How do busy people work in cardio?

[Night Elf]

I work five days a week. I wear a fitbit so I know I'm taking about 15K steps each day. On my two days off, I'm lucky to get 5K steps. I feel good that I'm getting movement in five days a week but it's not cardio. I don't see how I can add it into my busy days though. The only time of the day I can do it is in the early a.m. after DH goes to work and before I go to work. I'm not excited by that though. So I guess I'm asking how important is it to get 30 minutes of cardio when I'm walking so much during the day. DH runs on a treadmill on his break but his job is flexible. He can take a short lunch and then later in the afternoon take a 30 minute break to go to their workout room. I get 30 minutes lunch but I need to sit down and rest my legs and back and eat something. I don't want to go out into the cold weather and walk fast for any length of time. 

If you work full time, are you getting cardio in?

Strength training is a different problem. That is pure laziness on my part. I understand I don't have to do much to tone some areas of my body but I always find an excuse not to get up and do exercises with my hand weights.

Also, I get home from work at 6:30 pm. DH has dinner ready for me. We eat and watch a little television until 7:30 pm. Then he and my son watch Jeopardy so I get into bed to read. This way I can lock up the dog with me and let the cat go into the living room and socialize with the guys and generally have the run of the house since he's cooped up in the back of the house all day until 7:30 pm. By then, I'm too tired to get on my treadmill for a fast walk. My legs and back ache and sometimes I get into a hot bath and soak for an hour to relieve my aches and pains.

Sorry, I'm rambling. Just early morning thoughts now that I'm trying to change the way I eat. I'm worrying about exercise as well.

[regentrude]

My friends and colleagues exercise in various ways: go to the gym at 5:30am or in the evening, go to the pool in the evening to swim, commute by bicycle,  ride stationary bicycle at home, walk to work,  walk during lunch or in the evening, run in the evening. My DD walks to a rock climbing gym several evenings a week, does yoga, and runs in the gym in her building. DH commutes by bike, and we try to go for a 3 mile walk in the evening (spring-fall) or a shorter walk during our lunch break (winter). We hike and rock climb on weekends. My DS trains judo several evenings per week.

I don't think daily exercise is necessary - it's all about averages and lifestyle. I don't worry about not getting a walk in on a busy work day (when I get 10k+steps) if I spend 6 hours hiking on Saturday. My grandmothers never "exercised" - they just lived active lives with plenty of physical activity built into their days.

 

Edited December 7, 2018 by regentrude

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

First, I think you need to count those 15k steps as cardio!  That's a LOT of steps, and studies are showing that regular, low-level cardio is VERY healthy, probably healthier than a sedentary desk job + 30 minute jog.  Be sure you are really giving yourself the credit you deserve for being on your feet all day!

Finding time to do more intense work should be related to some desired goal, or else you probably won't ever find the motivation.  Do you want to run a 5k?  Do you want to hike up a mountain?  Do you want more muscle tone?  Do you want to try a new hobby, like rowing or climbing?  Try to make your goals really clear.  

Considering you have a huge base of low-level cardio, maybe you can focus intense effort only on your two days off.  You can google to find some beginner HIIT (high intensity interval training) which will definitely give you the most fitness bang for your buck (time).  And two HIIT workouts per week plus the lower-level stuff is definitely plenty.  

For weights, you can consider body-weight training if you just don't like endless dumbbell stuff.  You can probably find HIIT workouts that combine bodyweight exercises with cardio so you'll again get more benefit from fewer minutes.  

If I run, it has to be first thing in the morning.  If I wait, I just won't do it.  Also, I much prefer to exercise on an empty stomach, so it's just the easiest time of day for me.  One of the new things that motivates me is that I listen to audiobooks while I run and I don't let myself listen to them at other times.  I try to get suspenseful stories.  🙂  

If you choose to wake up earlier, you really have to force yourself into an earlier bedtime.  

 

 

 

[Night Elf]

21 minutes ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

First, I think you need to count those 15k steps as cardio!  That's a LOT of steps, and studies are showing that regular, low-level cardio is VERY healthy, probably healthier than a sedentary desk job + 30 minute jog.  Be sure you are really giving yourself the credit you deserve for being on your feet all day!

