How to Add 10 Minutes of Exercise to Your Day

Exercising comes with numerous health benefits such as boosting your immunity to helping you sleep better at night, along side toning your physique and improving your overall health. However, sometimes life can be too busy. When your schedule has become too hectic to deal with, a 10-minute workout can be an absolute lifesaver. Making time for exercise in the moment feels like a hassle, but you’ll be glad you did it afterwards. Remember, when you compare 10 minutes of exercise to zero minutes of exercise, 10 minutes is almost always better!  In this article we are going to explore ways to add 10 minutes of exercise to your day. 

When you’re around the house: 

• When you go outside to pick up your morning paper or mail, take a quick 5-minute power walk up and down the street. 
• If you’re housebound looking after a sick child hop on your treadmill, run up and down your stairs or do a mini-circuit in your backyard while they nap. 
• Try to complete 5-10 minutes of jumping jacks in one session before getting into the shower. 
• Cooking dinner? Do standing push-ups while you wait for a pot to boil. Simply stand about an arm’s length from the kitchen counter, and push your arms against the counter. Push in and out to get toned arms and shoulders. 
• After school, go outside and play with your children for as little as 10 minutes.
• Just before bed or while you’re giving yourself a facial at night, do a few repetitions of some dumbbell exercises using baked beans. 

At work: 

• Walk to work if you can 
• If you dine out on your lunch break, walk the long way to the restaurant to get your steps in. 
• If you have a meeting in another building, leave 10 minutes earlier to get in extra walking. If it is in the same building but on a different level, take the stairs. 
• On breaks, spend 5 to 10 minutes climbing the stairs. 

When your watching television: 

• Put away your remote and change channels the old-fashioned way, by getting up and walking to the television. 
• During commercials, jog in place. 
• Do leg exercises and lifts with small weights while you watch television. 
• Use your running machine or exercise bike whilst watching television (if you have one)
• Do squats with your baby whilst the commercials are on
• When the commercials come on run around the block (aim here is to get back before the show comes back on – meaning a high intensity sprint) 

While waiting: 

• If you are waiting for your Uber Eats to arrive, walk around the block several times. As your fitness level improves, add 1-minute bursts of jogging to your walks. 
• While your son or daughter play there after school sport activity, walk around the field. 
• Turn a trip to a park with your child into a mini-workout for you. Throw a ball back and forth and run for fly balls. 
• Do jumping jacks whilst being put on hold on the phone 
• Do 10 push-ups while waiting for your shower water to get warm 
• Go for a brisk walk while waiting for your bath to fill up 
• Do a mini-workout while waiting for your dinner to cook in the oven 

While traveling: 

• If you’re traveling by car, stop twice a day for short, brisk walks and some stretching. 
• During layovers at airports, avoid the mechanized “moving carpets” that transport travellers from concourse to concourse. If you’re in between flights, walk around the concourse as much as you can. 
• Book a hotel room between the fifth and eighth floors, and then ignore the elevator. Better yet take two stairs at a time. 
• Do calf stretching while riding in elevators. 
• Visit the hotel gym 
• Do some laps in the pool 
• Save money of taxi’s and walk