10 HEALTH AND FITNESS TIPS FOR BUSY PEOPLE

1. The list A great way to focus your time on the
things you value, such as staying healthy
and fit, is to create a list of everything
you’d like to do in your free time, such
as watching your favourite TV series or
running. Once you’ve got your list, number each
activity in terms of how much of a priority
it is for you, starting at number one and
working your way down. At the end of
this task you’ll have a list of the
activities you value. Try to always fit in at least one of your top three priorities per
day, even if it’s just for 15 minutes.

                                

2. Less can be more You do not always have to exercise for an
hour to reap the benefits and as soon as
you understand this you will be able to
exercise more regularly, even when you
have a jam-packed day. For example, you
can do four minutes of kettle bell exercises, four minutes of abs work and
two minutes of squats and lunges.

3. Learn some super quick recipes Slaving over a hot oven is no fun,
especially when you’ve had an awful
day and arrive home late into the night. To
make sure that on these days you don’t
reach for unhealthy convenience foods
learn some super quick recipes you can knock up in an instant. A turkey steak with
a feta and beetroot salad is a healthy meal
that can be knocked up in less than 10
minutes, as can vegetable frittatas.

4. Use the loudspeaker or your
mobile If you tend to be on the phone a lot, think
about ways you can get active during
these long calls. Getting out of the office
and going for a walk somewhere quiet can
be a great way to get some exercise
without losing any concentration whilst on the phone, or even pacing in your office
whilst on the phone can help keep you
active and healthy.

5. Optimum foods When you’re busy your diet can suffer
and vending machines, pizzas and
takeaways can become too much of a
regular occurrence. To make sure you’re
getting the right nutrition make sure you
always have a good stock of foods that deliver the maximum health benefits to
hand. For example, tomatoes (good for
your heart), spinach (good for your brain),
blueberries (good for your cholesterol),
salmon (good for weight loss) and pumpkin
seeds (good for your memory) are hugely nutritious and will keep you full.

6. Pick a healthy hotel A study published in the Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
found that people who travel away for
work more than 20 times per month were
1.92 times more likely to be obese and
2.61 times more likely to feel like they had poor to fair health than those workers
who only travelled for six times per
month. If you travel away from home for
work try to book hotels with gyms,
healthy menu options and when you are
there avoid comfort eating and instead reward yourself in other ways.

7. Workout with your kids If you watch your little ones running about
you quickly realise that they’re better
than any personal trainer. Playing with
your kids, whether it’s on the
trampoline, dancing around your living
room or playing a big game of tag together is a great way to workout without
realising it. Plus this way you don’t feel
guilty about not spending enough time with
them.

 

8.  Relax When you are chasing a day full of
meetings with a busy evening your stress
levels are probably sky-high and stress
has a terrible impact on your health and
wellbeing. Therefore one of the best things
you can do to stay healthy and fit is to learn how to relax. If you don’t have
time to meditate or take a hot bath, studies
have found that even the anticipation of
laughter can help us to relax and reduce
stress levels in the body. So, take a look at
some funny Youtube videos to help you unwind.

9. Supersets On those occasions when you manage to
carve a space in your busy schedule to
exercise, make sure you are getting the
most out of your workout by doing
supersets.  Super-setting can cut your
exercise time by 50 per cent because instead of having rest periods between
sets, you do an alternative exercise that
rests the muscles you’ve just trained and
exercises the opposite one, before you
begin your next set. For example, once
you’ve worked on your stomach, work out your lower back.

10.  Live an active lifestyle If you struggle to find the time to get to the
gym or to get to your dance class then
incorporating exercise into your lifestyle
might help you to stay healthy and fit even
when your schedule is maxed. For
example, carry your shopping home rather than getting a cab, do some
gardening with your partner on your date
night, or go swimming with a friend
instead of meeting for coffee.