Work, household chores, errands, playtime, dinner, laundry—with so many things to do and not many hours in the day, finding time to exercise is difficult. To help you fit in the physical activity your body craves, we’ve rounded up some simple, quick workout routines you can fit into your daily schedule. With these fast exercise ideas, you’ll be able to stay moving even when you don’t have time to hit the gym.
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” –John C. Maxwell
Sleeping Beauty Leg Exercise
Wake up and warm up with this in-bed exercise! Lie on your back and lift your legs about 6 inches off the bed. Keep your abs tights, back flat, feet together, arms to your sides, and knees straight as you use your feet to draw small circles in the air without touching the bed. Do 20 circles clockwise and 20 circles counterclockwise.
(Calf) Raise the Bar
Brush up on your calf raises while you brush your teeth! Start flat-footed and raise to your toes until you get a tight flex. Do 3 sets of 20 reps.
At-Work Workout
If you have a desk job, it’s important to get up and move at least every 2 hours. Do some standing stretches for your arms, neck, back, and legs; squat a few times; or walk around your floor or building. The movement helps your body and helps you clear your head and stay productive!
Traffic Jam Session
Stuck in 5 o’clock traffic? Turn up the radio and move to the beat. You’ll burn some extra calories and make the wait a little more fun. For an extra boost, add some ab, glute, or thigh flexing. Just make sure you keep an eye on the road and remember safety first!
In the Hot Seat
Start by sitting up straight. Squeeze your glute muscles and pulse 50 times. Rest for 5 seconds and repeat until you feel a good burn. Take your desk workout a step further and work your thighs too! Place your feet on the floor with your legs together. Press your knees in so you feel your inner thighs working. Pulse 50 times and repeat as desired.
Playtime Meets Gym Time
Make exercise fun for the kids! If you have a baby, hold a plank position on your hands for 30 seconds while your hover over him or her. Lower into a pushup and kiss your baby on the forehead. Come up and repeat as many times as you can. Give your legs some attention by doing wall sits as you read your children a book or review their homework.
Torch Calories—and Grime
Burn calories while you clean the carpet. Push the vacuum only as far as your arm extends and return it to your body without moving your feet. Switch arms every 5 minutes. This quick push-pull motion targets your arm muscles and burns up to 100 calories in 30 minutes! The heavier your vacuum, the more strengthening this exercise is. Use the same method of mopping and sweeping—you’ll burn up to 100 calories in 30 minutes while mopping and 100 calories in 45 minutes while sweeping. Burn a few extra calories and clean the baseboards too!
Burn Calories, Not Dinner
Take advantage of your downtime during dinner! Do some push-ups against the counter while the vegetables cook or jumping jacks while you wait for the water to boil. Do 3 sets of 20 reps of one or both exercises.
Walk Around the Block
There’s nothing wrong with sticking to the classics, and a walk around the block is fun for the whole family. Take your kids, spouse, or dog for a 10-minute walk around the neighborhood. This is a great after-dinner activity to beat a post-meal crash. Plus, you can spend time with your family and stay moving.
Sunset Salutations
Unwind after a long day with a few calming or rejuvenating yoga poses. Pair your practice with your favorite essential oils such as Frankincense, Lavender, or Stress Away™. Try some of our simple, sweat-free yoga poses to get started!
Bonus Tip
Remember to hydrate all day to make your moves most effective and keep your body healthy. Add Vitality™ oils to give your water an extra splash of flavor!
GIVEAWAY
******UPDATE******
Congratulations to Anne D., our lucky giveaway winner! We truly appreciate everyone that shared their quick exercise tips to stay in shape!
What exercise tips help you feel the burn throughout the day? Share your suggestions below for a chance to win 15ml Frankincense, 15ml Stress Away, 15ml Lavender, and Pure Protein Complete Vanilla Spice (valued at $252.30).
Giveaway rules:
- To enter, simply comment on this post.
- Contest ends at 11:59 p.m., MT, on Thursday September 15th
- One winner will be chosen at random and announced on the blog on Friday September 16th.
