A commuter is someone who regularly travels from one place to another because of work. Commuters spend a lot of hours per day to get to work daily which may require a lot of sitting or driving in a bus/car. When they get to work, they still must sit for hours in the office and then drive back home while sitting in a bus/car. During this long commute, getting fit through exercising every day for at least 30 minutes might not be possible.
To get fit, you must change your routine. For example, if you're always sitting on a bus or train to get to work, and then sit all day at work, you might need some ideas about adding a fitness routine into your commute.
To improve fitness while you commute, instead of always sitting to get to work, you can decide to stand for at least 10-15 minutes to strengthen your muscles. Alternating sitting and standing burns calories, strengthens your core, and reduces back pain.
Also, if you are riding a car to work every day, it requires a lot of sitting which can cause neck pain and backache. To work out while driving, you can stretch during slow traffic or when there is a red light. Better still, you can simply park your car and take 10-15 minutes break while stretching yourself before you continue your drive.
For more ways to add exercise into our commute consider these:
- Get a bike: To improve strength you might need to buy a bike and ride it to work instead of taking the bus. If your commute is very far, you can ride the bike for at least 20-30 minutes and then take a bus at the next available bus stop. Make sure that you wear a helmet and jacket when commuting via bicycle and when you get to work you can change to your office clothes.
- Park a bit farther from your workplace: When commuting by car, to increase fitness, park your car a distance from your office. Then, walk to your workplace. Your muscles will be active, and you’ll gain energy when you do this every day.
- Don't use the elevator: Decide to take the stairs to your office. If your office is on the 4th floor, you can take the stairs to the 1st or 2nd floor and then use the elevator for the rest to reduce the risk of knee pain. Practice this every day, and you will become fit more quickly.
- Breathe In and Out: For sitting commuters to get exercise, try breathing in and out slowly for at least two to three minutes. The aim of this exercise is to reduce stress and make you relax.
A long commute doesn’t mean you can’t get in some exercise, but if you’d rather live closer to work, talk to a real estate agent about reducing your commute.
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