It’s really hard to stay motivated to go to a gym consistently.  Some people are intimidated by working out around others.  Some have no clue what they’re doing and are embarrassed or worried they’re going to injure themselves.  Others are confused because there’s always a new workout on the cover of Men’s Health or Cosmopolitan.  And well, then there’s always the bunch that supposedly don’t have time to workout but never miss an episode of American Idol.

Working out doesn’t have to be that difficult.  First of all, if you’re intimidated, embarrassed or concerned, try hiring a trainer, even if it’s just for a single hour.  I promise, it will be helpful.  Even though I workout 4-6 times per week, I still try to add in other ways to stay healthy and get in a little extra workout whenever possible.  It helps to keep me focused and as long as it doesn’t interrupt the rest of my life, why not?

So, today I have 7 tips for you that are simple, fast, and won’t take longer than a few minutes extra each day, if even that long.

7 Simple Fitness Tips

1. Unless you work on the 103rd floor, consider taking the stairs.  Just by taking the stairs to the 4th floor where I live, I add an extra approximately 11,000 stairs to my daily routine per month.  For me, it is usually faster than the elevator, doesn’t make me tired, but does keep me active.

2. Unless you’re going to a professional sports game where the parking lots are miles long, park a ways away from the front door.  I park approximately 500 steps away from my truck at my house even though there is parking approximately 50-100 steps from the front door.  This adds an additional 22,400 steps per month to my activity, if you account deduct the 100 steps per day I could be walking.

3. Buy a pedometer.  You can find them for relatively cheap, around $20 or so, and if you’re a competitive person like I am, it will become a game against yourself.  Set your goal for 10,000 steps per day.  If you buy a little fancier one it will even calculate miles and calories burned.  Track your progress in a simple Google Docs spreadsheet and try to improve a little more each day.

4. Buy a bluetooth headset for your office.  If you’re usually stuck at your desk all day long on conference calls, buy a bluetooth headset for your office phone.  Then, take your calls from the headset and walk around your office if you don’t need to be behind a computer screen.  If you’re going to try this, make sure you get a Plantronics set.  They’re the best, bottom line.

5. Pick up workout bands.  You can hide these easily in a desk drawer or carry them in your bag when you’re traveling.  These little bands will allow you to get in a decently intense workout when you can’t make it to the gym.  Even if you do make it to the gym regularly, you should add these into your workout.

6. Go for a walk around the building at lunch.  Take 10 minutes at lunch time and take a walk around your building.  Just this little additional exercise will help to energize for the long afternoon ahead and will add a couple more thousand steps into your daily routine.

7. Do a set of pushups or situps.  It’s mid-day and you’re tired.  You’ve been staring at your screen for what feels like 60 hours and it’s not even lunch time yet.  Hop out of your chair, pop down and knock out a set of pushups.  Nothing crazy so you don’t mess up your office attire, just 10-25.  Even if you did 25 pushups only 3 times per week, it would add up 300 extra pushups per month.

As you can see, none of these suggestions are particularly hard, take up a lot of time, and are all meant to give you an extra burst of energy.  Whether you workout constantly or don’t even know what the word “gym” really means, adding any one of these tips into your daily routine will help you out.

What easy things do you do to try to keep in shape, stay healthy, and stay energized?

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Photo by: Phillip Klinger