Find Unexpected Exercise Sources!
Chances are that over the cold winter, you may have decreased your exercise and perhaps packed on a few pounds. While those extra pounds might have been nice for insulation purposes, odds are they weren’t so good for your health. Now that it’s warmer, though, you can go outside, get some fresh air, maybe even take a run. What’s that? You hate running? You’re not alone…
Some forms of exercise just aren’t for everyone. While undoubtedly great forms of exercise, strenuous activities like playing active sports or jogging can be difficult, unenjoyable, or even impossible for people with health issues such as leg/ankle/joint pain or respiratory problems – or for people who simply don’t have the spare time.
Luckily, there’s nothing wrong with that. There are plenty of ways people can get exercise that may be more enjoyable or less painful, but will still keep you in peak physical shape. Further, there are tons of way you can find to sneak exercise into typical daily activities.
Below, Mobile Health suggests ways of exercising through casual outdoor activities as well as unexpected exercises you can do when you’re at work or around the house. These activities can help keep your heart healthy, burn calories, and provide you with energy throughout the day.
Exercise at Work:
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Climb some stairs.
This doesn’t mean that if you work on the 31st floor you have to walk up and down all 31 floors. However, why not take 7 flights of stairs down and up and the elevator the rest of the way? It’s great for your heart and it’s estimated that each step going up burns 0.17 calories, while each step going down burns 0.05 calories. So, taking 7 flights of stairs up and down twice a day results in improved heart health and energy and burns calories. - Walk while at the office
Instead of emailing or calling a colleague in your office, why not walk over to them and talk? Further, why not walk around the office and show your face to other co-workers? Wandering around the office can improve workplace camaraderie as well as providing a source of exercise. - Don’t eat at your desk
Walk to a local park, deli, or street bench. Get fresh air, clear your mind, and walk a bit. - Stand up, sit down
If you have a chance while at your desk, say if you’re stuck on a phone call, try standing up and then sitting down, without using your hands. This is good strength training. - Do wall pushups
Waiting for a meeting? Have a break? Find a wall and try doing some wall pushups. Great strength training and all you need is a solid wall – don’t do this in your cubicle! Here’s how you do a wall pushup.
Outdoor Activities:
- Go for a walk
Try increasing your pace just a little bit each day until you’re walking at a brisk pace. Find excuses to walk throughout the day. Park your car further away, or take your dog out for a longer walk. Brisk walking can lower blood pressure, improve breathing, and decrease risks of heart diseases. Further, you can burn from 90-200 calories from 30 minutes of brisk walking. - Go for a hike
Nice day out? Take it to the woods. Hiking doesn’t have to be rapidly done to be good exercise. Hiking has the benefits of walking as well as the benefit of strengthening muscles, and can burn many calories. - Do some gardening
Combine a hobby with exercise by doing some gardening. The typical gardening activities of squatting, carrying, digging, and so on combine to burn a great deal of calories. A 170 pound person can burn up to 364 calories in one hour of gardening. - Play bocce
Bocce is a relaxing, social, fun, and simple sport. Bocce is one activity where you’re truly getting stealthy exercise. In the course of throwing the bocce balls and walking back in forth, playing bocce for an hour can burn from 200-270 calories. - Wash your car
Washing and waxing a car can burn up to 325 calories in an hour! Don’t have a car? Wash a friend’s car. You’ll be doing a nice thing and you’ll be exercising.
Exercise At Home
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Play video games
This doesn’t mean sitting down and playing Tetris. Play active video games. Systems like the Wii or Xbox Kinect feature games where physical activity is at the crux of the game. The best part is these games are fun and family-friendly. Some consoles even offer pure fitness games. An hour of playing Wii sports of dancing games can burn hundreds of calories. -
Clean the house
Cleaning the house has a wide array of health benefits. First, allergens are cleaned up. Second, it’s been shown that having physical clutter around the house can actually impair the brain’s ability to focus. Finally, cleaning the house for an hour can burn up to 150 calories! -
Cook dinner
The simple act of cooking dinner, something you probably have to do to survive anyways, is a source of exercise. Of course, you should probably cook a healthy meal while you’re at it. The exercise done cooking will be more than negated if you opt for a multiple chocolate milkshake dinner. -
Dance
Put on some music and spaz out. Dancing is phenomenal exercise for heart health and weight maintenance. The more vigorously you dance the more calories you can burn – some estimates suggest you can burn from 40-150 calories in just 15 minutes of dancing. -
Curl a milk carton
A gallon jug of milk weigh about 8.6 lbs. While you’re in the kitchen, take your milk out of the fridge and curl it, taking turns with both arms. Please do not forget to put it back in the fridge when you’re done, though!
