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It counts! How to move more without realising

Published: 13th April 2020

Workouts and classes are a fantastic way to get and stay in shape. But if you want to have an active lifestyle in other areas of your life when you’re not at the gym, find out how to stay active at home without having to put your jogging bottoms on (unless you want to)! It’s surprising just how many everyday activities can count towards your recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day.

 

Do some gardening

Digging flower beds, mowing the lawn and lifting pots will soon get you feeling warm and energised, burning more than 320 calories an hour. Why not ramp up your activity by adding small workouts into your gardening session? You can set yourself challenges, such as every time you plant a pansy you have to do twenty skips with a skipping rope, or do a one minute plank.

If you don’t have a garden, helping out with someone else’s gardening such as an elderly neighbour or vulnerable person is a great way to get some outdoor time for you and do a good deed at the same time.

 

Have a dance party

Lift your spirits and your heart rate with a mini dance party for one. If you’ve ever tried dance classes you’ll know that breaking out some moves is a serious cardio workout, and a lot of fun as well. Whilst no-one is watching, why don’t you put on your favourite tunes and practise your best moves for the next time you’re on the dance floor.

 

Clean your house

While you have some time in the house, kill two birds with one stone and get active while you clean. Doing a deep clean, such as moving the beds and hoovering all the neglected corners in the house will get you more active.

Cleaning is rarely fun, so if the prospect fills you with dread, you could put on a really interesting audio book or podcast while you scrub away.

 

Play with your children

As you’ve probably realised, keeping young family entertained is quite exhausting, so spending time organising active games with them can help improve fitness all round. Try to incorporate games into your bonding time: climb trees, build a fort, or have some fun in the garden, and encourage them to be active too.

 

Wash the car

You wouldn’t have thought it, but a quick 20-minute car wash can burn about 100 calories. The stretching, squatting and lifting involved makes for a gentle strength and cardio workout. So perhaps now is the time to treat your car to a thorough wash and hoover on a nice sunny day!

 

Mix up your walk

Walking more is often cited as one of the easiest ways to maintain an active lifestyle. However, if it still feels a bit sedentary to you, why not mix things up a bit. Go on different routes and make an effort to choose ones with hills to climb to work out your leg muscles. Walk to the shops and carry the shopping back to strengthen your arms, or challenge yourself to achieve the steps you did yesterday in a shorted time scale.

If walking is not your favourite thing in the world, having a phone call whilst walking is an easy way to pass the time.

 

House makeover

Painting the house for 3 hours can burn over 1,000 calories! With that in mind, perhaps now is the time to give your place the makeover you’ve been thinking of for a while and get the dust sheets out.

 

Standing desk

Instead of sitting down all day, help your posture, circulation and strengthen your legs by standing up as much as possible. So if you’re working from home this month, consider building yourself a temporary standing desk space and see how it works for you.

 

What counts?

Any movement that gets your heart beating faster, a little out of breath, or feeling a bit warmer counts as an exercise and can help you remain active when you’re around the house. Is there anything that you find is a great active activity that you do without realising? Let us know!

If you fancy doing a serious workout, see our most recent routine here or go to our Facebook page to find more tips and tricks to stay active.

 

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