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Over at Daily Blog Tips, they’re running a little contest. They want people to write posts that involve the number 3. Since it seemed like a cute enough idea, I figured I would try it. The first thing that came to mind was a topic related to last week’s series of articles about common workout myths.

Myth

You’ll often hear people saying that they don’t have time to be healthy. Eating right and working out are just too time intensive and their schedule does not allow them the luxury of going to the gym or shopping for their own food. There seems to be a belief that being healthy if something you can only do if you have large chunks of spare time.

Truth

Now tomorrow we’re going to talk about making room in your schedule for larger blocks of fitness like workouts. It is in fact possible, and you don’t even need to quit your job. For today, I’m going to show you some healthy things you can do in those little breaks we all have. So if you’re done with that project, thinking about your next meeting or moving on to your next task, here is a list of things you can do in three minutes to keep yourself healthy.

Workout - Yep, you can actually get a decent workout in three minutes. I do this every morning when I wake up. Ten pushups, ten sit ups, ten leg lifts, ten lunges and ten toe touches. Do them slowly and with good form and you’ve spent a total of 180 seconds getting a decent workout for every major muscle group.

Eat a snack - Didn’t think healthy things would involve eating, did you? However, healthy snacks are actually good for you. They keep your energy level higher between meals and they fill you up so you avoid overeating during mealtimes. Now healthy snack does not mean candy bar and a coke. It means fruit or vegetables, and no, some carrots drowned in ranch dressing are not healthy. Keep it simple, fresh fruit or vegetables with nothing else added. Half an apple, a handful of walnuts or even a banana are a great way to spend three minutes.

Walk up and down some stairs - In three minutes, I can walk up and down the stairs at my work six times. That’s about 20 calories. Doesn’t sound like much? Well, it’s higher than the number of calories you spend sitting on your butt in your cute, isn’t it? And hey, if I do that twice a day for 40 calories and for 20 days in a month, I’ll work off 800 calories that month that I wouldn’t have otherwise. That’s a 1/4 of a lb I just lost. Not bad for a three minute workout.

Stretch - This is something you can easily do in the office. Get up out of that chair and stretch your muscles. Three minutes is enough to stretch every major muscle group. You’ll feel better and your body will thank you when you go workout later.

Drink some water - Water is something most people don’t get enough of. So take a 180 second break to properly hydrate yourself. Your body often mistakes thirst for hunger, so getting enough to drink will also make it less likely that you’ll over eat.

Summary

Remember, health is not something you think about at the gym and then forget about. It’s something you should make a part of your life. Whether you have 3 minutes or 3 hours, there’s always something you can do to improve your health.

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