Finding time to exercise often feels like one extra thing on your already long “to-do” list. With challenging work schedules and struggles to find work-life-family balance, you may wonder how you can carve out an hour for movement. We all understand the importance of exercise; it feels good, increases your happiness, and can actually give you more energy. Here are a few of my favorite ways to sneak extra movement into things I already do in my day:

Move 1: Ankle Circles While Brushing Your Teeth

Extend a foot in front of you and make a full circle at your ankle. You have 52 bones and 66 joints and a lot of potential for movement in your feet. Use the two minutes it takes to brush your teeth to get more movement down there.

Move 2: Foot Prances in the Shower

“Prance” or “paddle” your feet while you take your shower. Lift one heel off the ground, leaving the ball of foot and toes down. This stretches the big toe joint and the muscles along the top of the foot and ankle. Lower your heel back down and switch sides. Move slowly for a good stretch or quickly for a balance challenge.

Move 3: Upper Body Stretch While Your Coffee Brews

Place your elbows shoulder-width apart on the counter and step back so your torso is parallel to the ground. From there, sink your head and chest down through your arms, giving your shoulders a big stretch. Rock your hips from side to side and take a few deep breaths. When you’re done sip that cup of joe!

Move 4: Push-Up While You Heat Up

Warming your coffee? Heating up lunch? Put your hands on the countertop and do a few push-ups. A push-up takes two seconds, so if you heat your coffee up twice in one day, you’ve got 60 push-ups under your belt!

Move 5: “Pot Holder”

This one is my favorite. Rather than placing your pot in the sink while it fills, hold it the entire time. As the pot fills with water, your arms and abdominal muscles will engage more in response to the increasing load. If things start to feel too hard, do simple bicep curls - it breaks up the work a bit!

Move 6: Garbage Curls

Speaking of bicep curls - do ‘em while you take out the trash. Each curl takes about two seconds. How long is your trip to the outdoor trash can? Your most dreaded chores can turn into workout time if you change your perspective.

Move 7: Stand on One Leg While Waiting in Line

Push down through your standing foot to grow tall out of your hip. This engages the muscles around your pelvis which can help with hip and low back pain. Once you start doing this you’ll realize how much time you spend waiting around. Might as well make it count!

Move 8: Carry a Basket at the Store

Skip the cart. By carrying a basket, you will use your arms and abs much more. You’ll find that the weight of the basket gets tiring, and you end up switching from arm to arm. This is your body’s way of evening you out - no need to remember how many “reps” of an exercise you’ve done.

With two grocery trips, taking out the trash, and your daily hygiene and meal routines, you can accumulate 150 minutes of weekly movement without blocking off time to exercise. This breaks down to 70 minutes of mobility, 60 minutes of upper body strength, and 20 minutes of pelvic stability per week. Not too shabby!

Do you have ways you like to sneak in movement? Share your suggestions in the comments below. Want more tips and tricks like this? Follow this blog and @PROnatalPersonalTraining on Instagram.

Eight Moves You Can Do When You Don't Have Time To Exercise