- While golfing and using the golf cart, try to park farther from your ball and walk more. Or, if you have more energy that day, try walking the entire course.
- Try parking farther from your destination to get in a few extra steps or hop off of the subway or bus one stop sooner to get in some personal mileage.
- Get off of the elevator a few floors from where you are going and walk up or down the rest.
- Try playing a new activity with friends, family or with a club such as: tennis (try singles), golf, badminton, walking/hiking clubs or tours, cycling, swimming, dancing (ballroom, country line dancing, etc.), community center activities, or volunteer activities like Habitat for Humanity (you end up being active and proactive at the same time!).
- Do your own housework (it burns more calories than you might think) and your own gardening.
- Stand up and sit down while talking on the phone or march in place.
- Take walks on the beach, boardwalk, along trails on vacations or day trips.
- Walk around your house each time you use the bathroom to get in extra steps or if you are at work, try using a bathroom on a different floor.
- Do balance training throughout the day:
*Stand on one leg while waiting in line at the bank, grocery store or theater lines.
*Rock back and forth lifting your heels and toes as you stand in line or while brushing your teeth.
*Try to stand up and sit down without using your hands/arms-but have them ready to steady you if necessary.
*While going to get your mail or walking in your home, pretend you are walking on a balance beam-one foot in front on the way up (but always 1 at a time on the way down).
As long as you keep moving, you’ll keep moving in the right direction!
Kristin Sprows, BS, CPT
