Exercise. Love it, hate it, or just meh… it’s an area that impacts all of our lives.
Personally, I’ve lived the go-hard-or-go-home lifestyle, and for a while it was awesome! But the truth is that this mentality is not sustainable for our whole lives. We need to incorporate periods of rest, time to recover, and truly just embrace the cycle of our lives with no shame.
Now, if you’re like some people who have lived the go-hard-or-go-home life and then had to step away for some reason, maybe you don’t want to embrace that mentality or lifestyle again. I understand! But you probably also know that movement is still integral to creating your Elite Lifestyle, right? So what’s a soul to do??
N.E.A.T. Activity
NEAT Activity stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, which literally just means burning calories through activities not typically considered to be “exercise”. These activities can include basically anything that gets your muscles moving and your heart pumping. Here’s some ideas:
- Parking in the back of the store parking lot and walking the extra distance
- Playing tag with your kids
- Jumping on the trampoline
- Hiking or swimming (not for laps… just swimming!)
- Hula-hooping or cartwheels or monkey bars
- Dance parties! (one of my favs!)
- Cleaning (your house, your car… whatever!)
- Stair hopping, or even just walking up stairs
- And yes, even having sex counts!
An Object in Motion Stays in Motion
Have you ever wondered how kids have so much energy?? This is how! The point of NEAT Activity is that you’re getting up, moving your body, and burning some calories. You’ll also be toning your muscles and improving your cardio! It’s ok if you don’t like traditional workouts, but don’t be afraid to work up a sweat as you’re going through your day and having fun! Incorporating at least 30 minutes to an hour of NEAT activity in your day can be life changing!
Tips to Make it Work
All this is great, right? But I want to leave you with a couple tips to help you make NEAT activities really work for you!
- Track your activity level. Even if you split your activities up into bite-sized chunks throughout the day, aim to hit the 30-60 minute mark. More if you can! Remember, what is measured is improved.
- Choose to do things that you enjoy! Don’t choose an activity that you hate, and don’t be afraid to switch it up if you get bored.
- Choose times that work for you. Maybe it’s a 5-minute walk around the office a few times a day and taking the stairs. Maybe it’s chasing your kids around a playground. It’s ok to break it into chunks, or keep it all together, or to be flexible depending on your day!
- Do it daily. NEAT activities are (typically) gentle enough on your body to be doing every day, and are more beneficial the more often you do them.
I hope that this gives you some good ideas to keep MOVING through your year, without getting the pressure that can be felt around “exercise”.
If you want to find out how coaching can help you implement movement into your lifestyle and help you reignite your warrior soul, I have a menu of awesome packages just for you! Schedule a Strategy Session to discover what working with me is like, identify your areas of need, and plan your strategy!