Finding time to do more intense work should be related to some desired goal, or else you probably won't ever find the motivation.  Do you want to run a 5k?  Do you want to hike up a mountain?  Do you want more muscle tone?  Do you want to try a new hobby, like rowing or climbing?  Try to make your goals really clear.  

Considering you have a huge base of low-level cardio, maybe you can focus intense effort only on your two days off.  You can google to find some beginner HIIT (high intensity interval training) which will definitely give you the most fitness bang for your buck (time).  And two HIIT workouts per week plus the lower-level stuff is definitely plenty.  

For weights, you can consider body-weight training if you just don't like endless dumbbell stuff.  You can probably find HIIT workouts that combine bodyweight exercises with cardio so you'll again get more benefit from fewer minutes.  

If I run, it has to be first thing in the morning.  If I wait, I just won't do it.  Also, I much prefer to exercise on an empty stomach, so it's just the easiest time of day for me.  One of the new things that motivates me is that I listen to audiobooks while I run and I don't let myself listen to them at other times.  I try to get suspenseful stories.  🙂  

If you choose to wake up earlier, you really have to force yourself into an earlier bedtime.  

 

I don't have a clear goal in mind. I just want to move my body for health. I'm glad to hear my 15K steps counts toward exercise. I'm busy gal at work.

When I was walking on the treadmill, I choose a tv series, always BritComs, and I don't watch them at any other time. I've missed watching them but haven't been on my treadmill since I increased my work hours in August.

DH thinks I should try to split it up and do 15 minutes twice a day. That might be more doable. I suppose I should make an effort on my off days. I just feel I need total relaxation on my days off. I try to do some housework but most of the time I run a couple of errands and then just rest and read.

[Night Elf]

29 minutes ago, regentrude said:

My friends and colleagues exercise in various ways: go to the gym at 5:30am or in the evening, go to the pool in the evening to swim, commute by bicycle,  ride stationary bicycle at home, walk to work,  walk during lunch or in the evening, run in the evening. My DD walks to a rock climbing gym several evenings a week, does yoga, and runs in the gym in her building. DH commutes by bike, and we try to go for a 3 mile walk in the evening (spring-fall) or a shorter walk during our lunch break (winter). We hike and rock climb on weekends. My DS trains judo several evenings per week.

I don't think daily exercise is necessary - it's all about averages and lifestyle. I don't worry about not getting a walk in on a busy work day (when I get 10k+steps) if I spend 6 hours hiking on Saturday. My grandmothers never "exercised" - they just lived active lives with plenty of physical activity built into their days.

 

I work on Saturday. I'm off on Thursday and Sunday. It's just too cold to go outside and I've tried numerous indoor exercises like tapes. I find my treadmill is the best because I can watch tv while walking and the time goes by fast. My 96 year old grandmother worked in a department store for decades so she was on her feet for hours daily. She seems to be doing well. It's just my doctor always asks me how I'm doing and encourages me to do cardio most days of the week. Last time I told her I was getting in 15K steps on my working days and she said that was good but I needed to do something that had me breathing hard.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

A couple more ideas:  I was really inspired by the book "Spark" by Ratey.  It made the benefits of exercise more real and concrete to me, which helped with motivation.  

I also do a lot of my household chores while listening (as opposed to actually watching) sitcoms.  I find with sitcoms the dialogue is really the only necessary thing to the story, so I listen to them like radio shows.  Depending on your phone and connectivity type, you may be able to do this with your programs so you can still walk outside, but be listening to one of your favorite shows.  

Bring a jump rope to work, and once an hour, do a one minute jumping session.  I am sure you'll sweat, one minute of jump rope is hard!  Also, it will simulate the supposed "paleo" exercise trend of low-effort interrupted by bursts of speed (to get away from the lion, or to catch the gazelle, depending...)

[Carrie12345]

I agree with Monica that 2 days/wk with a 25-30 minute HIIT program sounds like it would be plenty to add, covering both cardio and beginner/intermediate strength.

