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We can have the best intentions when it comes to staying in shape, but sometimes life just gets in the way. Whether it’s work, family, or friend obligations, life has a way of setting up roadblocks between you and your fitness goals. The great thing about staying healthy, is that you can make strides with the smallest of changes. Give these 7 practices a try to help burn some extra energy without too much extra effort.
Get Moving First Thing
Even if you don’t have time to get to the gym before work, try to squeeze in a quick burst activity to get your day started. Just 10 minutes of tried and true exercises like squats, jumping jacks, crunches, and push ups can help stoke your metabolism all day long. By getting the body moving early, you ensure that you’re burning calories all day long.
Stay Cool
Keep your home on the cooler side. This simple habit can increase your brown body fat by up to 40%. Plus, when activated by cold temperatures, brown body fat burns calories to keep your body warm, even if you’re just sitting around.
Use Your Phone to Get Yourself Moving
Have your phone remind you to get up and moving every hour. Without some kind of prompting, it’s all too easy to say seated at your desk for hours on end. You don’t need to do much, but even just taking a quick walk around the office or a break to grab water helps your body burn more calories.
5 More Minutes
Whether you’re surfing, working out, or going for a walk around the block, keep going for an extra 5 minutes. Take the long way home for the grocery store, or throw an extra quarter in the meter so you can surf just a bit longer than your average session. A couple more minutes of activity won’t drastically affect your schedule, but you can burn a couple extra calories.
Follow the “1 by 10” Rule
Make an effort to get your heart rate up for 1 minute spurts at least 10 times per day. Take the stairs. Carry your grocery bags in from the car one by one. Do a quick series of squats. Whatever you can think of, just squeeze in quick 1 minute bursts of activity 10 times per day, and you’ll burn significantly more calories throughout the day.
Add Strength Training
A lot of people focus exclusively on cardio if they’re trying to burn more calories, but strength training has been shown to help you make strides as well. Building muscle tone helps you burn more calories throughout the day, even if you’re not especially active.
Sprint it Out
Whether you’re running, biking, or surfing, we all have a tendency to fade as the activity goes on. Instead of winding down your session or run slowly, escalate toward the end. Sprint the last 50 yards, go all out catching waves for the last 10 minutes, or finish your ride with an intense hill climb. Pushing your body at the end uses up any extra gas you had left in the tank, and it will help your body keep burning calories the rest of the day.