- Click here for official rules.
Exercising for thing in the morning before my kiddos get up – great way to make sure it gets done and gets my metabolism going!
Ever since she was a little baby, the playtime was a gym time with our now 5 years old. We enjoy together 10-30 min walks (in the neighborhood) that turn into catch, tag or other game like that. Actually most activities and house chores turn into some sort of exercise and fun with her.
We enjoy all YL EO, but the citrus ones she adores the most, enjoying them in water, in her drinking glass whenever she gets thirsty.
Monster walk with band around ankles forward and backward. Side steps with band around ankles to the right then to the left.
When walking I tighten my stomach muscles for 5 steps then let out for 5 steps and repeat until I get to my destination!!
When I was working I would do calf raises in between customers! Now that I’m a stay at home mom and Young Living Distributor I try to work out with my babies! For instance, I like to do squats while holding my 10 month old!
Since I began using my essential oils I have began doing some of these multi-tasking exercises. These oils just make you want to be a better version of yourself.
These are great tips. Rocking out behind the wheel is one of my favorite pastimes. One thing I do to slip in a bit more exercise is to take the stairs in my building instead of the elevator. Every little bit helps.
Tips are greatly appreciated . What to learn how to use oils and teach others.
Peppermint is always my go to oil for workouts, before and after!
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Feel the Burn!
I like to use furniture sliders with feet under my desk just to keep my leg muscles warm and moving when I have to sit at a computer working. Sometimes I try to spell words on the carpet with my feet, which helps keep me active and helps me commit the words to my mind. Today, I spelled Purification and Lemon, over and over… because I want to try this combo tomorrow morning.
Thanks for the workout tips!
Love these great tips… Thanks for sharing YLEO!
Love these tips YLEO… THANKS for sharing!
Loving these oily tips! Thanks for your great support YLEO!
For my daily workout, I use Peppermint applied to the nap of my neck and all muscles. This increases my energy level and cools me down afterwards. : ))
I try to get in a little extra exercise wherever I can. So, while I’m “picking up and putting away” I use my carpeted staircase as an exercise tool. If several items belong upstairs, instead of making only one trip, I will deliberately get more aerobic exercise, by running up and down the stairs two, or three times, in a row! It’s also super exercise for my legs …. afterall, every little bit counts! 😀 Win, win!!!
Have a desk job so invested in a standing work station so I can burn a few extra calories. Shoulder stretches & glut contractions are big on my list of to do’s while ‘on the job’.
Love these practical ideas
I love doing forward folds in my chair to stretch out my shoulders, back and hips.
I like the arm exercises with the carpet sweeper, I also walk the treadmill for 30 minutes per day. I like going to the gym also, and try to get there 3 times a week. Love putting the oils on every night to help me sleep better.
I work at McDonald’s and am constantly on the move. When I don’t have customers I look for things to stock so I can keep walking back to the stock room, freezer, etc.
One of the things that I like to do is when I have to take the stairs, I have a basement I walk down the stairs back up the stairs and then go down the stairs.
I get bored easily with workout activities, making it difficult for me to keep at it long enough to make a difference. Diffusing a citrus oil helps me to persevere. And there are several ‘flavors’ of citrus, so I can change the scent day to day.
getting down like my kids do helps me, I’ll crawl around with my baby, do yoga with my toddler and kindergartner, or just chase them thru the house in some good old fashion tag while carrying my 10 month old. That’s become my exercise lately for the most part is playing with them, we do love walks too!!
I love doing squats while cooking dinner as well as calf rises.
Great tips! Thank you! <3
Walking your dogs is great exercise for everyone involved. Instead of thinking of walking the dog as a chore, think of it as time to unwind, a time to be peaceful and present.
I keep some items that I use regularly at work just out of reach so I have to stand up several times a day to get them. I make sure not to use the arm rests to stand or sit. Every little bit helps!
I take the stairs to the 4 floor at work 3-4 throughout the day and take the elevator back to my floor. I do ab flexed at my desk.
