The word on the street is that the UK is due some warm weather later this week which gives all of us the opportunity to get more active. Being physically active is the single most important thing we can do to take care of our own health and wellbeing. Modern living often make it difficult to fit exercise in to our day-to-day routines – but the good news is you don’t have to do loads to get the benefits.
Here are the Healthy Performance top ten tips for getting active and staying there …
- Set realistic goals: 150 minutes of exercise a week is enough, equating to just over 20 minutes a day.
- Learn from the past: If you’ve previously tried to get active but have slipped back into your old ways ask yourself why? Don’t keep repeating the same mistakes.
- Find an exercise buddy: There are always going to be times when you don’t feel like being active but having a friend to exercise with can be a great source of motivation.
- Get the right kit: Having the right clothing and equipment will make the activity more enjoyable, safer, and reduce the risk of injury.
- Have a plan: The most common reason for stopping exercise is something comes along to upset your routine. Getting ill, going on holiday or having an injury are common examples. Plan ahead so you know how to deal with these challenges when they arrive. Challenges will always arrive sooner or later!
- Keep it varied: It’s perfectly normal to get bored of doing the same thing 3 times a week for months on end. If you don’t keep it interesting the chances are you will stop being active. Try things like varying your routine depending on the seasons or rotating your exercise programme every 6 to 8 weeks.
- Try new things: Just because you didn’t enjoy PE at school it doesn’t mean sport is not for you. Playing sports is a great way to keep fit whilst having fun in a more social environment than your typical gym or exercise class. With hundreds of sports to try, there is something for everyone.
- Set yourself a challenge: Working towards an event is a great motivator and every year thousands of people take part in challenges ranging from running the 5k Race for Life to cycling from London to Paris. No matter what your starting fitness level there will be something for you, and there is always the option to raise money for good causes at the same time.
- Make it easy: If you don’t have much time incorporate more walking into your daily routine, such as parking a bit further from work and walking the last 10 minutes.
- Enjoy yourself: You’re not going to stick to something you don’t enjoy!
If you think your workforce would benefit from getting more active, take a look into implementing a Get Fit and Get Active campaign. At Healthy Performance, we run workshops around activity and fitness; these are designed to educate and encourage employees to become more active and ideal for employees wanting to get active, but don’t know where to start. Many people are in this situation and feel intimidated by gyms so we bring expertise and advice to the workplace. We cover various suggestions for getting active, staying active, and most importantly how to monitor improvements. For further information please call the HP Team on 01295 230120.