Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to create an exercise menu. An exercise
Speaker 1: menu will help you get from wanting to exercise to
Speaker 1: actually exercising in a way that works with the time available.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is inspired by a few participants in the
Speaker 1: Tranquility by Tuesday project, in which volunteers tested out the
Speaker 1: time rules I'll share in my upcoming book with the
Speaker 1: same name. One of my rules is to move by
Speaker 1: three pm. Do some physical activity for at least ten
Speaker 1: minutes every single day by three pm. Now, some people
Speaker 1: hit the gem at six am every single morning, but
Speaker 1: most don't, which means that people need options of things
Speaker 1: they can do even on busy work days or when
Speaker 1: they're caring for small kids, or when it's raining. That
Speaker 1: might sound difficult, but it doesn't have to be if
Speaker 1: you put a little thought into it. One person wrote
Speaker 1: that she decided to create a menu of exercise options
Speaker 1: that she can do in a short amount of time.
Speaker 1: That way, when she finds herself with ten minutes that
Speaker 1: she could use to exercise, she won't waste half that time.
Speaker 1: Figuring out what she could do instead, she'll be able
Speaker 1: to choose from a few pre identified options. Maybe her
Speaker 1: options could include twenty burpies, a short cardio video she
Speaker 1: has bookmarked on her laptop, or a familiar routine of
Speaker 1: yoga poses or stretches. Another Tranquility by Tuesday participant made
Speaker 1: a list of exercises she could do with her toddler.
Speaker 1: Instead of assuming that her toddler would prevent her from exercising,
Speaker 1: she just figured out ways of involving her kid. I
Speaker 1: think that's a wise idea, since it's quite possible that
Speaker 1: if you are caring for a toddler all day, you
Speaker 1: are not going to want to use nap time for
Speaker 1: jumping on the treadmill. So maybe you can put the
Speaker 1: kid in a jog stroller and run, or in a
Speaker 1: regular stroller and take a brisk walk. If you've got
Speaker 1: a bike, you could use a bike trailer. Or maybe
Speaker 1: you've got the space to do some yoga poses in
Speaker 1: your bathroom while he is amusing himself in the bath.
Speaker 1: Or you could come up with a game where you
Speaker 1: chase each other around the yard. Running after a toddler
Speaker 1: is no joke in the cardio category. If you've got
Speaker 1: older kids, your menu of kid included options might include
Speaker 1: dance parties or running while they ride their scooters or
Speaker 1: bicycles beside you throw a ball together. One person I
Speaker 1: know would tread water in the deep end of the
Speaker 1: pool for twenty minutes, or her daughter would practice her dives.
Speaker 1: In any case, if these examples get you thinking, maybe
Speaker 1: you can see the value of an exercise menu. Think
Speaker 1: about the circumstances when you might need multiple options. Maybe
Speaker 1: you love to run outside, but you need options for
Speaker 1: rainy days. Maybe you love to go to the gym,
Speaker 1: but you need at home options for when you are
Speaker 1: on kid duty and can't straight from your yard. Maybe
Speaker 1: you need an at work exercise menu too. I am
Speaker 1: a big fan of using work breaks to exercise, partly
Speaker 1: because it's such an effective energy boost. One study that
Speaker 1: had people walk up and down the stairs for five
Speaker 1: minutes found that there are self reported energy levels basically
Speaker 1: tripled afterwards and stayed elevated for at least an hour.
Speaker 1: Not bad, right, So make this menu maybe walking up
Speaker 1: and down the stairs or shutting the office door and
Speaker 1: doing some planks. I'd suggest keeping a kettlebell in the
Speaker 1: office if you can and using that. But even if
Speaker 1: you are in a cubicle, you can always go walk
Speaker 1: around the can garage. Exercise doesn't have to involve a
Speaker 1: specific place or special equipment or even changing shoes. When
Speaker 1: we aim to fit in movement wherever we are, whatever
Speaker 1: the constraints, we can find a lot of options. So today,
Speaker 1: identify movements when you could fit in exercise. With just
Speaker 1: a little creativity, develop an exercise menu with several options
Speaker 1: for each set of constraints you might face. Then you'll
Speaker 1: be ready to get moving whenever the opportunity arises. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd
Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E
Speaker 1: the number four then Breakfast p o D. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at
Speaker 1: i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart radio,
Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.