Exercise Anywhere - Yes, You Can!
February 23, 2023
Two of the most common myths we hear about exercising: “I don’t have time” and “If you don’t break a sweat, it’s not really exercise.” Both of these are utterly FALSE! Let’s tackle the latter of these first. The Oxford dictionary online defines exercise as “activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness” and “a process or activity carried out for a specific purpose, especially one concerned with a specified area or skill.” Nowhere in either of those definitions does it say “you are required to break a sweat or get your heart rate up to 150 beats per minute”.
So, let’s stop trying to put exercise into these highly specified and small bubbles that can only be reached by professional athletes and ultrafit individuals, and instead just embrace it for what it is - intentional movement! When it comes to movement, well you can do this anywhere. Which brings us to the first myth we mentioned - I don’t have time. Wrong! You may not have time to go to a gym and run for an hour on a treadmill, but you DO have time for intentional movement. From this perspective, the truth of exercise can be known - you can exercise anywhere! And it’s easier and more accessible than you might think.
Here are some of our favorite places to seamless incorporate intentional movement into your day:
- Morning stretches - when the alarm goes off in the morning, instead of reaching for that snooze button for an additional 10 minutes of zzz’s, get a 10 minute stretch session in! Start with a deep inhale to a 4 count. Hold for 4 counts. Exhale for 4 counts - as you exhale, extend your arms up and your legs out and relax them. Hold for 4 counts at the bottom of your exhale. Repeat again, except this time hover your arms and or legs instead of relaxing them (this will engage your core). Repeat 10 times or as many times as you like in your 10 minutes former snooze window!
- Shower Power - while you wait for the water to warm up, do some wall push-ups. Stand up straight against a wall with your back and legs touching the wall. Hold your arms out in front of you parallel to the ground and bend your knees - being sure to keep your back straight against the wall and your core tight. Repeat 10-20 times or until your water is warm and your bathroom is getting nice and toasty!
- Morning Movers - find movement in between morning tasks such as counter pushups while your coffee is brewing, mini squats while you do your hair and put on makeup, pr toe raises while you go through emails on your phone in the morning. Youll find that there are so many ways to incorporate fun and meaningful movement no matter where you are and what you are doing as a part of your morning routine!
- Desk-jockey - if you’re confined to a desk for long periods throughout the day, be mindful of how you sit. Sit up tall, engage your abdomen, do neck curls and shoulder rolls to help release tension and keep muscles warm, while you sit for longer periods, squeeze your buttocks and left each leg underneath your desk to promote circulation.
- Lighten your lunch - working under fluorescent lights all day can be draining, so make sure to take a step away and refresh and recharge. A lunch break can be a great time to do this. If you brought your lunch, you don’t have to eat it at your desk or in another room with more fluorescent lighting. If it’s a nice day, take it out to the courtyard or to a nearby park. If you’ve got time, take a leisurely after-lunch stroll (this will also help promote healthy digestion) in addition to lightening your mood and spirits. If you wear heels or dress shoes that aren’t right for walking, keep a pair of tennis shoes or walking shoes in your car or desk (no excuses!).
- Walk it off - take the opportunity to walk whenever you can. If you can, wake up a little earlier in the morning to take a walk around the block before you head into work. Walk on your lunch break. Walk after work. Park a little bit further back in your office parking lot. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Take a new route to your desk. There are dozens of ways to walk a little more throughout your day, and those little additional steps here and there are going to add up in a meaningful way!
