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Easy exercise ideas
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Fitting exercise into you daily routine isn't that difficult as you'll find out......
Being active helps to keep your body healthy, promotes longevity and, importantly, burns calories.
We understand that it is often difficult to be physically active with the demands of daily life, but with more and more of us now leading sedentary lifestyles and doing desk jobs, increasing our activity levels is becoming ever more important.
It is actually quite easy to change your lifestyle slightly to introduce a bit of activity into your daily regime - it can even be fun and the bonus is that you will be losing weight and burning fat whilst doing it!
At work
Below are some idea's that can easily incorporated to your day at work. This list is by no means exhaustive - its purpose is to demonstrate that a whole variety of little bits of exercise done in short-bursts can add up to a substantial amount in terms of calories expended. If you think about it, you'll be able to come up with your own ideas on how to add in a bit of light exercise to your working day!
Walking to work from the train station or car park
Try doing some brisk walking on your way to and from work. You could get off the bus or train a stop early to make your walk to work that bit longer.
- 15 min moderate walking will burn 76 calories*
Go for a walk at lunch and take to the shops
Shopping might not be good for your wallet but it is certainly good for your body.
- 15 minutes of shopping at lunch will burn 46 calories*
Use the stairs rather than using the lift
This includes using stairs at train stations and car parks rather than using the lift.
- 15 minutes in total of walking upstairs a day will burn 16 calories*
At home
Similarly, at home the following list should demonstrate how easy it is to introduce some light exercise into your daily routine.
Remember, register for free with Purple Weight Loss to gain access to a full library of weight loss resources such as our exercise diary which uses metabolic equivalents to estimate the calories you will burn, dependent on your weight for over 600 different activities.
Walking
Walk the children to school, take the dog for a walk, walk to your local shops for errands etc.
- 15 minutes doing any of these activities will burn approximately 60 calories*
Run up the stairs
Why not run up the stairs a few times a day. This is great for fat burning as well as toning your buttocks!
- 15 minutes in total of running upstairs a day will burn 300 calories*
Do some housework
You might not like housework, but again, it is very good for you. Remember that you are burning fat whilst doing it......surely this is motivation enough!
- 15 minutes of vacuuming will burn 70 calories*
- 15 minutes of ironing will burn 46 calories*
- 15 minutes of dusting will burn 50 calories*
- 15 minutes of cleaning windows will burn 60 calories*
Get out in the garden
Doing some gardening is very good for you as it allows you to soak up some fresh air as well as burning some calories. The results should be aesthetically pleasing and we are referring to your body here as well as your garden!
- 15 minutes of mowing the lawn will burn 110 calories*
- 15 minutes of digging will burn 100 calories*
- 15 minutes of general wedding and seeding will burn 80 calories*
Take up a sport
Sport is very good for you. Try squash, tennis, football, cycling or volleyball to name but a few or even a bit of jogging......
- 15 minutes of squash will burn 240 calories*
- 15 minutes of tennis will burn 140 calories*
- 15 minutes of football will burn 140 calories*
- 15 minutes of gentle cycling will burn 120 calories*
- 15 minutes of volleyball will burn 80 calories*
- 15 minutes of light jogging will burn 150 calories*
Have some fun time with your children
Your children love playing games so why not join in......
- 15 minutes of moderate playtime with the children will burn 80 calories*
Clean your car
Forget the automated car wash and wash your car yourself. As well as saving you money, you'll burn some fat in the process!
- 15 minutes of cleaning the car will burn 60 calories*
Do your supermarket shop yourself rather than using a delivery service
Doing your supermarket shop yourself allows you to pick up only the freshest items, take advantage of promotional offers such as BOGOFs and to get some very useful exercise.
- A 45 minute wander around the supermarket with your shopping trolley will burn 138 calories*
Make your bed
It takes only 5 minutes to make your bed but at the end of the day, it is much nicer to get into a nicely aired bed with fluffed up pillows......
- 5 minutes of making the bed will burn 13 calories*
Use your bed
You might as well use your made-up bed to the full. It is true that sex is good for you in more ways than one, burning calories like there is no tomorrow......so why not make a habit of it and put a smile on your face!
- 15 minutes of vigorous sex will burn 110 calories*
*Based on a person who weighs 12st 0lb.