Did you know by changing small things in your life, you could have a life which’s quality is a lot better? By doing things differently, you could be seeing things in a way that you didn’t before. Think of walking a bit more, taking your time do something or buying something you normally wouldn’t buy. It only takes a small change to get a big result.
Park your car a bit further
If you’re one of those people that have to park their car right in front the door to your office or home, then this is a good tip for you. Instead of parking your car right in front of the door, try to park it a bit further away. By doing this you will be forced to walk a bit more than you usually do. If the weather is nice, try to enjoy it.
If you park your car a bit further from your house, you will have to walk from your car to your house, which will give you the opportunity to stretch your legs after a day of work. And in the morning you have to walk a bit to get to your car, which will count as a small exercise.
Make use of your lunch break
Grabbing your lunch, sitting behind the desk and eating your lunch while you catch up with the news, reading your rss feeds and whatever it is you do behind your desk. Sounds familiar?
Since English isn’t my native language, I tend to double check words and spelling and what not. And when I look up the words “lunch break”, Babylon says and I quote: “time of day when one stops working in order to eat lunch”. Now that you know what it means, it’s time to execute it.
During your lunch break, take your time to leave the desk. If it’s possible head to another room in the office or building. Take your time do eat your lunch and mentally rest a bit. If you’re physically not tired, try to some exercises. A couple squats, pushups or any other exercise that will make you feel energetic.
By taking a break, not only will you be well rested, but you will be ready for the rest of the day. And if you managed to do a couple exercises, you contributed towards your health.
Buy a pedometer
If you don’t know what a pedometer is, let me explain to you using my good old Babylon tool. Babylon says: “device for measuring the distance walked”. In other words, a device you put around your neck, stick in your pocket or carry it the way you like. This device shows you how many steps you’ve walked and depending on the meter you have, shows how many calories you’ve approximately burned.
Right now you could be thinking, what use is measuring my steps? Well, a study done by Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, showed that using a pedometer will cause you to walk more because you’re constantly aware of how much you’ve walked. Another study showed that people using a pedometer walk more than people sticking to a “30 minute walk”. While the 30 minute walkers took an average of 8,270 steps a day, the pedometer users took 10,149.
To cut to the chase. Using a pedometer will make you realize how much steps you’ve taken and how much calories you’ve burned. If using a pedometer will result in walking more, thus burning more calories, it will also result in you having being more healthy.
There you go. 3 simple changes in your life that will have a big impact. Just by parking your car a bit further, making use of your lunch break and buying a pedometer. You will be healthier.
Wed, May 28, 2008
Sport