Time and time again, I find myself implementing a tough love approach to empower people to be more physically active.
Still, I’m always given the dreaded “I want to get fit but I’m just too busy” excuse.
Truth is, the state of being “fit” is simply a general state of being healthy. While this is generally a result of ‘structured’ exercise training, it doesn’t always require a tightly regulated program at a gym. In fact, even if you regularly engage in exercise, it’s important to also incorporate more spontaneous physical activities on a daily basis in order to achieve and maintain an optimal level of fitness.
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While a daily exercise bout is great, it matters little if you’re sitting in a chair or lying down for a large majority of your day.
Taking the stairs throughout the day in place of the elevator, implementing an over ground walk into a lunch break or parking as far as possible from a destination all constitute physical activity and such activities are considered to be ‘spontaneous’.
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Interestingly, another form of spontaneous physical activity that you can easily incorporate into your lifestyle is housework.
This is a personal favorite of mine and I highly recommend it!
Although I’m a runner who regularly engages in weight training, I actually hate going to the gym. I prefer to be as physically active as I can outdoors and at home.
Many people underestimate the calorie-burning potential of performing household chores.
Believe it or not, by performing 60 minutes of housework you can easily burn 250 calories or more while 60 minutes of cooking can burn up to 200 calories. If you’re anything like me, you may go on an 8-hour excursion performing these tasks meaning that at the end of the day, you’ll burn well over 1,200 calories without leaving your home.
A calorie burned is a calorie burned no matter what you do.
By accumulating 60-90 minutes of housework or other spontaneous physical activities every day, you can keep your body weight firmly under control. You’ll also experiencing significant improvements in your overall fitness levels, which essentially means that you’ll reduce your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.
You may also find it beneficial to use some sort of activity tracking device in order to monitor your daily physical activity behaviors both inside and outside the gym.
The net-net is this: If you’re trying to lose weight or get fit, you should make an all out effort to engage in at least 60-90 minutes of spontaneous physical activity every day. Whether you engage in structured exercise training or not is up to you.
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