Last week I had to take a blood test, one that I had to fast for.  Those are terrible; no eating after dinner, and you have to get up early to be the first in line at the lab.  I got there at 6:10, 10 minutes after they opened, and I was already the 20^th person in line.  Instead of standing there and wasting my time, I decided to use this time to go for a walk.  After all, if you are back when they call your number you are good.

So, I jogged around the parking lot and a neighboring parking lot.  I did 5-7 laps before I had to report to the door.  Of course, I didn’t wait till the last minute.  I was able to do 0.7 miles (I tracked it on my watch).  That is more calories burned and better use of my time rather than just standing in line. The point is we are all busy and have to find time to sneak these small opportunities for exercise in.  The gentleman in line behind me thought it was a good idea so he walked while he waited too.

Whether it’s hard to stay motivated, lack of time, or limited accessibility to exercise equipment we all have obstacles we must face to stay physically active.  As we age we tend to become more sedentary and with that comes all sorts of health risks.  Finding ways to exercise becomes more and more important.

It is not always easy to stay committed to your Physical Therapy program.  Three of the most common obstacles people run into are lack of time, motivation, and accessibility.  Luckily we live in Hawaii, where we have beautiful weather for much of the year.

Even in the busiest of schedules, there is room to make subtle changes to burn a couple of extra calories.