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Let’s face it, we are all busy. We’re busy trying cases, writing briefs, attending meetings and taking depositions. We are busy helping our kids with homework or caring for aging parents.
We attend bar association events, seminars and perhaps teach a CLE or two on the side. We run home after a long day and try to squeeze in time to empty the dishwasher or fold that load of laundry.
In the back of our brain, we know we need to exercise. However, we quickly push that thought away. “Exercise!? I don’t have time for that!”
According to the Mayo Clinic, adults should get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week. The Mayo Clinic also recommends adults should undertake strength training for all major muscle groups at least twice per week.
The Center for Disease Control reports that regular exercise improves cognitive function, sharpens judgment and helps maintain mental acuity. The CDC notes that regular exercise may also reduce the risk of anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer.
We all know this. We’ve heard this information since we were young. The issue is: How?! How do we squeeze exercise into our busy, overworked, overtasked lives?
Exercise does not have to be an hours-long affair. There are plenty of imaginative ways to sneak exercise into a busy life. You can squeeze in a group fitness class at the gym. Many local gyms offer early morning or lunchtime express group fitness classes.
Despite social media’s shortcomings, it has made high-quality home workouts incredibly accessible. With just a few taps on your phone, you can stream a class from an app or follow along with personal trainers on YouTube and Instagram.
Channels like Class FitSugar and TIFF X DAN post new content regularly. You can easily squeeze one of these high-intensity-interval-training sessions in over lunch or first thing in the morning.
You can even squeeze in some classic cardio and body weight moves while you relax. Watching your favorite show? Do a quick set of 100 jumping jacks, 30 pushups, and 30 squats during each commercial break, or between episodes if you are binge watching an ad-free show.
Try exercising with friends to make exercise more fun. This also adds built-in accountability. You are more likely to show up when others are expecting you. Most people dread that group text that asks, “Hey, why did you skip out on our run today?”
Join a pickleball league or a local sports team. Circle City Athletics, for example, offers recreational kickball and softball teams where plenty of people just hang out, play sports, and have fun.
Oh, and don’t underestimate the most underrated, often simplest exercise of all: taking a brisk walk, especially with your friends or your pet. When you are taking the stairs to your office or taking a power walk over lunch, you can always try and convince your favorite coworkers to join you. It is easier than you think to opt for the stairs over the elevator, whenever you have the choice.
If you work downtown, try using your lunch break to climb the stairs in the City-County Building. There are 27 floors from the sub-basement to the top floor. If the mere thought of climbing stairs makes your knees ache, chair exercises can be your cardio savior. You can get your heart racing by doing punches, upper cuts, and knee lifts while sitting in a chair.
Now, all of this may sound cumbersome, dreadful, and no fun at all, but the point is that exercise is important. Sneak it in wherever you can. There are countless little ways to build movement into your day. It may not always be your favorite thing, but as the saying goes, “you gotta do what you gotta do.”
The next time you get to work, take the stairs, instead of the elevator. Your heart and your mind will thank you later.•
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Amber Collins-Gebrehiwet is the presiding judge in Marion Circuit Court. When she is not working, she can be found spending time with her family, watching a good film, or exercising.
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