I’m working on strengthening my upper body.
For the past year or so, I’ve been having shoulder issues.
And I feel like I’ve lost some muscle in my arms and shoulders in general.
So, I’ve decided to get stronger.
Now I’m working out my arms and shoulders every second day.
And I have to say, it feels great.
However, this past weekend was so busy, and I didn’t get my arm workout in.
I know, it sounds like an excuse, right?
But…
I did help Albert get the winter tires on three cars: Mine, his, and my daughter’s.
He un-installed and installed…
And I did the unsexy work of schlepping tires to-and-from the backyard.
That required me to take 12 tires on rims out of the shed, then:
- Lift them into a wheel barrow two at a time
- Wheel them around our row of townhouses, to the front of the house
- Unload them, and then reload the wheelbarrow with the un-installed summer tires
- Walk them around to the backyard
- And unload them into the shed
And I repeated that six times!
Did I get an arm workout?
Definitely.
Was it the workout I’d planned?
No.
But, in this case, I gave myself credit.
Because moving those tires around really challenged my arms and shoulders.
My muscles were tired, I broke a sweat, and my heart was pumping pretty hard.
So, I definitely counted it as a workout.
And called it a day.
ALL movement is exercise
I put this out there because sometimes we disregard the exercise of our daily activities.
We don’t count them.
Although I know, they’re not always as challenging as changing tires or moving furniture, they should still be considered exercise.
Because ALL movement is exercise.
But sometimes we don’t give ourselves credit for the ACTUAL work we did.
Our minds have a pre-conceived idea of what exercise should look like.
It should be:
- A workout at the gym
- A boot camp or Pilates class
- A run or walk
- Riding the Peloton or elliptical
- Playing tennis, soccer, or other sport…
But in fact, EVERY MOVE you make, EVERY STEP step you take, IS EXERCISE.
(Just borrowing lyrics of a classic song by The Police… I’m sure Sting won’t mind.)
And just to take this a little further…
MINDSET matters
Just BELIEVING that your daily movement is EXERCISE, will actually boost your benefits.
By benefits, I mean things like weight loss, lower blood pressure, higher energy, and more.
That’s the mind-body connection at work.
And this idea has been proven in several studies.
Most notably in a study out of Harvard.
Researchers from Harvard studied room attendants from seven hotels.
Half of these attendants were told that their daily house-keeping work including making beds, vacuuming, and cleaning bathrooms, actually met or exceeded the Surgeon General’s guidelines for daily activity.
Before being given this info, they hadn’t considered their work as exercise.
Meanwhile, the other half of room attendants weren’t given this information.
So, what do you think happened?
Over the course of four weeks, with nothing else being changed, those that believed they were getting their recommended daily exercise actually lost an average of 2 lbs, their BMI (body mass index) decreased, as did their WHR (waist-to-hip ratio) and blood pressure.
On average, the control group didn’t see any improvement.
The conclusion was that MINDSET matters.
When you believe that what you’re doing is contributing to your overall health and wellness, it actually will.
It doesn’t, however, replace healthy eating and exercise.
But it does amplify the benefits.
So, if you spent your day doing laundry, going up and down stairs, vacuuming, and dusting, then consider it EXERCISE.
Or if you walked all day, shopping and taking public transportation, consider it EXERCISE.
Or if you changed tires, raked leaves, gardened, or put away the patio furniture for the winter, consider it EXERCISE.
As you’re doing these activities, check in with your body:
- Notice your heart pumping, your breathing, your body heat, and your muscles moving
- Keep track of your steps
- Write down your activities at the end of the day…
Any way you can, just bring awareness to what you’re REALLY doing.
And call it EXERCISE.
It counts.
NOW…
Beware of EXCUSES
All that being said, watch out for ONE pitfall.
Beware of using daily activities as an EXCUSE for not exercising as you had planned.
It’s subtle, but if you’re honest with yourself, you will sniff out this EXCUSE.
For example, if your goal is to complete a 10K, and you vacuumed and dusted INSTEAD of run/walking 5K as you’d planned…
Well, that’s probably an excuse.
Vacuuming and dusting is exercise, and they count, but on their own they won’t get you to your goal.
So, be aware of excuses.
INSTEAD…
Make daily activities a BONUS
Daily activities are exercise, they burn calories, build strength, and keep you mobile, and…
They’re a fabulous BONUS to your regularly scheduled exercise.
Include them in your daily exercise tally.
Personally, I’m a fan of keeping a fitness journal.
So, in my journal, in addition to writing, “Today, I run/walked 5K,” I’d write, “… AND I vacuumed all 3 floors of the house.”
When you do this, you also bring that element of MINDSET into the equation, and amplify your results.
BONUS!
Do you count your DAILY ACTIVITIES as EXERCISE?
Let me know in the comments!
I believe we should move every day.
What I mean by that is that we should PLAN movement each day.
A walk, run, workout, class,… SOMETHING.
Because exercise isn’t only a physical health benefit; it’s also a MENTAL HEALTH benefit.
And we need those benefits every day.
In addition, I believe that the best way to create a habit, is to do it DAILY.
It will become part of who you are, not just something you do.
And then you can count everything else you do as BONUS.
All the commuting, shopping, and cleaning are just added goodness.
All your movement contributes to your overall well-being.
Especially if you believe it will.
Keep moving forward my friend,
Debbie
P.S. Need creative ways to add more movement to your days? I can definitely help you with that. Let’s get on a call: https://calendly.com/debbie-harbec-coaching/free-consultation