Physical Wellbeing?

ACTIVITY RECORD:
Although I could have created a table to express my activity, I found myself realizing most of my activity comes from the necessity to move throughout the day, rather than voluntarily choosing to participate in activities. Most of my days’ physical activity time consists of my commute to my school, my workplace, and my apartment, and movement in the classroom. Outside of those activities, I do not engage in any other physical activity. I do hope I can change that sooner rather than later.

Question #1. What are some great ways to be active?
Some great ways to be active, according to the UKK institute physical activity pie, include: cycling, walking/Nordic walking, yard work, running, swimming, aerobics, and stairs/hill climbing.

Question #2. How do you maintain an active lifestyle when you have so many other demands on your time?
In our busy lives, it may seem difficult to incorporate and maintain an active lifestyle. However, if we follow the UKK institute physical activity pie, we can set time aside or develop chunks of time per week where we dedicate time to physical activity. We could easily include a total of 2hrs and 30 minutes of moderate activity or 1hr and 15 min of vigorous activity into our lives per week, as well as incorporate muscle-strengthening and balance training 2 times a week. One way we can do this is by planning a time- either during our lunch break or after work where we spend at least 30 minutes participating in an aerobic physical activity or muscle-strengthening and balance training. The easiest way to do this is to go for a walk. This could be with a pet, or with a friend. Also, if you find you need to run some errands, incorporate your walk into the errand. This way, we can still complete our daily tasks but also ensure we are maintaining an active healthy lifestyle.

Question #3. How do you find a balance between all the things you are supposed to do to stay healthy?
I think the best way to maintain this balance is to try to fuse what you love or what you have to do with a healthy mindset. For example, recently I’ve tried to incorporate little things that can benefit my health. For lunches, instead of eating sandwiches or unhealthy snacks, I try to pack salads or pick up salad sets from Whole Foods that are packed full of veggies and grains. For my commutes, I try to get a fair amount of walking and climbing in, choosing the stairs instead of elevators and escalators on days I am not running late.