We are in the final countdown to Christmas. Have you finished your holiday shopping? While it may not be in the forefront of your mind, how about incorporating a little bit of exercise into your shopping sprees?
Here are some ideas to make this happen. As you go from store to store, park as far away as you can. Not only do you get in some extra walking but you will be closer to the exits and can get out of the parking lot faster.
If you are shopping at the mall, take extra laps around. Skip the escalators and elevators, take the stairs instead. Again, park further away. Even standing in long lines, you can flex your calve muscles or stand on one foot.
When you are grocery shopping for your Christmas meal, take advantage of opportunities to reach (stretching), squat and lift. Every movement, including pushing the cart and placing your groceries on the conveyer belt burns calories. Is it much? Not really. But it’s something and something is better than nothing.
When you get home, don’t ask for help unloading the bags. Bring them in yourself, taking a bag or two at a time which may lead to extra trips. Unloading and putting groceries away is another small way to burn some calories.
And remember, although you are busy in these final days of preparations you don’t have to put exercise at the bottom of your list. Even if you just make time for 10 minutes of walking you are at least doing something.
You can even break up your exercise throughout the day. Do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon and 10 minutes in the evening. The morning might be jogging in place, the afternoon taking a walk and the evening lifting weights.
You might be busy but you can still make time for exercise if you are creative.
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Photo by pintong in Flickr