Exercise without Working Out

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

15 Apr 2006 07:02 AM

A lot of us would rather get our exercise in without the physical grind of working out every day. Treadmills, stationary bicycles and elliptical machines get us moving, but we're going nowhere. Lifting weights can build muscle, but we aren't getting anything done. Doing stretching can increase our flexibility, but we aren't producing anything with our labor.

That's the key. As busy as we all are, sometimes as much as we want to be physically fit, our physical fitness isn't enough of a product to justify the labor-intensive activities. So if you're looking for a way to improve your fitness, to shed pounds or just to feel better about life - can you do it without a daily workout program?

Well, there is some research that indicates that you and I both can. It involves not using some of our labor saving devices that have become such a regular part of our lives in the last fifty years.

Among the labor saving devices to get rid of - you should forgo using the dishwasher, the dryer and sometimes the car. Essentially, everything that can get you moving from gardening to sex to walking to the store can be effective in providing enormous health benefits without sweating your brains out on some machine.

For example, walking your dog every day can add up to 2,000 steps to your every day routines. Consider this in an opportunity to go back to the old way of doing things and putting yourself more in touch with your choices in daily life instead of a daily hour of punishment.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy exercising - but the following ideas are not bad and may make excellent substitutes to an overall lifestyle change. Here are some suggestions:

• Walk up stairs and avoid escalators and elevators.
• Walk to the grocery store (especially if it's within a 1 to 2 mile distance
• If driving to a store, park as far away as possible and walk to the entrance
• Walk the dog once or twice a day
• Scrub the floor, skip the mop
• Sweep the floors daily, sweep the porch front and back, daily
• Mow the lawn
• Plant & Tend a garden - whether it is flowers, herbs or vegetables
• Wash your car by hand, skip the car wash or do it for you service
• Play a musical instrument
• Sew - clothing, quilts - focused activity is activity
• Write by hand regularly

These are only some suggestions. While modern men and women have enormous conveniences at their disposal - the days of Donna Reed spent their time walking the equivalent of three to five miles a day because they did a lot of the work themselves.

To Be Continued

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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