ but it gives you a chance to have a little catch up on the way.
Use the Stairs: If you live in an apartment block or work in a building with a lift, use the stairs! Your heart will thank you for it!
Set yourself a goal each week: Get yourself a pedometer and set yourself a minimum number of steps that you need to each day. Become more aware of how many steps you are taking each day and try to beat that target each day.

Lorraine Ho, Founder of Bootcamp Ireland, is a judge for this year’s Coca-Cola Thank You Fund. Voluntary and non-profit organisations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are being encouraged to apply for the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund (the Fund), which will award a total of €125,000 in five separate grants this year. The grants will serve as major funding for innovative projects with new ideas to get us more active, more often.

Applications for the Fund are being accepted online until 6pm on the 29th of June at www.coca-cola.ie/thankyou.