Sneak in a Workout

“Sneak in a workout” is what my husband says when he wants to run to the gym for an hour or three and work out and play basketball.  While I’m not always a fan of the length of time he spends at the gym, I am a fan of the concept of “sneaking in a workout”.  In addition to the fact that I hate working out, I never find the time to add it into my schedule.  I like the idea of sneaking a workout past the part of me that hates to workout and I like the idea of sneaking the workout into the schedule, all subtle, like.  Here’s what I mean.

sneakinaworkout1.  Go for a “Nature Walk” with your kids

I can get myself to do almost anything if it is fun for my kids.  This weekend, we hiked up a small-ish local hill.  I packed a little picnic, brought my camera along and the kids had a blast.  Guess what?  I burned about 450 calories on that walk.  And I really enjoyed it, too.  And I practiced with my new camera.  It was like a festival of multi-tasking.

naturewalk         naturewalk2

 

2.  Play on your kids stuff.

Do your kids have a trampoline in the yard?  A swing?  A basketball hoop?  Play with that!  With them.  We just got a big 12ft. trampoline for the kids and I love it so much!  Play Simon Says with your kids in the trampoline and tell me you aren’t out of breath after 15 minutes.  And you will have burned about 50 calories.  20 minutes shooting hoops is about 100 calories.  Swinging doesn’t burn a ton of calories, but it’s better than sitting on a bench while the kids run around.  And speaking of sitting on a bench, when you’re watching your kids baseball, soccer, lacrosse, etc, games, walk around the field while you’re spectating.  Enlist some of the other moms to walk with you.

3. Keep your sneakers in your car.

For the working moms like me out there, this one is great.  Now that the weather is warming up, I bring my sneakers to work with me.  The perimeter of the parking lot of the building I work in is a half mile.  When I’m ready for a break at work, I can throw on my sneakers and hoof it around the parking lot a couple of times.  I can easily trick myself into a light workout if it means I get 20 minutes away from my desk during a stressful day.

I’d love to hear how you work working out into your routine!

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