Exercising Daily Opportunity

A woman in my Mini-Med School class at UC Davis responded to a lecture about the importance of exercise with a remark that likely represented a significant percentage of students – most over the age of 45. “Honestly, I have to tell you that I just hate exercise,” she boldly admitted. “I’d much rather hunker down on the couch with a book.!” There was a collective mummer of agreement.

For people who strongly resist the idea of beginning an exercise program – and also for those who grasp the importance of it, I have some painless short cuts that I’ve integrated into my daily routine for years.
Say “No thanks, I don’t need any help,” when the courteous grocery clerk offers to have someone carry your bags – or push your cart – to your car. If you’ve just filled a small hand-carry basket and you have two or three bags of groceries, it’s very likely you can manage to get them to the car yourself, without a cart. I balance the load using the bag handles, walk slowly and do a few repetitions of arm lifts. I get to work my biceps while pulling in my stomach muscles and tucking in the hip area to maintain proper posture for standing exercise. It’s very important to understand the ergonomic way to do this because it’s possible to do it wrong and hurt your back. If you’ve pushed the cart, again, flex your arm muscles, pull in your tummy and the gluteal muscles as you walk. Use conscious posture while lifting and loading bags into your car and feel the muscles you are using. So you get maybe 8 to 10 reps of arm lifts, some healthy tightening of the core area and, if you park far enough from the store, a little aerobic walking for extra measure.

Stairs are your friend. If you live in a two story home – and any time you have the opportunity to take the stairs rather than ride an elevator – you’ve got an opportunistic exercise. To make stair climbing count as exercise you have to again be conscious of your body. Tuck the pelvis in, tighten the gluteal muscles and stomach muscles. (Don’t climb with your back curved and butt out.) With this erect posture, climb stairs so that you feel the muscles in your legs tighten and lift you. You should feel it in your thighs and in your calves.
The vacuum cleaner is more than it seems, as is the garden rake and push broom. Of course, these implements are designed to make cleaning easy, but I use them as power tools. I tighten up my biceps when I push and pull the vacuum, pull in the core muscles and condition myself as I clean the house. There are numerous opportunities to slip in a little “opportunistic exercise” every day – and what you can do depends on your schedule and activities. Just be open to those moments and prepared to use them.

By the way, people do look at me strangely when I am power lifting my grocery bags. But, one of the freedoms of growing older is really not caring what people in the parking lot think about me. Of course, consult with your doc about any exercise program – even my “accidental” routines.