You hop out of bed at 5 a.m. three days each week for a 30-minute jog before work.
You sandwich in an intense strength-training workout with personal trainer Javier during the lunch breaks.
You eat five servings of vegetables each day, always take the stairs and bike with your well-behaved teenagers on the weekends.
Brrrriiiinnnngggg. Brrrriiiinnnngggg. Yes, that was the alarm clock. Wake up to reality.
The chores of life don’t leave much time for personal fitness. But a hectic schedule shouldn’t make keeping in shape any less of a priority and certainly shouldn’t be an excuse to let your health fall by the wayside.
Injecting exercise into your daily grind doesn’t have to entail the lifestyle overhaul of joining a gym and dedicating hours of your week to pumping iron. The key to staying fit in a fast-paced world is to take advantage of calorie-expending opportunities throughout your daily routine.
As the coffee percolates
Tone your upper body with some wall push-ups:
– Stand arm’s length from wall and place your hands on the wall at shoulder height with your palms flat and fingers pointed up.
– Situate your feet shoulder-width apart and point your toes toward the wall.
– Contract your abdominal muscles as you lean forward for a 2-second count until your nose is about 2 inches from the wall.
– Push yourself back into the standing position during another 2-second count. Do three sets of 12 to 15 push-ups.
Driving to work
Mini-ab workout:
– Recline your seat and sit upright without resting on the back of the seat.
– Pulse back and forth, contracting your stomach muscles as you do the mini-sit-ups. Do three sets of 20 pulses.
Sitting at your computer
Tone those thighs with seated leg lifts:
– Sit upright at the edge of your desk chair and lift your foot a few inches off the floor using your thigh muscle. Keep resistance throughout the exercise by not touching your foot to the ground. Mix up the speed and height of the lifts for varied intensity on the leg muscles.
– Pulse the leg at the height of the leg lift to feel the burn. Your boss will never know you’re working out on the company dime. Lift in sets of at least 12 for each leg. Repeat as many as possible throughout the day.
Lunch-hour cardio
Working through your lunch break is equivalent to working for free. Take the 30-minute or hourlong break and get out of the office. Walk 15 minutes down the street to a park bench and enjoy your lunch away from your desk, or head out for a 30-minute stroll and eat at your desk when you get back. Your body breaks down food quicker after exercising. Do at least 15 minutes, but 30 minutes three times each week.
Watching TV
Arm curls with canned goods or books:
– Sit toward the edge of a chair or sofa with your legs shoulder-width apart and feet flat on the floor.
– Hold the can or book in your right hand and lean so that your right elbow rests inside your right thigh, letting your arm hang down between your legs.
– With your palm facing up, slowly lift the makeshift weight toward your right shoulder, hold, then lower to starting position. Do three sets of eight to 12 repetitions for each arm and alternate arms with each set.
On your way to bed
Run or walk up and down the stairs a few times. Or walk up the stairs two at a time for a quick strength-training exercise for the thighs.
The little things count
– Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
– Park farther away in the parking lot.
– Walk downstairs or to the other end of the office to speak with a colleague instead of shooting an e-mail.
– Sit straight up in your desk chair instead of slouching back. The calories you burn to hold your stomach muscles in an upright position add up over time.
– Walk around or do lunges as you talk on the telephone instead of sitting on the couch.
[ COX NEWS SERVICE ]WATCH YOUR CALORIES
Eating 100 fewer calories each day can help you lose 10 pounds within a year.
– Replace the two tablespoons of butter (200 calories) on your baked potato with sour cream, which contains only 100 calories per 1/4 cup. Use a light or fat-free sour cream to cut even more calories.
– Replace a 12-ounce can of soda (150 calories) with a zero-calorie diet option.
– Cut back to the recommended 1 1/2 tablespoons or less of dressing per two cups of salad. Experiment with low-fat and fat-free dressings or mix regular dressing with a low-calorie alternative.
– Back away from the baked goods. One cookie amounts to about 100 calories.
– Limit alcohol intake. A typical 5-ounce glass of wine has 100 calories; a can of beer has 150 calories; and 1 1/2 ounces of distilled spirits, 100 calories.
– Eat half a cup of fresh fruit instead of a half cup of dried fruit with twice the calories.
– Snack on low-calorie Chex mix instead of peanuts. Choose low-fat popcorn or pop your own as an alternative to store-bought kettle or butter flavors.
– Watch those bread servings. Use snack-sized tortillas rather than burrito shells. Eat only half a bagel, because some bagels have four servings of bread. Wheat breads will fill you up and contain fewer calories and more nutrients.
– Drink skim or low-fat milk instead of 2 percent or whole milk.
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