Moving the body is imperative for staying fit and healthy, but long sessions at the gym aren't always practical or possible--especially when your schedule is jam-packed with other obligations. Fortunately, you don't have to spend hours running on a treadmill to burn off last night's cheesecake: you can intersperse your day with quick, calorie-blasting activities to manage your weight or shed excess pounds.
Take the Stairs
If you encounter an elevator or escalator during your day, turn back and tackle the stairs instead. If you manage to squeeze in a total of 30 minutes of stair climbing during your day, you can burn between 300 and 500 calories depending on your height and weight, according to Fat-Free Kitchen. Even walking up a single flight burns considerably more calories than standing still on an elevator.
Park Farther Away
It might be tempting to snatch the closest parking space you can find to your destination, but parking farther away will help you use more calories. By choosing less-convenient parking locations when you shop or run errands, you'll spend more time each day walking--and every step means more calories burned. As the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension points out, this strategy may even save you money, because distant parking spots are often cheaper than ones adjacent to malls and shopping centers.
Dance
Instead of restraining your feet when a dance-worthy tune comes on the radio, stand up and let loose. You don't need to have rock-star moves to burn calories, but the more vigorously you dance, the more energy you'll use. Dancing to 10 three-minute songs throughout the day could burn approximately 130 calories, acording to Fat-free Kitchen.
Move During Commercials
Rather than sitting on the couch watching commercials you've seen a dozen times already, take a quick break to jog in place, stretch or perform some pulse-raising activities--such as push-ups, sit-ups or lunges. By the time the commercial break is over, you'll have burned extra calories without missing any of your favorite show. To blast through even more calories, the Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services suggests exercising for the entire length of your television-watching session--such as by using hand weights or a stationary bicycle.
Pace
Instead of sitting down while you're on the phone or waiting for a load of laundry to finish, get up and pace the room. The more frequently you walk instead of staying idle, the more calories you'll burn throughout the day. As an added bonus, pacing can serve as a stress reliever when you're feeling nervous--ridding you of anxiety along with those extra calories, according to the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension.
Member Comments