Ive been kind of avoiding HIIT because there’s no real space for me to do it in my house, but I just purchased Bossbody or Bodyboss or whatever it’s called because it’s 20% off. Beachbody is, I believe, very similar. (The actual workouts.) I figure I’ll do it outside when it’s not so darn cold!

 

[BeachGal]

15,000 steps per day is excellent.

If you want to do more, just a short period of HIIT is beneficial. Doesn’t need to be long at all. Even 6” or so. I aim for 10-12” per day when I can.

Weight lifting is incredibly important but it doesn’t require a lot of time, either. As you age, you lose muscle mass which weakens you (sarcopenia). To make matters worse, this affects the neuromuscular junctions which is how you’re able to control muscle contractions. If you begin to lose those connections, you begin to lose the ability to control movement which results in falls and the inability to do simple, daily movements. The mechanisms by which this occurs are not yet fully understood but it does appear that exercise and especially exercise that maintains muscle is key to keep those junctions healthy. I weight lift just for that reason but only about 15” per day.

Other exercise for me is all about friends and fun: swimming, surfing, snorkeling, boogie boarding, sup boarding, dancing, biking, fun runs, etc. I don’t do those things on a set schedule but more as social events several times per week.

I also recently started using an under-the-desk elliptical called the cubii which I like. Sitting at a desk is a good time to move and has been shown to affect insulin production favorably.

[regentrude]

3 hours ago, Night Elf said:

It's just too cold to go outside

Unless temperatures are below zero Farenheit with extreme wind chill, there is no such thing. You just need suitable clothes, which do not have to be specialized gear. 

Edited December 7, 2018 by regentrude

[Lady Florida.]

3 hours ago, Night Elf said:

 I've tried numerous indoor exercises like tapes. I find my treadmill is the best because I can watch tv while walking and the time goes by fast

Have you tried JessicaSmithTV? She has a bunch of videos on YouTube including cardio and in home walking videos. I use them when it's too hot to go outside. I watch them on my tv (Roku, but any tv that lets you watch YouTube would work). It sounds like your treadmill works though. You could watch tv or listen to podcasts/audio books. 

10 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Unless temperatures are below zero Farenheit with extreme wind chill, there is no such thing. You just need suitable clothes, which do not have to be specialized gear. 

LOL! You must not know any wimpy Floridians. 😄 Actually though, now is the time for us to do outdoor exercise. For most of the year it's too hot to walk outdoors.

[Catwoman]

3 hours ago, Night Elf said:

I don't have a clear goal in mind. I just want to move my body for health. I'm glad to hear my 15K steps counts toward exercise. I'm busy gal at work.

When I was walking on the treadmill, I choose a tv series, always BritComs, and I don't watch them at any other time. I've missed watching them but haven't been on my treadmill since I increased my work hours in August.

DH thinks I should try to split it up and do 15 minutes twice a day. That might be more doable. I suppose I should make an effort on my off days. I just feel I need total relaxation on my days off. I try to do some housework but most of the time I run a couple of errands and then just rest and read.

 

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think the best thing you can do for your overall health is to stop worrying so much about every little thing. You are always stressed about everything relating to food, eating, and weight, and now you’re stressing over the tiny details of how much exercise you’re getting each day. I think the stress and the worrying and the monitoring of everything you eat and everything you do are far worse for your health than if you tried to adopt a somewhat more relaxed approach to at least some of these things.

Have you spoken with your therapist about the exercise issue? Does she think your concerns are reasonable, or does she think you might be obsessing a bit?

I admire you for being health conscious and for wanting to be fit, but at the same time, I hate to see you worrying that you’re not doing all of the right things, when you are obviously already a very active person. 

[Lady Florida.]

4 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

 

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think the best thing you can do for your overall health is to stop worrying so much about every little thing. You are always stressed about everything relating to food, eating, and weight, and now you’re stressing over the tiny details of how much exercise you’re getting each day. I think the stress and the worrying and the monitoring of everything you eat and everything you do are far worse for your health than if you tried to adopt a somewhat more relaxed approach to at least some of these things.

Have you spoken with your therapist about the exercise issue? Does she think your concerns are reasonable, or does she think you might be obsessing a bit?

