Key Takeaways
- It can be hard for teachers to find time to exercise during their busy lives.
- With these 5 suggestions, teachers can fit workouts in both inside and outside school!
- Resistance bands are an easy, portable way for teachers to start exercising. Watch a fitness video to get started!
Are you wondering how teachers can fit exercise into their busy lives? As you know, it isn’t easy. Between teaching, grading, lesson planning, and your life outside of school, there isn’t always time left over for working out.
How do other teachers stay fit? They make it a priority and you can too! Here are 5 ways to find time to exercise and fit workouts into your daily life.
5 Times Teachers Can Exercise
5 Times Teachers Can Exercise
2. During Class: At Your Desk
Yes, you can get some exercise in while sitting at your desk. Place a small pedal exerciser or elliptical under your desk to keep moving while you sit. Or swap out your chair for an exercise ball. It helps work your core muscles and improve your posture. To avoid a rollaway seat, choose a ball chair over a standard exercise ball!
3. During Class: With Your Students
Brain breaks are good for everyone, including teachers. Incorporating movement breaks between lessons allows everyone to refocus and get energized before doing some more learning. Join your class in doing some stretching or jumping jacks. Or use resistance bands to do some strength training exercises. TheraBand CLX bands have handholds that make it easy for little hands to hold onto and come in a variety of resistances for you and your students.
Learn more about brain breaks and ways to incorporate them into your classroom routine in 6 Fun Brain Break Exercises for the Classroom.
View our Resistance Bands Video library
4. After School
Invite your colleagues to exercise with you. You can offer each other encouragement and hold each other accountable. There are many ways you can work out together. You can gather in one teacher’s classroom and workout. Have one teacher lead the class or take turns. You can also watch fitness videos on different topics like yoga, resistance band workouts, and more!
Or ask if you can use the school’s fitness room or track if athletes aren’t using it after school. You could pool your resources to bring in a fitness instructor once a week after school. Or join a group fitness class and head over there together after school. Find a group of teachers who would also be interested in working out after school and decide together what option will work best for you.
5. On the Weekend
No time during the week? Exercise on the weekend instead! Carve out some “me time” to workout at home or to go to a fitness class. You don’t need a lot of equipment to get started, find out What You Need for Working Out at Home.
If you have kids and you’re still having trouble finding time to exercise on the weekends, try getting up early to work out before they wake up. Or if you’re a fan of sleeping in, have your children join you and demonstrate healthy habits for the whole family. Not sure how to begin? Check out Full Family Fitness: 3 Ways to Work Out with Your Kids.
Resistance Band Exercises for Teachers
Ready to start exercising? Grab a resistance band and start now! Whether you’re in the classroom, at home, or on-the-go, resistance bands are a portable, easy-to-use choice. Choose between a 7 minute or 20 minute workout and follow along with the video below.
5 Exercise Tips for Teachers
5 Exercise Tips for Teachers
1. Create a routine and stick to it
Just like your lesson plans, plan what days you’re going to exercise and put it in your calendar. Protect this time and try to schedule everything else for other times.
2. But stay flexible
If you were going to go for a run, but now it’s raining, run on the treadmill or do some strength training instead. If your fitness instructor called out sick, watch a fitness video instead. Keep your workout even if you need to change the activity.
Or if you absolutely need to go grocery shopping, try to carve out time later in the day to get moving, even if it’s walking the dog.
3. Think ahead
Get out your workout clothes the night before. That way you’re ready to go in the morning. Pack a gym bag and put it in the passenger seat of the car to prepare and keep you motivated to swing by the gym after school.
4. Prep your classroom
If you work out in the morning, prepare your classroom in the afternoon the day prior to your trip to the gym so you’re ready to teach as soon as you walk in.
If you work out in the afternoon, plan on coming in early the next morning to get ready.
5. Pack a snack and a drink
Bring a healthy snack along in case you get hungry and remember your water bottle, so you stay hydrated.
More Articles for Teachers
More Articles for Teachers
In the Classroom
- 7 Fun Parachute Games for All Ages (Toddlers to Seniors)
- 11 Ideas for Free Choice Centers in Your Classroom
- 15 Fidget Tools (Not Toys) for Your Classroom
- Cleaning, Disinfecting, & Sanitizing Children’s Toys & More
- 6 Fun Brain Break Exercises for the Classroom
Fitness
- A Complete Beginner's Guide to Working Out
- What You Need for Working Out at Home
- 33 TheraBand Resistance Band Exercises to Do At Home
- 11 Exercise Games & Activities To Make Fitness Fun
- How to Take Your Workout to the Next Level with TheraBand!
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