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hat’s the first thing that crosses your mind at the very mention of exercise? If you think of intense workouts, or of your time being consumed, you better think again. If you think of packed gyms and hefty membership fees, that’s not even close. Why don’t we bring to light the fun aspects of exercise, which boost our creativity and motivation?

We can do exercise to stay healthy without extracting a single rupiah from our pocket. Even better, we can save some money if we choose to. So, why don’t you incorporate exercise into your everyday routine, regardless of the job you have? You can always integrate exercise into any simple activities you do, whether they include your activities such using commuter lines, working, or going to the mall.

These easy moves cost little to nothing, and they definitely don’t consume your precious time. Also keep in mind that routine exercise have many benefits for your heart, weight management, sleep, mood and reduced risk of chronic illness.

It also generates the feeling of well-being once your blood gets moving. Through exercise, you’ll stay healthy longer and feel great even in sedentary jobs.

Most Jakartans working at the office have sedentary-style jobs and typically complain of having no energy or time to exercise. They don’t realize that by developing such inactive lifestyles, they are prone to chronic illnesses. Therefore, it is important to exercise to balance out the sedentary nature of work in the information economy with an active lifestyle.

It can be done in cheap, simple ways incorporated into daily activities. So, it doesn’t have to be time consuming. Exercise is not only really good for your health but also for your mind. If you don’t want to join the scheduled exercise arranged by your office, you can do it in your own stylish way, like biking or walking to work.

It’s fun, cheap, healthy and even can save you some money. Nowadays, I prefer to walk from the train station at Sudirman to my office at least twice a week. It takes about 20-25 minutes to walk.  It saves me Rp 2,000 (20 US cents) by not taking bus to my office. You can also move your body, feet and hands during your commute while crammed into small spaces as part of your exercise.