I admire you for being health conscious and for wanting to be fit, but at the same time, I hate to see you worrying that you’re not doing all of the right things, when you are obviously already a very active person. 

Catwoman has a good point. Gently, could this concern be related to your mental health issues? The constant worrying? Perhaps as she said, talking with your therapist could help. It seems like you're getting in a good amount of exercise and 15k steps 5 days a week is more than many people get in. It's actually good. Don't blow off healthy habits but don't over stress about them either. (((hugs)))

[KungFuPanda]

They look at their schedule, allocate a spot for it, and commit to making it happen.  There’s no way to do it and keep your current schedule exactly the same. You either sacrifice sleep or slot it into your current waking day. Dinner may need to wait 15 minutes. The cat may need to be 30 minutes off his schedule. You may need to jog in place at work for 10 minutes every other hour. You may need to start one of your off days with some cardio then relax for the REST of the day. It’s really being done with every type of schedule and by busier people, so it IS possible. 

[KathyBC]

While I am not accomplishing this workout in as often as I would like to, it is only 7 minutes and (ideally) fits in with a schedule that is somewhat similar to yours:
 https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/

[Night Elf]

18 hours ago, Catwoman said:

 

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think the best thing you can do for your overall health is to stop worrying so much about every little thing. You are always stressed about everything relating to food, eating, and weight, and now you’re stressing over the tiny details of how much exercise you’re getting each day. I think the stress and the worrying and the monitoring of everything you eat and everything you do are far worse for your health than if you tried to adopt a somewhat more relaxed approach to at least some of these things.

Have you spoken with your therapist about the exercise issue? Does she think your concerns are reasonable, or does she think you might be obsessing a bit?

I admire you for being health conscious and for wanting to be fit, but at the same time, I hate to see you worrying that you’re not doing all of the right things, when you are obviously already a very active person. 

I'm really not stressing about this. The reason I started exercising in the first place was because my doctor really stressed its importance, especially for someone of my age. Once I started working though, I stopped walking on the treadmill. I don't do anything to get my heart rate up and she told me that was the important thing. I need my heart rate up for 30 minutes most days of the week. So I know my 15K steps is good but I figure I should be doing something more.

My counselor says to start slowly, by using my treadmill on my two days off work. Once I get into that habit, then add in a weekday, perhaps doing 15 minutes in the morning and 15 at night. It's just I'm so tired and achy at night. 

I don't see the connection between my eating and exercise. I've never exercised to lose weight not even when I lost 55 lbs. in a year. I just want to exercise my heart. I'm not even really interested in strength training but I know it's a good thing to do for a body. I can do 10 minutes of something but I have no interest in developing a plan that takes longer.

[Night Elf]

19 hours ago, regentrude said:

Unless temperatures are below zero Farenheit with extreme wind chill, there is no such thing. You just need suitable clothes, which do not have to be specialized gear. 

Um... just no. I generally don't walk outside because I dislike being outside. Period. When I do go walking with my DH, it's in the spring or fall when the temps are such that I can wear leggings and short sleeve shirts. I don't like wearing shorts out in public. I don't like walking in the summer when it's hot because I sweat too much and I detest sweating. I don't like walking in the winter because my face gets cold. I have found no lip treatment that prevents me from getting chapped lips. I can wear layers of clothing to protect my body but then I feel like the michelin man and that's uncomfortable. Nope, definitely not a nature girl.

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, Night Elf said:

I'm really not stressing about this. The reason I started exercising in the first place was because my doctor really stressed its importance, especially for someone of my age. Once I started working though, I stopped walking on the treadmill. I don't do anything to get my heart rate up and she told me that was the important thing. I need my heart rate up for 30 minutes most days of the week. So I know my 15K steps is good but I figure I should be doing something more.

My counselor says to start slowly, by using my treadmill on my two days off work. Once I get into that habit, then add in a weekday, perhaps doing 15 minutes in the morning and 15 at night. It's just I'm so tired and achy at night. 

I don't see the connection between my eating and exercise. I've never exercised to lose weight not even when I lost 55 lbs. in a year. I just want to exercise my heart. I'm not even really interested in strength training but I know it's a good thing to do for a body. I can do 10 minutes of something but I have no interest in developing a plan that takes longer.

