Tips To Get Fit Without A Gym

To get fit, in the beginning, you should commit to 60 days of fun exercises to get the habit in place. This is a good way to start, and the length of commitment is not too daunting.

Start with a small goal of 10 minutes of daily activity. Once you have mastered doing 10 minutes regularly, you can gradually increase the time to 20 minutes, and then to 30 minutes.

Make exercise easy so you get started. It can be as easy as walking, gardening, mowing the lawn, climbing stairs or doing your household chores.

There are so many easy ideas to get active. When you go outside to collect your newspaper, go for a five minute power walk up the road, and then do a five minute power walk back to your house.

If your child has a music or sports lesson, use that time to walk around the block or sports field. If you have stairs in your office, take a 10 minute break and walk up and down the stairs.

Just walk. Get moving. Europeans by far have a much healthier lifestyle than North Americans. Europeans mostly walk or bike, even in freezing temperatures, instead of driving.

They choose to bundle up and walk to the local store. According to research, a European’s secret to staying slim, with real food including their delicious desserts, is public transportation.

In North America it is common for people to spend endless hours at their workplace, sitting in the same position.

They then travel to their homes in vehicles, before winding up in front of the television set, in an exhausted stupor.

With such a busy schedule, you can’t even think about exercising or fitting a regular workout into your lives. Exercise may be the last thing on your mind as you prepare dinner.

However, in such cases you can catch up on your regular dose of exercise by simply taking a brisk walk.

According to a recent study, it was found that Europeans who live in close proximity to public transportation cover more steps, in a day, as compared to others.

These steps can help in shedding extra pounds and maintaining your weight. It also helps in lowering stress levels, making you feel relaxed and happy.

Furthermore, it also saves you time, as you don’t have to indulge in other fitness activities if you choose not to.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control suggests that each adult should indulge in moderate physical activities for a minimum of 22 minutes per day, if they wish to remain healthy and strong.

Ironically, less than half the population is able to meet this requirement.

In fact, a survey by the American Public Transportation Association and the Victoria Transport Policy Institute concluded that individuals who used public transport were able to meet required fitness levels, as they moved between transit stations and their stops.

Active.com also conducted a similar study, which was spearheaded by scientists from the University of Pittsburgh.

In this study it was found that overweight individuals, who walked for half an hour to one hour everyday, succeeded in losing excess weight, without dieting.

There was yet another survey, which revealed that people who walk an average of four hours a week would gain around nine pounds less, as they aged as compared to those who lead a sedentary lifestyle.

Therefore, all you need to do is include walking in your everyday schedule. If you live close to a public transit system, which you can use to travel to your workplace, try it out for a week and feel the difference.

If you do not have access to public transit, once you arrive home from work, take a quick walk around the block before you enter your house.

This way you will avoid skipping the routine, once you enter the comfort of your home and lethargy sets in. Repeat this everyday so you get use to the routine.

Once you initiate this process, make sure to make it a part of your daily schedule to stay fit and healthy.

Therefore, start using your car less. If you have a business meeting, which is not far from your office, leave early and walk to the meeting.

If you need to take a cab to a meeting, ask to be dropped off a few blocks away and walk the rest of the way to your appointment.

If you dine out for lunch, take a walk to the restaurant. Do whatever you can to be more active. Take your dog out for an extra walk, pace while you’re on the phone and march on-the-spot during TV commercials.

Gyms can be intimidating if you are just starting to get active. Use your natural environment to walk; like your home, backyard, your neighborhood streets, school track or a park.

If you are cooking or baking, while you are waiting for a pot to boil or muffins to finish baking, go outside or go onto your balcony and do five minutes of jumping jacks.

After dinner with your family, go outside and shoot hoops or play tag with your children. Another activity to do after dinner is to go for a regular, neighbourhood walk with a friend.

This is a great way to chat and relax with someone, while doing some gentle exercise.

A really enjoyable way to spend 10 minutes is to put on your favourite music and dance around the house.

You will feel happy and uplifted after doing this. If you find your household chores boring, why not put on your favourite music and sing along while you iron, vacuum, dust or clean your windows.

Gardening is therapeutic and a great way to do a new activity. You can weed, rake up the leaves, or plant some new flowers.

Instead of taking your car to the car wash, wash it yourself – all you need is a bucket of water, sponge, cloth and some cleaning fluid. It will not take long, and you will not even realize you are exercising.

If you are thinking of how to get fit, why not try volunteering?

You could help out at a retirement home, collect trash along the ocean’s shore, walk shelter dogs, serve food at a homeless shelter, build homes for the less fortunate, or do garden work at a city park.

Volunteering is a great new activity, and you will enjoy helping others.

You may also consider purchasing dvds, books, magazines or using Pinterest, Instagram or a Fitness app for ideas, and workouts, you can perform in the privacy of your home.

Get creative and use your own body weight to perform pushups, planks, squats and tricep dips. Use your wall, couch or chair for exercises you can do right in your home.

Bodyweight exercises burn more calories than using fitness equipment because you’re using more muscles.

Use soup cans to strengthen your arms or clean the garage, so you engage large muscles. Shovel the snow or fill your backpack with books and head out for a walk.

Based on the workout, you want to engage in, you could also purchase inexpensive equipment such as dumbbells, kettlebells, ropes, balls and bands.

There are many fun ways to enjoy exercise, and over time you can diversify the activities you engage in.

Some fun ways to exercise include; roller blading, water aerobics, juggling, belly dancing, pole dancing, hiking, tennis, basketball, rock climbing, walking on the beach, rowing, ice skating, paintball, skiing, trampolining or playing video fitness games.

Others options include; utilizing built in training stations at a local park, monkey bars at a local school playground, frisbee, hula hoop, volleyball, cycling to visiting your local skateboard park.

Also don’t forget that TV and YouTube are sources of free fitness classes, such as Zumba, Yoga and Pilates.

When exercising, you are building lean muscle. When building lean muscle, it increases your metabolism and ensures you are burning more calories every day.

When you first start exercising you will build muscle and lose fat. You will not see much of a difference on the scale because muscle is heavier than fat.

Make sure you are breathing properly – when you breathe deeply you actually burn more calories, and tone your abs, while actively using your stomach muscles throughout the day.

There are many fun exercises you can do. Exercising will become fun instead of a chore.

Remember to always consult with your doctor before you engage in any form of fitness.

Discover how you can successfully increase and maintain your fitness levels.

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