6 Ways To Overcome A Sedentary Lifestyle

You may be living a sedentary lifestyle because you work a desk job or maybe you’re overweight and haven’t put forth much effort into changing your ways or habits. Be glad to know that there’s hope for better days ahead and strategies for how you can overcome such a lifestyle and become more active.

Think of all the negatives that come with living a sedentary lifestyle such as heart disease and muscle loss and use this to motivate you to want to work hard and alter your behaviors going forward. Set goals for yourself and let this be a time in your life when you put your health and self first for once so that you can live a long and fulfilling life. 

1. Play Sports in Your Free Time

One way to overcome a sedentary lifestyle is to play sports in your free time and challenge your mind and body. There are both team and solo sports out there to choose from and plenty of activities that might be of interest to you. For example, learning to play golf and walking the course is a great way to burn calories and spend time outside. Invest in some lessons and a high-performance golf driving iron, and soon enough you’ll be ready to hit the course. 

2. Increase Daily Movement

Another way to overcome a sedentary lifestyle is to simply increase your daily movement, especially if you sit at a desk all day. Examples for how you can do this include:

• Parking further away
• Walking at lunch
• Taking the stairs
• Tracking and monitoring your steps

The more you move, the more calories you’re going to burn, and in turn, the weight will start to fall off. It’s all about making wise choices in the moment that are going to allow you to move more and sit less. Take breaks throughout your day and get outside and stretch your legs and walk around for a bit before returning to your work.

3. Turn off the Television

A big reason you may not be moving much at home is that you’re always sitting in front of the television. While it’s wise to relax and put your feet up every so often, doing so all the time will hold you back from living a healthy lifestyle. You’ll likely find that as soon as you switch off the television that you’re forced to spend your free time doing other activities. For instance, maybe you decide to clean and declutter your home or take a long bike ride and enjoy the nice weather.

4. Adopt A Dog

An excellent way to force you out of a rut is to adopt a dog that’s going to not only need your love and attention but also daily exercise. Overcome a sedentary lifestyle by using your pet as motivation to help get you up and moving around more on a regular basis. You may find that you enjoy running or hiking or that you like walking around the dog park with your pet and meeting new people. Your dog will act as a constant reminder that you should make time for daily exercise and not let any excuses keep you from continuing to fit in more daily movement.

5. Find an Accountability Partner

You can also overcome a sedentary lifestyle by reaching out and asking for help from others. One idea is to find and secure an accountability partner who’s willing to change their lifestyle for the better along with you. This way neither of you have to go at it alone, and you can be there to cheer each other on when you’re feeling defeated or tired. Have this person meet you at the gym and call upon each other to check in and see how each of you is doing with reaching your fitness and wellness goals.

6. Do Your Own Yard Work

You might also want to consider doing your own yard work as a way to overcome a sedentary lifestyle. While hiring someone is easy, you’ll be forced to go outside and work on various projects when you commit to caring for your yard yourself. You should also think about starting and maintaining a garden that will require constant care and attention as another way to get you outside and moving around more. You’ll not only be getting exercise and burning calories, but the warm sunshine will feel good on your skin and help to lift your mood as well.