Because as you have described it, it sounds like one more fixation on a detail. 15,000 steps a day is substantial, and I agree with @Monica_in_Switzerland In that a tendency to be active throughout the day is better for your health than a burst of exercise in someone who sits all day, (which is not you - you do not sit all day). That is the reason Fitbits and Apple watches alert you to move if you have been sedentary for the past 50 minutes. 

I am very pro-exercise and pro-fitness, so I am not one to blow off your interest in adding in cardio, but I agree with @Catwoman that this looks like a manifestation of your desire to measure the details of your body in a very particular way. It sounds like you have a tendency, from your history of posts here, to hyperfocus on the measurements: how many calories, how much per day, what weight appears on the scale, what does My Fitness Pal tell you...as a person who also struggles with anxiety, I don’t think these measuring devices are as helpful to you as they could be. 

I do wonder if the doctor who stressed the importance of cardio had any knowledge of your other anxiety problems or knew you average 15,000 steps daily. 

Everything here said in care and concern. 

[katilac]

On 12/7/2018 at 7:28 AM, Night Elf said:

 I suppose I should make an effort on my off days. I just feel I need total relaxation on my days off.  

 

30 minutes of exercise, especially split up, still leaves tons of time for total relaxation. I know, I know, it's not quite the same, but maybe your mind could be convinced that a long period of relation in the afternoon and then another in the evening would actually be quite lovely. I'd probably run some errands, then do the first fifteen minutes as soon as I got home, while still in movement mode. That leaves you with a long stretch of time still in front of you, with only 15 minutes of it needed for the second session! 

On 12/7/2018 at 7:33 AM, Night Elf said:

 Last time I told her I was getting in 15K steps on my working days and she said that was good but I needed to do something that had me breathing hard.

 

Yes. Breathing hard means you are getting more oxygen and blood flow is increasing, both excellent things for both feeling good in the short-term and for improving your long-term health. It is excellent for improving and preventing high blood pressure. 

Bonus: once you're getting that increased oxygen and blood flow on a regular basis, you will be so much less tired and sore after a day's work! 

21 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

They look at their schedule, allocate a spot for it, and commit to making it happen.   

 

This. It also much easier mentally when you have it scheduled. And once you do it, you realize it actually didn't suck up an entire afternoon or evening. Activities tend to fill in whatever time is available. If you have 3 things planned for the afternoon, it will likely take much of the afternoon. If you add a fourth thing, you are aware of needing to do it and subconsciously move a little quicker and waste a little less time, and the four things get done almost as quickly as the original three.

3 hours ago, Night Elf said:

My counselor says to start slowly, by using my treadmill on my two days off work. Once I get into that habit, then add in a weekday, perhaps doing 15 minutes in the morning and 15 at night. It's just I'm so tired and achy at night. 

 

Don't be discouraged! A big part of this is your body and mind adjusting to work, using new muscles, and so on. It will get better, but ideally you want to make the adjustment with some exercise and activity built into your routine. Otherwise, your body will just become adjusted to the routine of work then almost total rest, and it will be just as hard to add anything in then as it is now. 

Have you ever tried yoga? It will limber you up so you ache less, AND there are many mild and discrete poses you can do during the workday, while working! If you ease your stiffness every hour or so, you will ache so much less at the end of the day. And doing even a few minutes of yoga when you get home, maybe as you change clothes, will help even more and vastly improve the evening. It's usually not hard to talk your aching body into reaching for the sky or lying down with arms outstretched, because it feels good and it's easy, lol. You are probably already trying to stretch or move a bit to relieve the achiness sometimes, but using the correct poses will make you much more efficient. 

Bonus: if you like yoga, eventually it can replace much of your other strength training. 

[lynn]

My workouts are important to me as brushing my teeth its not negotiable.  If I have an hour to spend on electronics I have an hour to get my workout in.  I don't over think it or I could easily talk myself out of it.

