Get fit for life tip #3: Activity is everywhere.
No time to exercise? Look for ways to incorporate more movement into your daily life.
Research conducted at the Mayo Clinic by Dr James Levine in the early 2000s showed that overall activity levels had a large impact on preventing weight gain in test subjects fed a high-calorie diet. He called this NEAT, for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.
In fact, all the little movements we do during the day burn a significant amount of calories. And home life offers many opportunities for a more active lifestyle. Carrying shopping bags builds strength. Making the bed requires flexibility. Reaching for an item on the top shelf is a good way to practice balance. Activity really is everywhere, once you start looking!
In my book, I share some advice on living a more active lifestyle, outside of structured exercise or workouts. In my experience, stairs are one of the best ways to squeeze in a quick aerobic workout several times a day.
I started my stairs habit at my first job, in New York in the 1960s. There was a problem, though: the stairs in the building were kept locked. So I went to my boss and explained why I wanted access to the stairs, and he wrote a note to the building owners requesting a key for me. They were astonished: no one had ever asked for anything like this! But they included four extra keys, just in case anyone else wanted to join me. I've kept up the habit in every office I've worked in over the years.
Today, smart building design includes measures like putting the stairs at the front of the lobby and the lifts at the back. This simple switch has been found to dramatically increase the proportion of people who take the stairs.
Jack Lowe, Champion of the Fit for Life philosophy