How to keep yourself in shape between clients

As a busy chiropractor, you know exercise is important to health, at least that is what you tell your patients all of the time, right?

But between seeing clients, noting charts, and staying up-to-date on the latest research, it is highly likely that you haven’t exactly been practicing what you preach.

What you need

According to guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average adult should engage in 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of high intensity cardio every week for maximum health and wellness. Additionally, two or more days of full-body strength training are necessary for optimal muscle strength.¹

So, how are you doing hitting these minimum recommendations on a regular basis? Are you even close?

Break it down

Before you start chastising yourself for falling short and not exercising anywhere near these amounts, you need to realize that the CDC further states that you can still receive great benefits by doing just 10 minutes of exercise at a time.¹ This means that you can reach higher fitness levels by simply setting aside 15 mini-exercise sessions per week.

These can easily be done in between clients, allowing you to get fit without getting up earlier or staying up later in order to hit the gym. In fact, just three of these mini-sessions a day on week days will allow you to meet your exercise guidelines rather easily.

Achieve your goal

What kind of exercises can you do in that minimal amount of time? Here are some options to consider:

• Go for a walk. Whether you work in a rural town or a 25-story office building, a quick 10-minute walk is great for your cardiovascular system. To kick it up a notch, hit some stairs as well.
• Put a stair stepper in your office. Stair steppers don’t take up a whole lot of space, so putting one in the corner of your office is a great way to work on your fitness between seeing clients.
• Do jumping jacks or burpees. Get your heart moving by doing some jumping jacks or burpees either in your office or in an empty exam room. If you have space, you may even want to consider jumping rope.
• Do strength training exercises. To get your strength sessions in there too, sit ups and pushups are great exercise options for your upper body and core, as they need minimal space and no equipment. Squats and lunges work well, too, and they will help you build the muscles in your lower body.

Get inspired

For a little dose of inspiration, check out this video made by Desiree Walker, a dentist who competed on American Ninja Warrior. In it, you can see the workout stations she built right in her dental office. She also shows you some of the exercises she does between seeing clients, allowing her to get and stay in top shape for one of the hardest physical competitions in the nation.

When you make this one minor change to your schedule, you will become a role model to your patients, likely inspiring them to make positive changes as well, and causing them to inspire others to do the same. Imagine the ripple effect this could have—and it all starts with you!

Reference

¹ Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “How much physical activity do adults need?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html. Updated March 2014. Accessed February 2015.