Fitness
The Top Eight Ways to Keep Fit at Home
Everyone knows how important it is to keep fit. There are a whole host of benefits, including improved circulation, sleeping better, reducing the risk of illness to simply feeling better in general. Unfortunately, not everyone has the motivation to keep active, and with the recession still tightening purse-strings, getting the funds together for a gym membership can be difficult. We’ve compiled eight top tips to help you keep fit at home, at a fraction of the price.
1. – Turn Chores Into Exercise
Maybe you think of exercise as a chore. This tip won’t help that, but it can change things around a bit by turning chores into exercise. One example is lifting – when you’re taking out the heavy-laden bins at the end of the week, try doing a few sets of lifts with the bags before leaving the kitchen! It’s simple and takes no time at all.
2. – Keep Active While Doing Other Things
Just because you’re watching TV, you don’t have to laze about on the sofa. Try some stretches while you sit on the floor, or do a few sit-ups during the adverts. Perhaps do some star jumps as you wait for the kettle to boil, or walk on the spot whilst washing up – it may seem silly at first, but those few minutes’ exercises can really burn calories.
3. – Walk
As simple as it may seem, most people just do not walk enough. Get off the bus or train a stop early and walk the rest of the way to work, or enjoy your local scenery in the evening. Just get out there and walk!
4. – Exercise Games
The Wii has become almost ubiquitous, so it’s easy to overlook how useful it can be for exercise. Wii Sports and Wii Fit are both excellent heart-pumpers (the latter coming with balance board and dedicated fitness tracking), but both the PlayStation and Xbox 360 have exercise alternatives too, especially with the Move and Kinect respectively. Or try dancing, with Dance Central, Just Dance, or even Dance Dance Revolution – fitness can be fun!
Another obvious one, but switching a Mars bar for a banana after work can have a surprisingly positive impact.
6. – Home Gym
Whilst this method is slightly more expensive, you can still get a set of weights for less than a month’s gym membership, or an exercise bike for less than two. The best way to do this is by setting up a dedicated workout space, whether in the dining room or the shed so that you still feel motivated when you get to it.
7. – Fitness DVDs
Fitness videos are back in fashion again! For less than £10 you can find a plethora of different workouts, suitable for all tastes. Just turn it on and work up a sweat, all in the comfort of your living room.
8. – Jump Around
This one sounds the strangest – at least until you try it. Jump around, nothing more, nothing less. If you’ve got a bit of spare energy just hop, jump and run around the house! It’s easy, and it’s surprisingly fun!
