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August 4, 2015

The Small Business Owner’s Guide to Exercising

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As a result of being constantly over-scheduled, making time to go to the gym or have a run usually floats quickly to the bottom of a small business owner’s list of daily tasks.

But if you are someone who lives an incredibly busy and stress-filled life, exercise should be a top priority. Most studies will confirm that getting enough exercise, eating right and getting ample sleep will improve your productivity at work significantly.

That’s why no matter how many things you have on your plate, fitting exercise into your daily routine is an absolute must. And when we say exercise, that does not have to mean going to the gym every day or running five miles before work. There are ways to fit in exercise even if you don’t have the time for a “serious” workout regime.

Here are five ideas that absolutely any business owner can find ways to integrate into their daily lives.

1

Stand Up More

If you are on a computer for most of the day, chances are that you are also sitting most of them time. Why not try standing more while working? Just by standing instead of sitting you are already burning calories, believe it or not.

Of course, mechanical standing desks are pretty expensive if you want the kind that you are able to lift up and move down with the touch of a button. But there’s no rule that says you need one of these pricey desks in order to stand more.

You can stand at your kitchen counter and work. Heck, you can even work at the bar while standing. Not only does standing burn calories, it also helps decrease the chance of developing chronic back pain issues in the long run.

Walk Around

Are you walking enough? Walking is a great calorie-burning activity that a lot of people seem to avoid for some reason. If you want to stay fit and active while working, try to walk as much as possible.

You can do so many little things to increase the amount of walking you do on  daily basis. You don’t always have to park as close to your office building as possible. Find a spot at the back of the lot and walk a little bit if you are already driving to work. If your place of work is only a couple miles away from your home, why not get up a bit earlier and walk there?

You can walk in the office as well. Need to take a trip to another floor? Avoid the elevator and take the stairs up and down. Do you need to talk to a colleague that is located on the other side of the office? Why are you instant messaging them when they are 20 feet away from you? Get up from your desk and go visit them in person.

By doing these simple things, you should be able to increase the amount you walk every day significantly and get those calories burning while you’re working.

Turn Meetings Into Exercise Sessions

If you’re going to take lessons from successful businesspeople, why not learn from the best? Late Apple leader Steve Jobs would very often take meetings on the go. That does not simply mean that he would meet outside of the office, he would actually walk while talking to business associates.

Taking a nice walk outside of the office while having a meeting will not only help you get some exercise in during the workday, it can also be very inspiring.

If you know that your business associates are athletes or fitness buffs, combining business with exercise can be the perfect solution. Find out which of your business contacts enjoy jogging or playing squash and set up regular exercise sessions where you can not only bond and talk business, but also exercise.

Joining exercise or sporting groups also gives you a chance to network and possibly meet new contacts, clients or customers. You really never know who you are going to meet at a spin class or yoga session.

Make Exercise a Priority

When you set up business meetings and project deadlines, you pencil them in and then stick to your schedule, right? Why not do the same for exercise? Schedule your workouts just as you would your business obligations. Include them on the same calendar even. And then make sure you stick to them.

Treat your workouts like you would any other work obligation because, believe it or not, getting enough exercise is equally important to your health and success. And if you have a hard time motivating yourself, try to find a workout buddy.

You are always punctual to meetings because there are other people involved who depend on your presence, right? Why not do the same with exercising? If there is someone counting on you to show up, you will be more motivated to do so.

Get Your Team Involved

As the leader of your company, you are setting an example for your entire team. When you show your team that you are dedicated to the company and work as hard as the rest of them, you are inspiring them through your actions. Why not do the same when it comes to promoting good health company-wide?

The healthier you and your team are, the more productive you will be. Staying fit and healthy should be a business-wide goal. There are many ways to you can get your team involved.

You can set up team building activities on a weekly basis. Get everyone out of the office and take a walk every now and then. Or you can organize recreational sports teams and play against other companies if you have enough team members who enjoying playing a particular sport. The options are practically limitless.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that exercise is not only good for your body, it’s good for your business. Exercise not only helps keep you healthy and prevent disease, it also helps to reduce stress.

This is especially important for small business owners, who are never short on stressful situations. Ultimately, a healthier body and mind leads to healthier business decisions and improved productivity.