I love Slique in my water. And I do squats while brushing my teeth. I look ridiculous so I make sure I close the bathroom door! Lol
These are all such great ideas! I like the multi-tasking during teeth brushing idea. Goes for anything you’re doing at the bathroom mirror!
I have a cleaning business and do I get a workout!!!!
Doing a 30 minute workout at home several times a week – keep moving throughout the day.
Great tips here! I have a desk job, so trying to stay active during the day can be a chore in itself. One thing I stay conscious of is squeezing my glute and ab muscles while briskly walking up the stairs (be careful, ladies in heels!). Also, I choose to print my documents on a printer further away from my desk. The number of extra steps I put in during the week has to add up, right?! Posture is HUGE for someone that sits at a desk for an extended period of time. To remind myself “shoulders down and back”, I do shoulder rolls throughout the day. Lastly, I never complain about emptying the 5 gallon water jug; being able to carry and lift a new jug to the water dispenser isn’t always easy but I’m all about toning those biceps!
I do squats while doing the laundry and I use my Motivation essential oil to make sure I get my exercise in!
These are all great ideas! I will have to try some or even all! One thing I try to do is suck in my tummy and tush all day or at least when I think of it. And of course drink lots and lots of water. For me, as a nursing mother, that is the most important thing to do!
Love the playtime meets gym tips! It’s hard to squeeze it all in with little ones.
Baby bedtime squats! My daughter required that I stand with her to put her to sleep when she was a baby so I took advantage of that time, turned on some mellow, quite tunes, held her tightly in my arms against my chest and did squats. By the time I was finished doing 4 or 5 sets, she was fast asleep! She liked the motion and I got a nice leg (and arm) workout!
Running after my 2 year old helps ;)
I work at an office during the day and about 3 times a day we do a “fire drill” which includes briskly walking around the office doing arm circles forward and backward, up and down. We also throw in jumping jacks, lunges across the office and deep breathing techniques. Just getting out of your chair and moving a bit helps our circulation and breaks up the day. You never know when someone will call fire drill!
Still working on making Torch calories -and Grime into my daily routine. There are several others that I want to become part of my routine as well
I actually like 5-6 drops of lemongrass in a capsule to help my focus and concentration at the gym. I work out first thing in the morning and find lemongrass works better than caffeine.
Everyday Quick Exercise Tips:
1. While brushing teeth, hold on to counter and lift leg to side 25 times & then back 25 times; repeat with other leg.
2. Any time you need to go from one room to the next, ‘lunge it’. Do lunges to and from the room (keep your front ankle directly below your knee). Why it’s a winner: works all muscles of lower body as well as improves your balance. Increase difficulty by lifting light weights (water bottles) by using bicep curls with each lunge.
**Reward yourself with a cup of tea and a couple of drops of your favorite Essential Oil!
Applying fitness, rc and peppermint before going to the gym. Allows me to get a longer workout in. This keeps the burm going throughout the day. There’s nothing like a good workout followed by cool Azul sports gel for the sore muscles.
In the morning, I do a quick stretch right out of bed, up to the sky and a 10 second toe touch. Then, I’ll have some warm water with a drop of lemon and a little honey to get the day going. I’ll hula hoop in the morning if there’s time 😉 and I love drinking grapefruit vitality water with my workouts (or peppermint if it’s hot out). At work, I routinely stretch myself out when I get a few minutes. At the end of the day, I have my stress away in the diffuser while I wind down with my babe and my dogs!
Having a partner to hold me accountable to go to the gym and help me push me as well as choosing to make conscious choices to not take the easy way out. Instead of emailing a co-worker a question, getting up and walking to their desk/office. Parking further away in parking lots for a little bit of an extra walk.
Our wellness coordinator is now offering 2 classes a week for staff, so I always put it on the calendar and show up! It’s a huge benefit – and I love wearing my fitness oil for this half hour of ME time. If I don’t prioritize my health…that’s on me….no one else. <3
I like the idea of burning calories before you eat them when cooking. Just pay attention and don’t burn the dinner.