11 Ways to Sneak in (Fun) Exercise

Did you know that a major part of achieving good health, mental clarity, stress reduction, better sleep, a smaller waist, and longevity is through activity? This is especially true with exercise. Sounds like a win-win to us.

Not everyone loves to exercise, especially when that brings up images of people walking on a treadmill and going nowhere. So, we’ve come up with ELEVEN great ideas on how to sneak in exercise in a more creative and fun way. You may already be burning those calories without even knowing it. See, you do like to exercise ;).

1. Fidget – You can burn up to 350 extra calories a day just by toe-tapping, crossing and uncrossing your legs, moving around in your seat, walking while on the phone, or drumming on the table.

2. Host a dinner party – Grocery shopping, cooking, setting the table, and serving it up will keep you on your feet for hours and have you burning an additional 300-600 calories. Enjoy the evening with one glass of champagne (110 calories for 5 oz.). After all, we’re all about balance. Sometimes it’s too easy to drink several hundred calories – be mindful!

3. Go window-shopping – Hit the mall and check out the goods. You’re not obligated to buy anything, but you can make a mental wish list. With this activity, you’re on you’re feet and moving!

4. Go to the amusement park or local fair – Who knew that a day of standing in lines and walking around could burn up to 600 calories? Just don’t negate it with funnel cakes and deep-fried candy bars… but a bite or two can’t hurt.

5. Grab some friends and hit the park for a game of pick-up basketball or flag football –  One of our favorite ways to sneak in exercise, especially when the weather outside is beautiful. Spur of the moment sports games are so much fun! No prior experience is needed. Gather around with family or friends.

6. Take a hike – When the weather is good, head for the hills to see the blooming flowers. A 2-hour hike can burn up to 500 calories. Don’t forget the water and sunscreen. Please, please, please drink water! Heat exhaustion is dangerous!

7. Spring cleaning – Did you skip over spring cleaning this year? Maybe it’s time to give the whole house a good cleaning, including the garage. This size of a project is best broken into more manageable chunks, so plan to do it over 1-2 weekends.

8. Sign up for a 5K or 10K race – Giving yourself a goal and training for it will really ramp up your calorie burn and loosen up those jeans! It’s important to train safely, however, so you don’t pull any muscles. Start here with a beginner’s guide.

9. Try out a new exercise – There are so many fun varieties of exercises: kickboxing, turbo jam, boot camp, Zumba, pilates, yoga. There are so many great websites, like Beachbody and the Daily Burn that offer workouts that you can do in the comfort of your own home. If you want to opt for a free version, check out YouTube. There are SO many home workout videos of all kinds – just type in what you’re looking for and voila!

10. Break up your workout into a few “mini” workouts throughout the day – Check out all of the great videos we have on our YouTube channel. Of course, we think our workouts are the best and easy to follow! Do one or two of them a day for 5-10 minutes each. There are a lot of great channels, though.

11. At the office, take a 5-minute walk at the top of every hour – If you work a typical 8-hour day, that adds up to 40 minutes of exercise! Wow, that’s pretty good. If you have an Apple Watch or a step-tracker on your phone, it will be cool to see if you hit your 10,000 steps!

Let us know how you like these 11 sneaky (but fun) ways to sneak in exercise! Comment below if you have any other ideas.