subject: Making Exercise Count! [print this page] Making Exercise Count! Making Exercise Count!
Fitness is a must for a healthy life and to maintain a lean body. However, many people have a tough time finding time for exercise or they just plain don't like exercise. So how can you get the most benefit from exercise if you don't like to do it? You get creative of course!
Exercise doesn't mean doing 50 crunches or run five miles every other day. You can keep your body healthy and lean with any type of exercise as long as you do it! You just need to remember two things get your heart rate up and use resistance!
Heart rate. We have all heard about the benefits of aerobic exercise. But many people still have the impression of women in leotards and leg warmers in an aerobics class. This is not the only meaning of aerobic exercise! The dictionary.com definition of aerobic is: 1. requiring the presence of air or free oxygen for life. 2. pertaining to or caused by the presence of oxygen. So, basically aerobic means with oxygen'. So when you are doing aerobic exercise you are improving how your bodies oxygen system works. Your heart and lungs learn to work more efficiently as well as your metabolism. As a result you will burn more fat, your heart and lungs will be healthier and your metabolism will operate properly.
You don't have to do traditional aerobic exercise to raise your heart rate. Find something you love to do. Go for a brisk walk or dance around the house to your favorite music. Even household chores can be aerobic! Have you ever felt winded after scrubbing the tub or mopping the floor? If you get your heart rate up doing these activities you are getting a little bit of aerobic exercise.
Probably one of the best ways to raise your heart rate around the house is yard work. Pulling weeds and working the soil are great ways to break a sweat and raise your heart rate. When you mow the lawn, use a push mower and turn the self propelled option off. You will be surprised at the workout you get!
Resistance. Resistance means to do an exercise that your muscles have to work. Weight lifting is a form of resistance exercise. When you do resistance exercise you are forcing your muscles to work harder. This helps to build muscle mass and good muscle mass is important for two reasons. First, muscle burns calories at a higher rate than fat. So when you have lean muscle mass you are actually burning calories as you rest! Also, muscle helps to strengthen bones and can help prevent diseases such as osteoporosis.
You can build muscle using the traditional methods of weight training and using resistance bands. Or you can get creative and find ways to build muscle throughout your day doing ordinary things. For instance, a great way to build strong abdominal muscles is to use a shovel and dig a hole to the side of your body and throw the dirt to the other side of your body. Put the dirt back into the hole to work the other side. The twisting motion with the added weight of the soil helps to work your abdominals very well. The men who fed the coal into the boilers of steam engines had well developed abs and it wasn't from crunches! It was the twisting and lifting they did for their job!
Take a minute every day to do standing pushups against a wall. Facing the wall put your feet shoulder width apart and about two feet from the wall. Then plant your hands on the wall and push away and let yourself slowly back to the wall. This is a great way to work your upper body and help you get strong enough to do real pushups!
If you think about it, there are many ways you can fit exercise into your daily routine. Even if you hate exercise, you can find a way to make it work for you. Just think creatively!
