As a doctor during this pandemic, it’s tough to find time for yourself, much less to work out. Hence, exercise is often overlooked and cast aside. However, physical activity is essential to keep yourself fit; it also serves to correctly take care of your body. In fact, getting active will improve your long-term health, improve cardiovascular fitness, give you more energy, improve your immune system, and more.
You probably have access to a medical business overhead insurance if you get sick and need to close the clinic but still make payments such as employee salaries. But we wouldn’t want to use that immediately, don’t we? So, curate your workout playlist and get ready to incorporate exercise into your daily routine!
Fitting Exercise to Your Daily Routine: Quick Workouts & Block Sessions
It’s tough to find time to work out throughout the day. Your schedule this week might have a block of time to work out, while next week, you might only have a couple of minutes of free time. However, don’t fret! Whether you only have a couple of minutes or an hour, there’s a routine for you.
Quick Workouts
If you only have ten to twenty minutes to spare for exercise, these workout routines are best for you. Quick exercise sessions involve fast-paced physical activity coupled with little time to rest. Plus, changing your daily exercise mentality will help a lot. Try walking to work (if it’s near enough), take the stairs instead of the elevator, or stretch your legs and arms when you’re stuck at the clinic. There are tons of ways you can incorporate exercise into your routine—no matter what your situation is right now.
Block Sessions
If your schedule is lucky enough to have thirty to sixty minutes of spare time, it’s time to do full exercise routines. Try running intervals, gym exercises, or calisthenics. If you’re having a hard time fitting these into your day, consider exercising in the morning or strictly follow your gym trainer’s schedule.
Workouts You Can Do Right Now
If You Have Ten to Fifteen Minutes to Spare: HIIT
It’s a common misconception that you need to spend an hour or more to get a decent strength-building workout. All you need are ten to fifteen minutes of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), particularly for exceedingly busy individuals such as yourself. HIIT workouts are a fast-paced exercise that promises to burn calories and strengthen muscles, all in a short duration of ten to fifteen minutes. Plus, HIIT workouts are mostly calisthenics, which means you can do it anytime, anywhere without using gym equipment.
For example, Tabata workouts are HIIT workouts that involve eight rounds of bodyweight exercises (twenty seconds each with 10 seconds of rest) in twelve minutes. If you’re interested in incorporating HIIT workouts into your daily routine, you need to prepare your body and mind first. At the cost of time, high-intensity interval training requires you to go all-out with little time to rest throughout the routine. HIIT workouts may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this training regime is a surefire way to get enough exercise despite your busy schedule.
If You Have Twenty to Thirty Minutes to Spare: Yoga
If HIIT workouts aren’t for you, practicing yoga is a great way to get exercise on a tight schedule. Plus, regular yoga practice comes with multitudes of health benefits. Some of which are: improved strength and flexibility, ease back pain, helps you relax, brighten your mood, and manage your stress. If that isn’t enough for you, you can also do yoga sessions with little to no equipment. All you need is an exercise mat and a free space to practice yoga.
Recommended quick yoga sessions include fast vinyasa flow of poses alongside flexibility training poses, such as chaturanga, up dog, and down dog. You can do this yoga session in 20 minutes, but it’s best to include more yoga poses for added training if you have time to spare. Since yoga workouts have moderate-intensity cardio exercises, this workout is a great way to get your body prepared for the day.
If You Have Forty to Fifty Minutes to Spare: Running
No, you can’t consider running from the ER to your office a workout routine. Yes, your daily runs at the hospital can be tiring, but you can’t beat long periods of running intervals. Regular running or jogging can help strengthen muscles, improve cardiovascular fitness, burn fat, and maintain a healthy weight.
Furthermore, running requires only a good pair of running shoes and access to a jogging route—preferably at the park or even on a treadmill. If you’re going to spend fifty minutes of your time running, it’s best to sprint for twenty-five minutes while inserting jogging as your rest periods.
Including exercise in your daily routine is a great way to improve your physical and mental well-being. However, workouts are only half of the equation. You should also follow a healthy diet and have adequate amounts of sleep.
