In today’s fast-paced world, our daily lives are often filled to the brim with commitments, activities and obligations. Some days, you just can’t make it to the gym. But it’s still important to stay on track with your fitness routine, so that you don’t get into the habit of not working out. In order to maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle, you have to work out on a regular basis. Thankfully, there are a variety of high calorie-burning exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home. Here are a few to get you started:
• Climb the stairs — Turn your staircase into a homemade stair climber and hit the stairs for 15 or 20 minutes. Stair climbing is a high intensity workout that burns calories and increases your heart rate. Add in household chores to make the activity more challenging, such as carrying a basket of laundry upstairs. When you climb stairs in the comfort of your own home, you don’t have to wait in line for someone to finish working out on the stair climber like you would at the gym.
• Squats — If you don’t have time to go to the gym, then you probably don’t have time to jog outside or go for walk, either. Squat thrusts are a great way to burn calories and fit in quick intense workout at the same time. Whether in the kitchen or the living room, stand with your legs shoulder width apart and bend down at the knees. Make sure to keep your back straight and your arms extended out in front of you. Once you are in the squat position, stand up straight again. After about 10 squats, you’ll begin to feel the burn.
• Dancing — Most people don’t realize that dancing is a high calorie-burning activity because they are too busy enjoying the music. But the average person can burn up to 500 calories with just one hour of aggressive dancing. There are a variety of popular dancing DVDs available, such as Hip Hop and other styles. Find one that works best for you and your dancing style. Or, just crank up the stereo and create your own dance moves. It doesn’t matter if it looks good or not, what matters is that you keep moving!
• Free Weights — It’s a good idea for any fitness enthusiast to keep a set of free weights at home, especially when you can’t make it to the gym for a strength-training workout. With a solid free weight routine involving bicep curls, shoulder raises and other types of exercises, you can burn a decent amount of calories and build muscle at the same time. It’s a great way to fit in a quick workout with effective results in your home environment.
Don’t let excuses sabotage your workout. If you can’t make it to the gym, then sneak in a high calorie-burning exercise at home. In addition to the exercises mentioned above, you can also burn calories when cleaning, doing yard work, gardening or tending to home repairs.
