WE all want to keep active and look good without having to slog away at the gym.
Thankfully, two personal trainers have revealed seven simple exercises that will help you burn off calories easily — some of which you may already be doing.
According to PT, Eliza Flynn, you don't need to go to the gym or squeeze in a workout to burn calories and lose weight.
In fact, you burn calories each day, just by doing everyday things.
"Even things such as digesting food or standing burns calories. You are even burning calories while you sleep," she explained.
This sort of minimal effort exercise is called NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).
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"NEAT refers to refers to the energy expended for everything which is not related to sleeping, eating, or exercising. So, for example, the energy you expend while brushing your teeth," Eliza said.
“By increasing your NEAT, you can burn more calories each day. And it all adds up quickly," she added.
Here we take a look at the seven moves you can include into your routine each day without the gym or equipment.
1. Washing up
According to the PTs, a mere 20 minutes of doing the washing up while standing up, burns an estimated 44 calories on average.
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"To increase this, be more vigorous with your washing up and do more of it," they advised.
2. Carrying and storing shopping
"The next time you head to the shops, know that if you are taking 20 minutes to walk back to your house and put the groceries away, you will be burning 61 calories," they said.
To increase this, the PTs advise carrying heavier bags and putting things away which require you to stand on a stool.
3. Cooking and preparing food
You might be tempted to do more cooking which involves chopping up veg and herbs for 20 minutes, when you know you can burn 49 calories, they explained.
"If there is more hard work involved, such as filling several heavy pots with water, or whipping cream by hand, this increases the number of calories burnt to 86," they added.
4. Cleaning the house
Guru Anthony Mayatt, said that general housework or even a good clean can help burn a lot of calories.
"Hoovering, ironing, hanging clothes get your body moving and helps staying active at home.
"So do not see it as a chore, see it as a way to get that extra burn.
"At the end, your body will thank you and so will your clean house," he said.
5. Gardening
Green-fingered people burn a lot of calories taking care of their garden.
The PTs said that planting fruit and vegetable seeds or plants for 20 minutes burns 105 calories.
"Even pottering about the garden or even your house, watering the plants for 20 minutes burns 37 calories. The more you do in your garden, the more calories you burn!
6. Walking to work
“Since Covid started, I think more people have tried to avoid public transport and walk a bit more.
Whether cycling in a gym or on the street is still a workout no matter the location
Lockdown has allowed us to appreciate getting outside for our daily activity, so a lot of people go into the office by walking or cycling, rather than just jumping on a train or bus.
"Whether cycling in a gym or on the street is still a workout no matter the location," Anthony explained.
7. Sightseeing
Have you ever thought about how much you are burning and walking when simply doing something like sightseeing on a day out around walking around your town?
"In London, some days you could be walking 25-30,000 steps, without realising it because you are taking in the sights of the city.
"You can burn up to 150 calories every 30 minutes of walking," the PTs explained.
How to maintain your exercise regime
It may be easy to pick up these habits, but incorporate more exercise into our routines can be a bit of a challenge.
Anthony said the key to maintaining a work-out regime is enjoyment and convenience.
"Going back to lockdown, exercise became so accessible due to zoom sessions, home workout equipment, park runs etc so there are so many things you can be doing that do not involve paying a gym membership," he said.
“This is where enjoyment is so vital to getting it into your daily routine. If you enjoy what you are doing, then you are more likely do it over again."
Whether this involves meeting friends after work to play football or a group activity such as a boot camp or a fitness class, the trick is finding something we enjoy doing, he explained.
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He added: “The internet is home to millions of workouts of all types, use enjoyment as your focus and find the types of exercise that work for you.
"Joining online social groups and sharing what you have done and sharing and receiving workout tips is a good way not feeling alone in your exercise journey away from the weights room and treadmill," he explained.
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