Between school, work and racing around to various activities, life gets busy. Sometimes it gets hard to find time for exercise. Don’t worry. We’ve all been there.
The great news is that with a few simple changes to your daily routine, you can burn extra calories throughout the day. Here are seven small changes to help beef up your calorie burn:
- Lift up…and down – Think about adding movement during tasks that normally have you standing in one place: Try calf or leg raises while waiting for the bus, filling your gas tank or standing in line at the store.
- Have a ball – Alternate sitting on your desk chair at work with sitting on a stability ball. You have to engage your core muscles in order to have stability, which is a great workout while you’re sitting at your desk. Alternating between the two throughout the day will make sure your upper body is also properly supported. Here are some great tips for what to look for when purchasing a stability ball.
- Do chair-robics – Speaking of sitting in chairs, here’s a great way to get some more movement during long days of sitting at a desk: Every hour, stand up and sit down slowly four times. This will boost your circulation, and you’ll be doing four squats an hour throughout the day, which adds up!
- Good morning – You may want to yell at your alarm clock, but moving your workouts to the early hours promises a bigger payoff. Because guess what? Morning exercisers burn more calories. Researchers at Bangor University in the United Kingdom found that people who exercise in the morning tend to work harder and for longer periods of time.
- Carry those bags – Carrying your groceries or suitcases is a great strength training and calorie burning opportunity. Another idea: try carrying a basket at the supermarket instead of pushing a grocery cart.
- Strength training – Muscle burns more calories than fat, so why not incorporate strength-training moves throughout your day? After your morning and evening bathroom routines, do some push-ups on the bathroom counter or try this two-minute leg workout while brushing your teeth.
- It’s the little things – Prevention.com compiled 100 little ways to incorporate extra calorie burning in all aspects of life: at home (chop fresh vegetables instead of buying frozen ones, hand wash dishes instead of using the dishwasher); at work (dust your office weekly, stand while you open and read the mail); while traveling (get off the bus two stops sooner and walk the rest of the way, book hotel rooms on a high floor and walk up); while running errands (bag your own groceries, visit a store instead of shopping online); and just for fun (play fetch with your dog, go window-shopping or antiquing).
