The Word on Weightloss

Leave your excuses at the door and start incorporating exercise into your day. Free exercise opportunities get your body moving, oxygen to your brain and burn calories without adding another "to do" to your your schedule.

Gym memberships are a great thing, if you can afford them and if there's one conveniently located so it's easy to get to. They're even better when you use them regularly enough to work out and reach your fitness and weigh loss goals. 

Some of us pay premiums for swanky gym memberships and then only get there for a workout once or twice a month. There's always this or that excuse about why we can’t go this week or next, thinking about how long it takes to drive over there, park, arriving to a packed class, waiting for the machines you want, warming up, cooling down... You know what’s great though? People have been exercising long before there were treadmills, ellipticals and weight machines. There are many ways to get a “free” workout and here are some suggestions to incorporate physical activity into your day.

Yard work. Whether you have a large backyard vegetable garden to tend or potted bougainvillea and jasmine plants on the balcony of your apartment, tending to a garden can be a physical boost that is also an emotionally soothing task at the end of a long day. While you water the plants and till the soil, prune overgrowth and watch your garden grow, you’ll find you are also using muscles you normally wouldn’t and accomplishing something beautiful and enjoyable while you work. 

Walk with purpose.  Take a walk with a purpose in mind so you don’t feel tempted to skip the opportunity to exercise. If you have something to mail, take a walk to the post office and pick up some groceries on the way home. If you live too far to walk to a store, you can walk to a friend’s house in your neighborhood to deliver a fresh batch of low-cal cookies you just tried out.  Walking to or from somewhere is a great way to get some free exercise, especially if you don’t have a dog at home begging to be walked daily.

Turn your favorite TV show into exercise hour.  So you don’t have time to go to the gym, but are always able to find an hour to squeeze in the most recent episode of your favorite show? Fine, but what about using it for a double purpose? Instead of fast-forwarding through commercials, use the commercial breaks to do crunches and other drill exercises. A good set of push-ups and crunches per commercial break will make you feel like you've accomplished something by the end of the episode...and you won’t miss a moment of your show.

Park far away and always take the stairs.  Don’t drive in circles waiting for the closest spot in the parking lot. Drive straight to the back of the lot, park, and walk all the way in. By the same token, if you’re just going up a few floors don’t wait for the elevator; take the stairs and feel some burning in your thighs.  Little by little, all those extra steps add up to some great exercise.

What other ideas for free exercise do you have? Leave your suggestions in the comments below - we’d love to hear them!