What do you do away from the gym to burn calories?
Posted
Sep 07 08 8:36pm
Today I read a really interesting article on how a 4 day work week could totally change the physical and financial health of North Americans. The environmental impact would be staggering, but the health and physical wellness of regular people could improve dramatically as well. I work in cubicle land, and the thought of commuting to work and how we spend our week days really got me thinking about how this applies to people's weight loss goals.
Everyone wants to lose, at least they claim they do, but so few people make the necessary lifestyle changes to improve their body composition. The average person wakes up, may have a light breakfast, then hops in the car and drives to work. The average commute is about 25 minutes, sitting the entire time. Then the worker walks to the elevator, is lifted to their floor, walks to their desk, sits down and does not get up again until lunch. At lunch this person walks all of 20 steps over to the lunch room and sits down to eat. After lunch, it's back to the desk until the work day is over, then back down the elevator, into the car, and sitting in traffic again. Once home, this person usually has to snack and sit on the couch for a bit. If, and I do mean if, they chose it exercise, it is usually a choice between walking or using the stationary bike. Later that evening is dinner and more sitting in front of the couch before bedtime.
AND YOU WONDER WHY YOU CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT! You haven't done anything! Think of your ancestors only a few generations ago. They walked to work, worked a tough manual labour job, and then walked back home. In the evening they might have sat and relaxed but most likely they had chores to do because of a lack of appliances and entertainment. They didn't need to exercise because they had an active lifestyle and were not fat! My great grandpa was a long shore-man in Boston. He would walk a few miles to work, lug giant crates all day and walk back. All his shopping and recreation was done within the walking distance because he didn't have a car. My father, who was a butcher as a young lad, tells me he never could beat his grandpa in an arm wrestling match. The old bugger was stronger than a young man in his prime at the age of 67!
Are you trying to lose weight? Well, what are you doing about it? First off, do you even exercise? If so, that is great, but I can pretty much guarantee you that your lifestyle is still sedentary by traditional standards. To reach your fitness goals you need to do more than just exercise for 30 minutes a day. You need to have an active lifestlye.
Here are some ideas:
Walk or bike to work
If you are young, get a manual labour job
On your lunch break, go for a walk or if possible hit the gym
After work, always exercise
On weekends, make sure to get out into the fresh air and get some vigorous activity in
Read some of my other posts on diet to make sure you are eating right
Stop drinking Starbucks weight gain shakes! This one gets me going, girls at work pounding back weight gainer (tasty coffee) like they are going out of style. What are they thinking?!
Eat while you work, exercise on your break
Find a work exercise buddy and think up ideas to sneak in exercise
Park far from your office
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
These are just a few ideas to get you started, but the point is a little bit of exercise after a day of sitting on your bum is not enough. You need to find other ways to be active and burn calories throughout the day. A bunch of mini-workouts will really add up over time!
Today I read a really interesting article on how a 4 day work week could totally change the physical and financial health of North Americans. The environmental impact would be staggering, but the health and physical wellness of regular people could improve dramatically as well. I work in cubicle land, and the thought of commuting to work and how we spend our week days really got me thinking about how this applies to people's weight loss goals.
Everyone wants to lose, at least they claim they do, but so few people make the necessary lifestyle changes to improve their body composition. The average person wakes up, may have a light breakfast, then hops in the car and drives to work. The average commute is about 25 minutes, sitting the entire time. Then the worker walks to the elevator, is lifted to their floor, walks to their desk, sits down and does not get up again until lunch. At lunch this person walks all of 20 steps over to the lunch room and sits down to eat. After lunch, it's back to the desk until the work day is over, then back down the elevator, into the car, and sitting in traffic again. Once home, this person usually has to snack and sit on the couch for a bit. If, and I do mean if, they chose it exercise, it is usually a choice between walking or using the stationary bike. Later that evening is dinner and more sitting in front of the couch before bedtime.
AND YOU WONDER WHY YOU CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT! You haven't done anything! Think of your ancestors only a few generations ago. They walked to work, worked a tough manual labour job, and then walked back home. In the evening they might have sat and relaxed but most likely they had chores to do because of a lack of appliances and entertainment. They didn't need to exercise because they had an active lifestyle and were not fat! My great grandpa was a long shore-man in Boston. He would walk a few miles to work, lug giant crates all day and walk back. All his shopping and recreation was done within the walking distance because he didn't have a car. My father, who was a butcher as a young lad, tells me he never could beat his grandpa in an arm wrestling match. The old bugger was stronger than a young man in his prime at the age of 67!
Are you trying to lose weight? Well, what are you doing about it? First off, do you even exercise? If so, that is great, but I can pretty much guarantee you that your lifestyle is still sedentary by traditional standards. To reach your fitness goals you need to do more than just exercise for 30 minutes a day. You need to have an active lifestlye.
Here are some ideas:
These are just a few ideas to get you started, but the point is a little bit of exercise after a day of sitting on your bum is not enough. You need to find other ways to be active and burn calories throughout the day. A bunch of mini-workouts will really add up over time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBYaFmUJwEY