Burn Big Calories In Little Ways

[jules_d1]

BURN BIG CALORIES IN LITTLE WAYS
By Julian Gaylor (B App. Sci Human Movement)

It seems in this day and age of calorie counting, everyone is looking for the easiest way to burn more and eat less. We know that taking a fitness class or doing your own workout in the gym is going to help you burn calories, but what about outside the gym?

Here are a few tips to try during the day to increase you total calorie expenditure.

- IF YOU CAN WALK IT, DO IT.
I'm sure you're now bored with being told to take the stairs instead of the elevator but it's still a fair point. Here's a few other ways to get in some more walking all while doing daily tasks.
1. Walk to work- If you are less than a 15-20 min walk away from work, try walking. By the time you arrive at work, you will be wide awake and the day won?t drag on like it would if you stumble into your car and then your chair at work while still half asleep. Chances are you will be more energetic and productive than your work colleagues which can?t be bad for job satisfaction and it surely won?t hurt your chances for promotion. Also don?t forget the hundreds or even thousands you will save by not using the car.

2. Park at the end of the car park- When you go to the supermarket, park the car at the opposite end of the car park. I promise you won?t have to fight for a park and that little extra distance of walking to the store and pushing the trolley back to the car will burn a couple extra calories. If you wanted to be a nice person, you?d push the empty trolley back to the store also!

3. Don't email a work colleague- If you need to discuss something with a work colleague, walk to his/her desk and talk directly. It?s more personal and in most cases, the topic will actually be resolved quicker than the time it takes to send 10 emails back and forth to fully explain yourself. You get your answer quicker and at the same time burning more calories?.good deal.

- MAKE TV WATCHING A WORKOUT
I picked up this idea a while back when reading another article so I cannot take all the credit for it but let me put my own spin on it. Instead of being a couch potato, turn watching TV into a fun and sometimes hilariously frustrating workout. When watching a show, make up some rules that state you must exercise when a certain event happens in a show. Here are some ideas. You must do 15 push ups when:
- News: There is a positive story on the news (Easy workout sadly)
- Simpsons: When Homer says or does something stupid.
- Rove: When Rove tries to say something funny... but it isn't.
- CSI: When Horatio puts his hands on his hips.
- Any Reality/Game show: When they stall on revealing the answer/winner/evictee.
- Any drama: When there is a close up of someone's face with suspenseful music.
- The biggest loser/ Idol: Any time the word 'journey' is said (impossible workout!)
That's just a few, choose your favourite show and make your own.



- TAKE UP A HOBBY
Taking up a hobby can be beneficial in so many ways. First and foremost, pretty much all hobbies will cause you to be more active. Activities such as bushwalking, gardening, building something or even doing a jigsaw puzzle are going to burn more calories than sitting in front of the TV. Not only will you burn more calories while undertaking a hobby, you will also eat less. As I've stated in previous articles, most binge eating occurs when you are bored. When your mind is focused on something, you don't think of eating so much, so not only will you be burning more calories, you'll be eating less and you might even end up with a new wobbly coffee table too!

- DRINK AWAY THE CALORIES
Drinking more water during the day will help burn more calories in a few ways. The more hydrated you are, the faster your metabolism will be, which ultimately burn more calories. When dehydrated, we are usually lethargic and not as productive. Therefore you will probably be more active during the day when drinking more water. If you wanted to take it to extremes, it would be fair to say that those extra trips to the bathroom because you are drinking more water than usual will also burn extra calories! Every little bit counts!

Don?t forget that water will also keep hunger at bay so you will probably be eating less as well.

- SIT ON A FITBALL
OK, so we've all seen people sitting on fitballs at their desk in TV shows, films and infomercials and rolled our eyes. It may seem a little dorky but given their benefits, one might say it's so uncool that it?s cool. When you sit on the ball, your core muscles are constantly firing and contracting to keep you upright. This means you are burning more calories than you would be if you were slouched down in your incorrectly sized posture killing desk chair. Not only are you burning more calories, you are also improving core strength and working on your posture.

OK, if you are not ready to bring the ball to the workplace, at least get one to sit on at home while watching TV. You could even use it at the kitchen table if you are confident you can avoid falling off and ending up with dinner all over you!

[MuscleCoach]

Nice article thank you!

[Bigrob45]

Like the article, just one thing to point out.

Sitting on a fit ball while watching tv is good, but the time should be progressive. For example, I wouldnt recommend that anyone who doesn't have the stability in their core to watch tv for a couple hours on a stability ball for the first time. For the first couple times it would be best to stay seated on the stability ball no longer than a half hour at a time, while constantly ensuring that your posture is correct. After a week or two, then progress to an hour and so forth. If someone who doesn't have the stability or endurance strength to sit on the ball for long periods of time, it will become counter-productive.

[TheCEL]

Nice article man!
I like the tv idea.. haha
Homer...

Anyways wearing some ankle weights and a weight vest always seems to do the trick for me. Just going out shoppin or doing those hobbies with them on.

And Getting in some coffee before workouts. Go CRAZY SON!

Anyways again.

Great read

[tkxii]

this isn't easy at all, except for drinking water. Burning all these calories will get you very hungry. For me it does anyway. If i have access to food therefore, i'll eat it. But i think that's a bit excessive, like doing 15 pushups for some protocol. I'd just stimulate my metabolism in the morning by going for a run or seomthing in stead, or lifting weights is enough for me. But who knows, when my metabolism slows down in the fiture, i might consider this.

[enYgma702]

I like the stability ball idea! I might try that sometime! Thanks!

[adam247]

Don't over eat in the first place, as far as energy and economic efficiency it is a waste of money, time and energy ; )

[scott_lycan]

Ankle weighgt worked good for me last cut, working at a department store noone could notice them under my work pants. helped be burn a bit extra of the flabby stuff IMO

[WaynePD]

Thank you! TV idea is brilliant +repped.

[taxsux]

Brb.. refilling water bawtel..

[Elvis.Costello]

Thank you! TV idea is brilliant +repped.

x2 The remark about Idol/Biggest Loser made me laugh...extremely true.

[aspenwhite]

nice article!