How to sneak in exercise

We know routine exercise is important for overall wellbeing. NHS recommends that adults aged between 19 and 64 should try to be daily active and achieve at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity.

Many of us fall short of this target. But there are ways you can ‘sneak’ exercising into your lifestyle. Here we have listed ways you can incorporate physical activity into a more regular routine.

Hobbies are a fantastic way to mask the weekly grind of regular exercise. Often, they can be more effective than a gym membership, as you are likely to stick with for longer periods of time.

One of the best active hobbies is taking up dance lessons. Regular dancing has been attributed to losing weight, maintaining strong bones and improving posture, muscle strength, balance and coordination. 

There is no barrier to learning to dance, and with so many styles available, you can find one that is best suited to your interests and personality. 

Dancing is a great active hobby because it nails three core principles of ‘sneaky’ exercising:

Furthermore, there is a large social element to it, especially if you start taking up lessons with your significant other.

Outside of dancing, other active hobbies may include, indoor rock climbing, routine hiking or kayaking and canoeing.

If you’re a parent with younger children, you have fantastic ways of ‘sneaking’ in weekly exercise by fostering active playtime. 

When spending essential time with your kids, get outside and get active, rather than watching a movie together or other sedentary, indoor activities.  

Not only is this beneficial for you, but also your children – and there are so many fun things you can to together! 

It can be as simple as using markers as makeshift goalposts and playing together with the football, to digging up the ground for your very own kids veggie garden.

When your kids are playing, get involved where you can. Push them on the local park swings and chase them over playground.

If your having trouble motivating your kids to get away from the screens, perhaps look to invest in some backyard entertainment such as a climbing frame (that you can use sneakily as well).

This could range from the classic trampoline (perfect for excising when they eventually get off), or something more elaborate, like your very own playground equipment (Show your kids how to climb like a monkey). 

Yes, believe it or not, getting stuck into cleaning your house can be a fantastic way to burn calories, with a few simple adjustments. There is nothing quite like that clean house feeling, and it’s even better feeling if you get a good workout from it.

Of course, a few modifications to your weekly chores will help you get the most out of this type of exercise. Increasing both the pace at which you do your chores, such as vacuuming and mopping, as well as the intensity. 

WebMD has a great guide for on ways you can adjust certain cleaning chores to get a better burn. Remember the key is to try to mimic exercising as much as possible while completing your cleaning tasks.

Integrating certain exercises into your workday is not as odd as it seems. Workplace workouts can help you make the most of your limited hours. You can take advantage of the few minutes you get here and there between meetings and deadlines with a little creativity.

Fitting even just 10-minute exercise session at work goes a long way in improving your health and wellbeing. It can also be used to break up the working day, allowing you to recharge and refocus on your next work priorities. 

Exercise.co.uk has a quick full body office workout guide that covers a range of motions you can achieve by behind your work desk.