Share this:
Finding time for regular workouts is a challenge for millions of Americans, but Danielle Johnson, a wellness physical therapist with the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, says there are always ways to work a workout into your day.
Journalists: Broadcast-quality video pkg (0:59) is in the downloads at the end of the post.
Please ‘Courtesy: Mayo Clinic News Network.’ Read the script.
For many people, no matter how great the idea of working out on a regular basis sounds, a hectic life always seems to get in the way.
"The one thing I always like to really tell my busy executives, busy moms, busy dads ... that every little bit counts," Johnson says. "So don't ever tell yourself, well, I only have 10 minutes. Ten minutes is great."
Johnson says the key is changing the way people think of a workout and finding ways to work exercises into a normal day.
"You don't necessarily have to always get to the gym," Johnson says. "Taking a walk with a friend for a meeting can be a wonderful thing."
She also suggests parking farther away from a destination, rather than in the closest spot to get a few extra steps in.
"If you're in the office and you have 10 minutes before your next meeting, you can do some air squats," she says. "You can do some lunges. You can do some chair pushups, where you're working your triceps and your back. You know, you can walk up the stairs."
The main thing, she says, is not to make workouts an all or nothing activity if you don't have an hour to go to the gym.
