Did you know that it’s possible to be physically active without exercising? Here are 7 easy steps on how to add moments of physical activity and exercise to your daily life.

Let’s start by clarifying two concepts: physical activity and physical exercise:

The first includes all activities that require muscles to work and produce movement.

Physical exercise is a type of physical activity focused on physical improvement.

So, is it possible to be physically active without exercising?

The answer is yes.

Imagine the postman who delivers mail on foot. If he walks 5 kilometers per day, he’ll have exceeded all daily physical activity recommendations while only fulfilling his professional task, being physically active without physically exercising.

However, this is not the most common case.

If your work doesn’t include delivering letters, it's more likely that you'll be sitting for 8 hours a day, an hour sitting in transport, another hour eating while sitting, and perhaps all that's left for leisure is looking at a screen while sitting or lying down. If we add the desired 8 hours of sleep, we have almost 20 hours of physical inactivity.

Recommendations:

1. 150 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity per week, which equals:

   • 21 minutes for 7 days

   • 30 minutes 5 days a week

   • 50 minutes 3 days a week.

2. 2 muscular strength/balance training per week

What are moderate aerobic physical activities?

Running, swimming, high-paced walks (6 km/h), sports (Basketball, football, tennis, paddle, tennis), cycling, but also mowing the lawn, physically demanding house cleaning, and carrying loads.

What about strength/balance training?

Everything is valid as long as it is motivating. The goal is that these moments challenge the muscles and the body more than normal day-to-day physical activities and can help improve them.

It could be a gym workout, a group class, or an app workout.

There are many modalities and types, it's about choosing what you like most, what most motivates you, and what you have most easily available.

The first step is to start!

The 7 Steps

1st - Start by adding small physical activities to your daily life.

Avoid the elevator one day, include walking as a means of transport on another, park the car further away from your destination, and carry your shopping in bags for longer.

2nd - Choose a day and time of the week for a short period of physical exercise.

Go for a walk, a run, or exercise using an app. Choose the one that is easiest to start with and, at the same time, most difficult to unmark.

Usually, scheduling something with another person discourages canceling due to a commitment to a third party.

3rd - After two weeks, try adding another moment of exercise.

4th - You already have 2 moments of physical exercise and small moments of physical activity during the day.

Possibly close to 100 minutes! Try not to fail for 4 weeks!

5th - It's time for 3 times.

Maybe you found something that you would like to improve physically: balance, strength, endurance, flexibility, or coordination.

Good! So let's use one of these to look for a workout that helps improve this aspect!

6th - This is fundamental!

Physical activity and exercise have ups and downs, there will be weeks when we achieve more and others when we are less active. Everything is fine!

It is important for you to understand that the weeks change, and the days are different, however, try to compensate for weeks of less physical exercise with other daily physical activities and try to never go more than 3 days without any activity or physical exercise.

7th - The path is paved, the routine is being created.

Organize your planning! Larger sessions, fewer times per week, smaller sessions more times per week, more active day-to-day life but always with a minimum of 150 minutes as a goal.

Are you ready to start taking these steps? If you still have doubts or don’t know how to start, book an appointment with an ERAKULIS® specialist who can design a personalized routine considering your schedule and preferences.