A very underrated solution. In my experience, I was a personal trainer for a year or so, people percieve exercise as a workout and in a very binary form. They can either get their whole workout in, or nothing. By reframing it as physical activity and accumulating that activity over the course of the day you can stay relatively fit.
In my experience, the best way to integrate fitness in everyday life is to live in the city.
I live in the inner part of a mid sized Great Lakes city. Commute and lunch are short walks, groceries and shopping is a bike ride, friends and social groups are with in biking distance and the city's cultural and social activity is centered in walkable neighborhoods. Bike culture offers rides across any social group you can think of. Off road bike paths connect the country in the warmer months.
Even on a regular work day I'll walk or ride in the evening to wind down. In a city there are many routes and parks to wander through, the landscape and texture constantly changing thought the year. The routine keeps you going even through the snowy winter months. You can walk or ride as fast or slow as you want to adjust the "workout".
In contrast a lot of my exurban coworkers spend an hour plus per day commuting to work in the car, and live in isolated developments that are unwalkable past the arterial they are on. Exercise becomes a drive to a gym or park for and is easy to forgo in a busy day.
I recognize not every city is affordable enough to live and work in a short distance, but I'd trade any amount of yard space for an accessible city.
I have one taekwondo guy at the office who uses his standing desk to do some real stretching. He can stand programming for quite a while with one foot on the table :-)
Eons ago, when I had a rotary phone and pet dinosaur, I brushed teeth like that.
It didn't involve stretching. It was just the most comfortable position for brushing teeth for a tall (and very limber) person where the sink was too short. I tried to avoid it and found I was very uncomfortable trying to stand "normally" to brush teeth.
So he may not be stretching at all. He might just be making himself comfy.
I think that varies from person to person. Some people seem to be able to decide they're going to get into a routine and they just do it. Others seem to really struggle. Plus, starting a routine seems to be much more difficult than breaking it.
But the all-or-nothing attitude I mentioned above is problematic if someone has in mind that they're going to work out for an hour in the morning. For one reason or another they suddenly only have 45, 30 or 15 minutes for a workout and they write it off because they don't have time for their "workout" rather than using the time they do have.
But even if one only has 5 minutes you can make something with that time, whether it's a set of pushups, squats, mobility work or a quick jog. Then later in the day if one finds another window do something then.
IMO the best approach is try to move 5 minutes a day, everyday, regardless of the form it takes. Build the habit that you do something every day. Then build from there. Modulate intensity and movements. If you can do more do it, if you can't, don't stress over it.
You have to factor into time spent preparing, and transit. I'll give you an example. I like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and there are 1.5 hour classes in the afternoon/evening. However, it's a 20 minute commute either way, and I usually get 5 minutes early an leave 10 minute after it's finished for stretching and cool-down/shower. So my 1.5 hour class turns into a 2.5-3 hour block every time I'd like to go to a class. Similarly an hour run before/after doesn't include transit, shower, etc., making it more of a 2 hour commitment.
Because of all the other things they have to “make an hour” for. Pick up kids, make supper, meh, I don’t to make a whole list, use your imagination. Personally, yes, that hour with a musical instrument in my hands is sacred, and dogs need walked for an hour whether I want to or not. But I’m not most people.
Besides, they owe neither you or me an explanation. Our hypothetical people said that’s not a workable option, what else ya got?
I bet almost everyone can find at least half an hour for their health if they wanted to. Very few people actually have a "I don't have time!" excuse. These people better be spending every single minute of their existence at work, doing something essential with their family, or sleeping then. Even then, could they seriously not function with half an hour less sleep? Can they not do something physical with their kids like sport or even just a walk? Maybe you and some others actually don't have time, but most do. Even Obama found time for hourly golf and reading pretty much every day. I really dislike the victimhood/making excuses mentality. I don't think it's a good thing for most people. But yes, I understand that for a very small portion of people, they really don't have time.
Also, walking your dogs could be a form of exercise.
Try rigorous an hour long focused exrcise while caring about toddler whole day. Super frustrating. Or kid that you need to supervise after work and then not leave alone while the kid sleeps.
Exercise can be done - but only if you adopt the "5 minutes are actually fine if there is interruptiom" mindset parent recommends. And only if you did not exercised for long, because otherwise those small chunks are frustrating and make you hate them (as you are painfully aware of difference between old one and this one).
To be fair I see plenty of people about running with their dog and/or a baby or toddler in a stroller around here. A little creativity goes a long way if one is motivated.
They usually can - if they have time for Netflix/etc - it's just not a high enough priority.
You don't even need an hour. 30 minutes does wonders. It doesn't need to include a trip to the gym either. Pushups, situps, squats and such go a long way.
This is where workplace culture can make a big difference. Doing what you suggest is a lot easier in my current workplace which is full of fit, healthy people at an employer who values our health. Doing this at my last workplace would've gotten me some looks and I'd have been pegged the weird one. Not to say this is a good enough reason not to do it, but these social forces are powerful for encouraging or discouraging this kind of behavior.
The first is just a self-limiting belief. The same way you'll never talk to women if you're scared of looking stupid. But you don't look stupid -- you look like someone trying to get what they want. People respect that.
The second is mitigated by the fact that you're just doing smaller sets. We're not talking about a full work out. If you're sweating after 10, 20, 30 pushups or 30, 50, 75 squats, you were probably sweating anyways. Get a fan.
Soon you run out of excuses and you're back to "if you had the discipline, you would do it." Just like eating healthy.
Get a fan? You don't exercise much do you? What you need is well maintain temperature in the room you exercise; pushing air at yourself while you are sweating doing workout will only give you cold and send you to bed with fever.
Please get personal trainer's help before you exercise again.
What on Earth? Most gyms have fans, some are even air conditioned. Perhaps they all should have consulted a personal trainer before endangering the health of their clients?
Fair, although I posit that that is not the same as having physical movement integrated into your job at a fundamental level.
Doing a few exercises every 30 minutes is far better than doing nothing and you could argue that doing any more than that has decreasing marginal returns in terms of your fitness indicators. But it's still not the same as having a physical purpose that you can hone and push yourself in.