Mindless Exercise

In a few weeks I'm going to moderate a health chat session here at myhealthvillage.com. I was doing a little thinking about this and my topic of “Overcoming Obstacles to Exercise” as I stopped at the local mall.

I'd had the usual week of a busy work schedule, staffing at a couple of clinics in town and unfortunately missed my group yoga session on Wednesday. Bella, our black lab, and I had a long walk in the countryside, and I even used my recumbent exercise bike for 30 minutes one day. But other than walking a bit in the halls of the clinics where I worked, I didn't really get enough exercise. But then again, maybe I did. Some of it may have been mindless.

When I say mindless, I mean that I don't really take extra time out to do it or even plan it in advance. I have a few habits that I try to incorporate into my daily life that I am hoping burn calories without much effort on my part.

Today for instance when I pulled into the mall, I didn't waste gas or time by circling around to find a parking spot closest to the door. I parked right away at one of the available spots a good distance from the entrance and got a bit of walking exercise. Yesterday when I stopped at the staffing office at the hospital on the fourth floor, I walked up and down the stairs instead of using the elevator. I hate waiting for elevators anyway.

Maybe you have some ideas for mindless exercise that work for you. Join me and share them during my health chat on the second Friday of the month at 2 pm. Central Time.