Fitting Exercise into a 40-hour Work Week


A friend of mine wrote, regarding the benefits of my bike riding schedule: "Great -- glad to hear its working out for you. Maybe there is hope for me, but I don't see how I'm going to fit anything like that in a 40-hour work week."

A few of my thoughts on in response ...


Yeah, time to do what one needs to do is one of the benefits of being on disability. Compensation for being poor.

I don’t know what I would do if I had to work 40 hours a week, plus all that travel from home to work, plus spending time trying to look decent. (Never mind needing time to be with your family, plus take care of a house.) I don’t know how you do it, really. I’d be a basket case. I WAS a basket case!

You’re already doing some good exercise stuff. But you might consider adding a few things daily that take only a few minutes and can be spread out throughout the day. For example, one thing I have found helpful is a core stability ball. There are several strengthening exercises you can do with that. Say 5-10 minutes max in the a.m., and if you feel like it (I know how it feels at the end of a long day), maybe a little more in the evening.

For example, in the p.m. while watching tv (before I got really heavy duty on the bike), I would sit on the sofa and press my legs on this ball (from several positions) and also squeeze it, sort of like a thigh master. There are also upper body things you can do, and you can add weights eventually. For example, I would put both hands on either side of the ball & squeeze it. The ball provides all sorts of possibilities for resistance-based exercise, duplicating a lot of what you would need complicated equipment for in the gym.

And it’s fun, because you’re playing with this big ol’ ball. At least I found it less intimidating than the standard weight training stuff. And no muscle-bound men in the gym staring at my fat body as I struggle with equipment.

For me, one of the important things about the options I have developed is that I don’t have to spend time going someplace to do the exercise, and I can do it on my own schedule. (Plus, after the original purchase, plus upkeep on the bike, there’s no cost!) The stability ball is right there for me to use any time. The bike I can hop on any time (especially now that I have lights and rain gear). If I have only half an hour, well, that’s what I’ll do, and I’ll fit it in whenever.

But you have to start slow & be kind to yourself. Add just a little extra at a time. Two minutes a day, if that’s all you have. Two minutes is better than none. It will take you longer to get somewhere, but you WILL get somewhere eventually.

Listen to me, Georgia the Fitness Trainer. I’m becoming a bit of a nut about this. But that’s because I’m so addicted to the high.

Posted: Mon - November 7, 2005 at 11:01 AM          

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