This may come as a shock, but I wasn?t always keen on exercise. Indeed, there was a time (okay, admittedly more of an era)?before I was bit by the fitness bug and irrevocably changed for the better?when I was a bonafide, card-carrying couch potato.
While never proud of my workout ignorance, I nevertheless maintained a dedication to slimness, overcompensating for my willful inertia with a strict nutrition plan and other such dietary controls. I subscribed to the erroneous belief that one?s outward appearance or body mass can accurately serve as an overall determinant of health.
I wish I could tell you that I had an ideological and emotional revelation of Ebenezer Scrooge proportions, with a supernatural apparition descending from the heavens above to show me the error of my ways. But really, I simply fell prey to the increasingly en vogue ?strong is the new skinny? mentality and, as they say, once you pop the fun (or the pain, depending how you look at it) don?t stop.
But for people who have yet to experience such enlightenment, and would sooner opt for a colonoscopy than lace up a pair of dust-covered sneakers and hit the gym, here are a few ways to incorporate exercise into everyday life:
HOUSEWORK
Many household chores are considered moderate cardiovascular or strength-training exercises in their own right. Mopping, for example, works your upper body and oblique muscles simultaneously, as does vacuuming (which also engages your central core). Moreover, tending to your home by raking leaves or shoveling snow is a great calorie-burning and muscle-toning activity that will help you maintain a healthy weight. The wide range of movements involved in housework can whip you into shape without ever setting foot inside a gym.
TRAVEL
While the universal laws of vacation deem weight gain an inevitable outcome of travel, I find that globetrotting often has the opposite effect. The best way to see a city is by traversing it on foot. Trust me, if you walk from New York?s Upper East Side to Soho (or from the Trevi Fountain to Vatican City, if you?re fancy), you will be free to devour that cronut (or Spaghetti alla Carbonara) without consequence.
SHOPPING
Shopaholics, take note. According to a recent British study, women burn 15,000 calories each year shopping. The findings also reveal that while on the hunt for the perfect pair of jeans, shoes, or the ever-elusive trench coat, women walk an average of 180 miles annually (the equivalent of seven marathons). Clearly, it?s time to deactivate your Shopbop account. Shop until the only thing skinnier than your waistline is your wallet. Doctor?s orders.
EXERCISE WHILE WATCHING TV
If your idea of a marathon is of the Mad Men season three variety, you may think you?re too far gone for fitness rehabilitation. Even if you?re reluctant to peel your behind off the couch, take solace in the fact that you can get fit without sacrificing your hard earned, body-contouring sofa grooves. One way to do so is by implementing a commercial break workout routine (no DVR allowed). For example, every time you see an insurance ad, do 10 push-ups; for a restaurant ad, do 10 squats. When a movie ad airs, do 15 jumping jacks, and so forth. By the time the credits roll on Downton Abbey?s 2-hour finale, you will have completed a full-body workout.
LAUGHING
Most of us think of laughter as an emotion, but it is, in effect, a physical action and may confer some of the same advantages as a traditional workout. Although research on the subject is limited, preliminary scientific evidence suggests that laughing can prompt changes in blood vessel dilation, heart rate, and immune response, much in the same way as good, old-fashioned exercise. If laughter really is the best medicine, why not head to one of the events of the Just For Laughs Festival for some over-the-counter therapy? While no one is giggling his or her way to a six-pack, there appears to be at least some truth to the common phrase ?laughing till it hurts?.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Source: http://diaryofasocialgal.com/the-lazy-persons-workout-plan/
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