Three “Time Free” Strategies for Maximizing Health and Fitness

Everyone is always trying to “get fit” but for many working adults there aren’t enough hours in the day.  Four evenings in the gym can take away as many as eight hours out of an already busy schedule.  While the hours in the gym may be rewarding, the hours stuck in traffic on the way to the gym are just wasted time.  However, going to the gym isn’t the only way to improve your health and get fit.  Here are three simple “time-free” things that all adults can do to improve their fitness and stay in shape.

Maximize the time doing “chores” – Chores are a tedious time consuming activity, but are still essential to having a clean, nice home.  So why not maximize the time you spend doing chores and get fit at the same time?  When looking to maximize your chore-time; think outside the box.  For example, use an old-fashioned traditional broom with a heavy wooden handle instead of a lightweight plastic broom.  Sweeping a kitchen floor with an added three pounds can increase the calorie burn and help tone muscles.   

Walk and Climb – It’s becoming a cliché to ‘take the stairs’ or ‘walk more’; but that doesn’t make it false.  People often waste time driving to the gym in order to walk on a machine for thirty minutes when they can do the same activity at home or at work.  With a pedometer you can easily track your additional steps.  The Harvard Alumni study of walking showed that walking 6,000 steps in a day can help maintain health and fitness and 10,000 can significantly help lose weight.  The good news is that it is easy to begin to maximize your steps while doing everyday activities.  For example, rather than spend two or three minutes driving around looking for that “perfect parking spot”; park in the back and enjoy the extra exercise.  Often you’ll actually save time by parking in the back of the lot and walking the extra distance instead of driving around looking for that “perfect spot.”

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