Do you know you need to move more but have a hard time figuring out where, how, when to work in a long gym work out? This one’s easy. Fit in small extra bits of movement throughout your day. Small works!

Here are 5 ways you can work more movement into your day naturally and easily:

1. Take the stairs every time you can vs. an elevator or escalator. Think it takes longer that way? Nope! A study showed that taking the stairs vs. the elevator didn’t save a bit of time. And parts of this study involved six floors of stairs.

2. In a similar vein, honestly check into where you can walk vs. drive. I run some errands in my local downtown. Fitting in a walk there vs. a quick drive seemed – seemed! – like it had to take me much longer. So, finally, I timed it. It takes me 7 minutes to walk to the main part. It took me 6 minutes to drive there! So, if I walk a short errand instead of driving, I get in 15-20 minutes of exercise. Not much, but it adds up. Plus I get the natural side benefits of fresh air, greeting people, walking the dog, window shopping, getting some sun, enjoying the beauty of the scenery. Those all are, honestly, things that will benefit how well you are.

3. Add movement to what were formerly stationary activities. Instead of standing at the sink brushing your teeth, walk around at the same time. Two more minutes of activity added to your day. You’re on the phone? Walk around instead of sitting. Watching TV? Jog in place or do jumping jacks or anything that gets you off that couch for awhile every 15 minutes. Please do not try this in a movie theater; it tends to piss people off! 😉

4. Park farther away when going somewhere. Instead of circling to find the closest space, park as far away as seems reasonable to you. You’ll enjoy space, less stress and a nice walk.

5. If you’re at a desk, replace that chair with a balance ball chair and work your core while you sit. Keep a set of light hand weights nearby and do things like bicep curls, overhead presses and tricep presses while you are reading email, on the phone, etc. And, please, please, please get up from that desk and move around – no matter what – every hour. Sitting is killing us. Even if you run miles later that day, it doesn’t compensate for hours of sitting.

It’s so much easier and more effortless to work in this type of movement day after day. Don’t label an extended work out at the gym or a yoga class or the like as better and this as not good enough. Both have benefits. And if you’re time crunched and unlikely to ever hit the gym or yoga, using the above means your body gets active like it needs.