You might think, “well I don’t have everything I need in order to exercise.” We hope that the ideas we shared above have shown you that being able to exercise doesn’t mean you have to have access to an expensive gym or professional-grade equipment at home. It’s possible to exercise anywhere using the tools in your environment around you! We’ve found, though, that some of the following things can help make it easier to exercise anywhere and find more joy in the act of engaging in intentional movement:
- Tennis shoes - there’s no rule that says you can’t walk in a pair of boots or flip flops, but your body will probably appreciate you wearing a pair of supportive tennis shoes designed for walking and movement. A good pair of tennis shoes doesn’t have to mean an expensive pair. Look for something that fits comfortably and supports your individual foot shape
- Water bottle - when exercising (and when not exercising) water is an important part of any healthy body. Stay hydrated! Aim for 8-8 oz. glasses of water a day (or 4-16 oz. bottles). Find a reusable water bottle that is comfortable to hold and travel with so you’re never without water. Bonus: now you’ve also always got a makeshift weight on your person that you can use for arm raises and squats!
- Energy - so, we know that you can’t just go to a store and “buy” energy (well, OK you CAN buy energy drinks, but we don’t recommend that as a long term health strategy), but you can support healthy energy levels! For starters, be sure to get enough sleep! No matter how much caffeine or willpower you’ve got, getting enough sleep each night is paramount to feeling well and energized the following day. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night. If you need to nap, aim for a 30 minute power nap (or if you’ve got a little more time, 90 minutes) - these intervals line up best with your circadian rhythm and help promote less feelings of grogginess upon waking. Eating regular balanced meals filled with whole, fresh foods can also help promote healthy and steady energy levels throughout the day. Try to reduce your intake of processed foods - as these often contain added sugars that can cause variations in your blood sugar level (leaving us feeling sluggish and tired). Lastly, supplements can be the bridge between what our diets and lifestyle lack and the way we want to feel. Many of us could us this extra support in our diets.
For those who are looking to close gaps in your daily diet, we suggest you consider the following supplements. After all, a body in motion is a body on its way to better health. These supplements help support healthy bodies like yours no matter how big or small your goals are. All Metabolic Web Store MRC brand products are produced in cGMP facilities and are routinely tested for potency and purity; essentially, what you see on the bottle is what you’re getting inside because quality matters to us.
Designed to fill the gaps in the modern diet, this easily dissolved sublingual tablet has been optimized for absorption. With 1000mcg of Vitamin B12 as methylcobalamin, this tablet supports healthy energy levels*, immune system function and cellular energy production*, normal fat and protein metabolism*, and is essential for a healthy nervous system.*
Containing four unique blends, this quadruple action approach to weight loss is designed to intentionally align with the body’s nutritional needs for healthy weight management as they rotate and change throughout the day. The Breakfast Blend and Lunch Blends contain Green Tea Leaf to provide natural energy.
This superior formula is made with the highest quality Kaneka QH™ Ubiquinol. CoQ10 is an antioxidant produced naturally by the body, found in highest concentrations in the heart. These easy-to-digest vegetarian capsules fill the gaps where the body is not able to produce enough CoQ10 naturally (as we age, natural production is known to decline).
Our Complete Plus Multivitamin formula (available for both men and women) is one of the most complete multi-nutrient dietary supplements available on the market today. It has been expertly formulated to fill the nutrient gaps in the modern diet and supports cognitive health, cardiovascular function, healthy immune system function, healthy sleep and neurological health.*
This superfood fruit and vegetable blend contains over 50 different fruits and vegetables in one scoop that promote natural energy.* We’ve also fortified our blend with a probiotic blend to support healthy guts and digestion.* Best of all, this product is free from gluten, soy, dairy, dyes, and sugars. Truly, all of the benefits of juicing without any of the hassle!
We hope that you're able to see more clearly that exercise can be as easy or as strenuous as you want it to be. Intentional movements can happen anywhere that you are - whether that's in a pilates class at your local gym or simply sitting at your desk at work. All it takes is a little creativity! Be sure that in your endeavors to incorporate more movement into your daily routine, you are supporting a healthy body with nutritious foods and supplements to fill any gaps (getting everything in each day can be tricky, after all!). At the Metabolic Web Store, we've got what you need to reach your weight loss and health goals. After all, we've been at it for more than 35 years through our Metabolic Research Center offices! Got questions? Send us an email to websupport@emetabolic.com, and we're happy to help answer them.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure any disease.