Ceri Hannan, the national product development manager at Virgin Active South Africa, says the best way to stay or start an exercise routine is to get real and set yourself some “oh-so-easily” attainable goals to get you on your journey towards being a healthier and active person.
For those who are planning on starting an exercise routine for the first time this year, Hannan suggests step-counting.
“You can start recording your steps every day with a wearable fitness device. Once you start counting you won’t stop walking in the drive to reach the next 1000-step level.”
Although this might seem simple, Hannan advises adding deep breathing to it. “Breathing seems rather basic but few of us breathe properly. Twice a day, focus entirely on your breathing for a couple of minutes.
"There’s a range of exercises you can do but the best is abdominal breathing where you take air in through your nose for two seconds and fill your stomach or diaphragm rather than your chest, and then breathe out slowly through the lips.”
Another suggestion is to give the elevator a break and take the stairs instead to get more activity.
“A simple daily measure is to ignore the lift or the escalator and burn some calories on a short climb,” Hannan says.