Everyone basically understands that exercise is essential to overall good health. What many aren’t so quick to grasp, however, is that there is a direct line of correlation between how healthy you are, and how effective you can expect to be in the workplace.

There’s no way of escaping the simple truth that performing to a high standard, in any field, requires you to be on the top of your game. If you’re riddled by chronic illnesses, suffer from crushing brain fog and lethargy, and half-fall asleep during work each afternoon, you’re not operating from an ideal starting position.

While things like nutrition and adequate sleep are essential and should never be overlooked, one of the key areas where people hit a stumbling block is with the question of how to stay fit while keeping a demanding, full-time job.

So without further ado, here are some steps to achieving just that.

Identify the realistic workout options for your career type

Different careers have different professional environments, and place different demands on your time, the locations you need to be in at a given time, and the ways you are expected to conduct yourself during the working day.

If you work from home, with a loose schedule, and can do whatever you want with your time assuming you meet your deadlines, you have a virtually limitless choice of how to keep fit. You can get up for a short walk every hour, go to the local gym at midday, or do some pushups in the garden whenever you like.

If you drive a truck, however, you will need to be more creative. How do truck drivers stay fit on the road? Well, options include packing a light fold-up bike, or a pair of light dumbbells, to train with at each stop.

Whatever your job, you’ll need to assess what the realistic exercise options are for you, during the working day.

Use the few free minutes you get here and there to do some basic movements

Researchers in recent times have suggested that sitting down all day, without breaks, may be one of the most harmful lifestyle elements out there.

The key to health may not be long gym sessions — although they do of course have their place — but rather, moving more throughout the day.

Whenever you get an opportunity, either during a lull at work, or a break, or an opportune moment, get up and do some basic movement for just a few minutes at a time. Even walking briskly around the office may work wonders.

Make fitness a habit, and start small

Fitness isn’t a matter of the big, dramatic physical challenges you impose on yourself now and then, it’s primarily about the small, daily habits that add up over time.

In fact, even the most rigorous workout program will start small if properly done.

Humans are creatures of habit, but every new habit must be introduced gradually, against our own internal resistance. To allow positive fitness habits to take root, begin with ludicrously small daily targets, and expand them over time.

You may, for example, begin by doing one situp a day, and gradually expand your workout over time until it’s fully-fleshed out and sustainable.