I get myself into trouble as soon as I get home from work.
I come home, drop off my stuff onto the table and change clothes, and then I sit my butt down into my computer chair and say ahhhhhhh it’s good to be home!
Where I remain the rest of the evening.
I have exercise goals, I have hopes, I have motivation all through the rest of the day, but when it come evening time those seem to all go out the window.
What I discovered over time is that I have to get it done first!
“Getting things done first” is an anecdotal phrase that is all over books and articles and website titles, and it’s probably something your parents told you when you were growing up too. I would be hard pressed to say that not only am I tired of hearing it, but that it also just doesn’t work for some of us.
I have a different interpretation of that phrase, and it’s one that works for me.
Before I did down and say “Ahhhhhhhh…”, I just do one set of a body movement exercise. One set of as many pushups, situps, lunges, squats, or pullups. Not all of them, just choose one exercise and do as many as you can.
Do that whenever you start playing a game, before cruising the Internet, or before doing anything that you sit during. It only takes around 30 seconds, and if you do that consistently, it adds up and you will still gain strength and feel better!
Compound bodyweight movements are the best choice for this tactic because they incorporate more than one muscle group at the same time, which makes the exercise more efficient and effective.
This tactic is so quick and simple that it’s also easy to do during loading screens, travel times (for us adventurers), and waiting for dungeon groups to form!
So that is my version of “do things first” – thirty seconds of hardcore body movements, and then I am off to being a hero in Hyrule or Azeroth!
Enjoy!
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What a great idea! I do tend to sit at my computer both all day and night and know how terribly bad it is for me. While I do take breaks I do not really do any major exercising. I am going to start…today in fact…doing this before getting back into my chair. I love this!
Wendy, this is such a great point– if we just take the time to do it first, it’ll add up over time! Have you ever heard of ‘Eat the Frog’? It’s a productivity strategy where you do the hardest task first, then the others will seem simpler. I think it could apply here as well. 😀
I used to work out in the afternoons and evenings, but found that afternoon workouts were tough because my endurance would tap out at that point of the day, and I’d feel more like taking a nap. I’m by no means a morning person, but I’ve actually tried to work out in the wee hours of the morning and it worked– I’d feel more refreshed throughout my day, I’d hit the ‘Play’ button on my workouts before my body had a chance to wake up and resist, and then I had no excuses later because I’d done it already. I think I was at my most fit when I did morning workouts. Reading your post makes me wonder if I should try that again (even though I love sleeping in… lol). Great post- thanks for sharing!
Yes! Definitely! For me it’s doing the same, but first thing in the morning. Most days if I don’t do it first thing, I never get around to doing it!