[Night Elf]

9 hours ago, Quill said:

Because as you have described it, it sounds like one more fixation on a detail. 15,000 steps a day is substantial, and I agree with @Monica_in_Switzerland In that a tendency to be active throughout the day is better for your health than a burst of exercise in someone who sits all day, (which is not you - you do not sit all day). That is the reason Fitbits and Apple watches alert you to move if you have been sedentary for the past 50 minutes. 

I am very pro-exercise and pro-fitness, so I am not one to blow off your interest in adding in cardio, but I agree with @Catwoman that this looks like a manifestation of your desire to measure the details of your body in a very particular way. It sounds like you have a tendency, from your history of posts here, to hyperfocus on the measurements: how many calories, how much per day, what weight appears on the scale, what does My Fitness Pal tell you...as a person who also struggles with anxiety, I don’t think these measuring devices are as helpful to you as they could be. 

I do wonder if the doctor who stressed the importance of cardio had any knowledge of your other anxiety problems or knew you average 15,000 steps daily. 

Everything here said in care and concern. 

And I appreciate your care and concern but I really think exercising isn't going to be a problem of obsession. I have NEVER liked to exercise. I do not feel good after I do it. I do not get the high from it that others think about. I don't feel a sense of accomplishment after it. Usually it puts me in a bad mood because I had to do it. So no, I will definitely not become obsessive about it.

I also don't obsess over my daily steps. I love feeling the fitbit vibrate at 10K but I don't go to pieces if I haven't reached that goal. I don't do extra walking or anything like that to increase my number of steps. I only get so much in because my job has me moving constantly. I don't feel like it's exercise at all. It's just now that I've gone full time, I'm trying to figure out how I can add in cardio without hating it so much that I just quit. I don't know why the recommendation is to have a fast heart beat for 30 minutes most days of the week but that's what my doctor said. 

I'm going to try the treadmill on my off days. If I hate it, I'll stop. I'm not going to force myself to do it. I'm just being open to trying. I just was asking how do people work it in. It seems crazy to be so busy all day and then find time to exercise my body as well. 

[Kassia]

10 hours ago, Night Elf said:

. I don't like walking in the winter because my face gets cold. 

 

I used to avoid running in the winter for this reason but then I bought fleece neck gaiters and I can be out in any temps now because my face is nice and warm.  I highly recommend them.  I used to see them at TJ Maxx a lot or you can buy them online.  This is just an example of one:  https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Fur-Double-Layer-Chelonia-Sapphire/dp/B002BGF1OG/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1544309515&sr=8-14&keywords=neck%2Bgaiter&th=1   You can pull them up when you're cold and then push them back down when you warm up.  

[Guest]

Quote

I'm going to try the treadmill on my off days. If I hate it, I'll stop. I'm not going to force myself to do it. I'm just being open to trying. I just was asking how do people work it in. It seems crazy to be so busy all day and then find time to exercise my body as well. 

My understanding of recommendations, though, is that they are not given to people who are physically moving all day. I don’t think doctors tell nurses, for example, that, in addition to working a 12-hour shift at a hospital, they should come home and jog on the treadmill for 30 minutes. 

I agree that it is good to have an elevated heartrate for a period or more than one period of time per day, but when I am working hard at something that involves my body, I am exercising. So, for example, over the summer, I spent several days each week for a couple of weeks absolutely busting tail cleaning out our rental to put it back up for rent after an eviction. I don’t remember now what stats were recorded on my Fitbit, but it was well over 10,000 steps a day (probably close to 20K) and it was hours of elevated heartrate and muscular exertion. Some things were very physical, like scrubbing the floors with a brush, while other task were less intense, like squeegie-ing the windows. But overall, it was hours of physical exercise and I was totally bushed when the day was done. 

I don’t know how physical “busy” is for you at the thrift store, but if you move around donation boxes, and put a hundred clothing pieces on hangers and repeatedly walk from one area to another at a brisk pace, you are getting exercise. If your work there is not like this and you have long stretches where you walk slowly from a shelf to a cash register, then I would try to arrange my work so that it would be more elevated and I wouldn’t have to carve out a whole additional 30 minutes. 

