Any client who has ever worked with me will agree that I’m a fan of incidental and a big pusher for it.
What is incidental exercise? Well it’s like the name suggests it is the type of exercise that is part of another activity. It is not so much structured exercise as it is increasing your activity or increasing the intensity of the activity by doing something extra.
Everyone has done the old cliches “use the stairs instead of the lift/escalator, get off at a stop before your usual one etc.”Let me share some of my favourites and throw in some random ones for you.
Instead of incidental exercise I am going to call them opportunities to increase activity/exercise. Let me cover the most obvious ones first
1. Cleaning the house – dynamite opportunity for incidental exercise. Give your house a thorough clean and use all the muscles in your body. I’m talking scrubbing, dusting whilst shaking the booty, polishing and moving the couches to clean under them.
2. Washing the car is one of my favourites. I like to time myself to get that competitive edge. Include lots of squatting, bending, reaching, scrubbing, wiping – it covers your whole body!
Let’s get a little more creative
3. The clothes line booty shaper – Include squats when you are hanging the washing out. Squat down to pick up the item and come onto your toes as you peg to give your calves a wake up call. Try it single legged for extra intensity.
4. The random toilet workout – Now this sounds a little weird but going to the toilet is one of the best opportunities to fit in extra exercise. When you get up to go to the toilet, include a set of squats in the cubicle, nobody can see you or know what you’re doing so no need to feel self conscious at the work place.
5.Sneaky holds – if you’re stuck in a long meeting, or sitting down for a long period of time, start flexing and doing isometric holds of your muscles. These aren’t as obvious as jiggling your legs under the table and making those around you feel anxious. As an example, squeeze your bum really tight, now hold, hold and keep on holding for about 30 seconds or so, let go and repeat. you can do these for your quads, hamstrings, core and nobody will know the difference. These holds are stimulating the muscles and the tension is making them work.
6. Kitchen workout station – When waiting in the kitchen for something to cook,work sets of push ups against the bench into the process. Now of course you have to be careful with whats on the bench, i’m not suggesting you play around near hot surfaces or sharp utensils. hands on the bench, keep straight body, standing on your toes and bringing your chest in towards the bench then push up, keep good posture. To increase intensity go slower and increase repetitions. This one is particularly useful if you are going to the kitchen for a snack or something that isn’t too healthy. Before you have that snack, earn it with some exercise.
7. GET UP! – don’t underestimate the simple task of getting up. If you’re sitting down, especially on the floor it takes effort and a lot of muscles to get your body to an upright position, why not take advantage of that. Get up more often, which will also do your flexibility and muscles wonders and if appropriate sit on the floor.
8. The models walk – Now this is super old school but remember when people used to walk with a book on their head? Well let’s take a trip down memory lane and highlight the benefits. You are improving your posture, your neck muscles, using your core muscles for stability and probably having a laugh or causing other people to have a laugh at your expense. Either way it’s an interesting idea that can be revisited by today’s modern woman. (Right now i’m sitting here writing this post with a womens’ strength training book on my head, I’m certainly sitting up straight but the fact I look down at the keyboard every time I make a spelling error is causing problems!)
9. Improving pelvic floor muscles while you drive – I decided to do this one a couple of years ago, I never really paid much attention to the Pelvic Floor Muscles until I got a stern talking to by a certain physio. Now instead of dedicating valuable workout time to the cause I associate it with doing something else. I do it when I’m driving Every time i’m at a red light or stuck in traffic I make the most of my time and exercise them. Not sure how to do it? Check out my article on the importance of PFM here.
10. Taking away the convenience – Have a look back through our history as human beings, there were nowhere near as many problems with obesity and disease as there is today. In today’s society everything is so easy, we have gadgets and services that make everything so easy we don’t have lift a finger. Except to press a button on our remotes but i’m sure in the near future technology will take that exhausting burden away from us. If you really want to increase your activity and incidental exercise take some of the easiness away. Think about what you have at home that makes your life so much easier… what can you do to give some effort back to your body and with that increase your mobility, strength and fitness.
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Photo courtesy of Female First