I Don’t Have Time To Exercise. Ah, but you do!
Number one reason not to exercise? Time.
Don’t have it.
Lost it.
Can’t find it.
My dog ate it.
I’ve used all those excuses many times. And still do.
I’m here to say, you gotta let that go.
What if you stopped thinking of exercise as something that’s going to take a long time and be hard work, and just think of it as moving?
We move every day, all day long. Adding in a little something to the movement we already do — standing, walking, sitting? You’ve got time for that.
Illuminate me.
If you have any kind of joint or muscle pain (I’m looking at you, hip pain), there’s a high probability just moving is going to be helpful.
When you get up from a chair to go to the next room, you’re moving — even if it’s not running on a treadmill for 30 minutes.
Doing something new or different challenges our systems in the most basic ways, forcing our muscles and joints to react. So, instead of just walking to the bathroom, or the kitchen, try adding on a new movement.
Some movement is better than none. So, if you don’t have time to exercise, just move.
Try it…
Here are some suggestions for those of us with tight or painful hips. Try them the next time you walk across the room.
These are also balance challenges because we’re adding larger ranges of motion and unusual motion to our normal walking pattern.
Walking Circumduction
Circle your legs as you move.
Move one leg forward, as you walk, circle it out to the side, sweep it back behind you, then under your pelvis, before stepping the other foot forward and repeating the motion on the other side.
It’s a slow way to get where you’re going, but it provides good, juicy circumduction in the hip.
Walking Marching
When you walk across the room try marching.
As you step your leg forward, bring your knee up as high as you can. See if you can feel the leg being pushed up from the heel (vs. pulled up from the front of the thigh) and the top of the thigh bone falling back in to the hip socket. Try not to hike your hip too much as you lift your knee up.
Walking Glute Kicks
As you walk, bend your knee as much as possible and kick your heel to your butt. Your heel may not reach, but don’t arch your back to get there. The point isn’t to kick yourself in the butt. The point is to extend your hip, so we want the main motion to be in the hip socket, not in the spine.
You may feel a little silly at first, but… who cares? Your hips will thank you.
If you’re interested in more, download our free guide 3 Ways to Reduce Morning Hip Pain.
Try these and let us know what you think. Click here to let us know feedback.
Remember, not every exercise is for every body. Be kind to your body.
Wishing you happy hips!