[Night Elf]

18 minutes ago, Quill said:

I don’t know how physical “busy” is for you at the thrift store, but if you move around donation boxes, and put a hundred clothing pieces on hangers and repeatedly walk from one area to another at a brisk pace, you are getting exercise. If your work there is not like this and you have long stretches where you walk slowly from a shelf to a cash register, then I would try to arrange my work so that it would be more elevated and I wouldn’t have to carve out a whole additional 30 minutes. 

I don't do intake which is where they take in donations. My main job is cashier so whatever else I'm doing, I'm constantly walking to a place in the store where I can see if there are any customers at the register. I'm most active when I'm hanging clothes on the floor. I have to take them off the rack and then walk them to the right section, i.e. women's short sleeve shirts, men's long pants, etc. I try to combine trips but that doesn't happen a lot. I usually grab one or two items and walk them to the right place. Then I check the register. Then I go back to the rack and get another couple of items, walk them to the right place, then check the register. That's how I get most of my steps in.

At the register, I can sort through clothes, weeding out bad clothes from good. Then I hang them on a rack. Then I use a price gun and tag them. Then I take them to the floor to put away. We're always way behind in clothing so I'm basically doing two jobs all day. I also help out in other areas. I might need to help move a piece of furniture but only if it's light. 

I still love my job. I'm so glad I am full time.

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, Night Elf said:

I don't do intake which is where they take in donations. My main job is cashier so whatever else I'm doing, I'm constantly walking to a place in the store where I can see if there are any customers at the register. I'm most active when I'm hanging clothes on the floor. I have to take them off the rack and then walk them to the right section, i.e. women's short sleeve shirts, men's long pants, etc. I try to combine trips but that doesn't happen a lot. I usually grab one or two items and walk them to the right place. Then I check the register. Then I go back to the rack and get another couple of items, walk them to the right place, then check the register. That's how I get most of my steps in.

At the register, I can sort through clothes, weeding out bad clothes from good. Then I hang them on a rack. Then I use a price gun and tag them. Then I take them to the floor to put away. We're always way behind in clothing so I'm basically doing two jobs all day. I also help out in other areas. I might need to help move a piece of furniture but only if it's light. 

I still love my job. I'm so glad I am full time.

 

Well, I’m no doctor, but it seems to me that you’re getting plenty of exercise without having to add extra cardio at home.

Is your doctor aware of how active you are all day at work? If you said you were a cashier, could your doctor have thought you were standing in one place behind the register all day?

[Soror]

Adding in more walking on the treadmill when you are already doing so much walking at work seems utterly ridiculous to me.

What I'd look at would be HIIT sessions to get your heart rate up in 8-16 minutes (1-3x a week) and something for strength training. But that is if you wanted to add something, it doesn't sound to me like you want to do anything and I think that is the far bigger factor than the busyness. 

As you become more accustomed to the work you might have some more energy left. I remember how you posted when they increased your hours and how hard that was on you but you've kept with it and are able to handle it now so that is massive progress! 

I can sympathize as I have a bit of the opposite problem here, I started working part-time 3 months ago and work nearly every morning and thus wake up around 3 every day. My job is sitting so whereas I used to start the day out walking around the house and cleaning stuff up and would hit 5k by breakfast I now start it sitting on my butt. I do strength training 2-3 days a week and often take little walks with the girls but I'm not getting in enough walking most days. I bought a step counter to help me be more cognizant but I'm just tired a lot of the times. My strength training is built into my schedule when the kids have TKD so it doesn't get missed unless they are off for a holiday or something because dh has started back to college I'm the one that always takes them. Anyway, I'm trying to give myself some grace in this transition period. From what you've written before I think you're more active than you have been, even with not doing any official exercise.

[KungFuPanda]

13 hours ago, Catwoman said:

 

Well, I’m no doctor, but it seems to me that you’re getting plenty of exercise without having to add extra cardio at home.

Is your doctor aware of how active you are all day at work? If you said you were a cashier, could your doctor have thought you were standing in one place behind the register all day?

You can stay busy without raising your heart rate enough to get any aerobic exercise. It sounded like her doctor specifically wanted her to see those benefits and get some exercise that increased her heart rate for more than 5 minute spurts.