Day 18: Burn More Calories With Micro-Exercise | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon
Welcome to Day 18 of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon.
All tasks in the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon are adapted from my 52 Weight Loss Missions program.
Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to think about them and take action. Ready?
What You Need:
- A willingness to move it, move it.
Step 1
Doing your weekly 30 x 3 exercise sessions from Day 5 is great – it raises your heart rate, gets you sweating, and can burn lots of calories.
But there are many ways you can get micro-exercise into your day, too. Some people call it incidental exercise. I like to think of it as lifestyle exercise – something that becomes part of your lifestyle.
Each nugget of micro-exercise can seem tiny – and it’s good to think that way, so you’ll feel inclined to do one every chance you get.
But the benefits aren’t so tiny. Not only do the weight-loss calories add up, but by taking opportunities to move, you form a habit of moving.
So as a first step, open your mind to the ways you can add micro-exercise to your life. They don’t take a lot of effort, but they can add up to a lot of calories, taken together and over time.
Step 2
Next, let’s consider the myriad ways you can add micro-exercise to your daily life. Here are some:
- Take stairs rather than escalators or elevators (There are so stairs in your building – find them!)
- Don’t use remotes – get up and press the buttons
- Go talk to your colleagues rather than emailing them (bonus: you may save time on back-and-forth emails)
- Walk to work
- Walk the kids to school
- Wherever you go, move a little faster and more energetically
- Get off the train or bus one stop earlier and walk
- Park farther away (from the restaurant, shops, appointment) so you have to walk (bonus: parking may be easier at a distance)
- If at a dinner party, help to carry dishes to and from the table
- Put a bike or treadmill in front of the TV and move while you watch
- Do sit-ups or push-ups during ad breaks
- If you tend to have inactive weekends, make a project of doing chores, repairs or other household tasks
- Walk, cycle or run to the library, to pick up the kids, do errands, etc.
- Walk around the house while on the phone
- Play a game outside with the kids
- Take the (neighbor’s) dog for a walk
- Stop asking the kids/your spouse/your PA to pass you things, get something from over there, pick you up a coffee or go out to get your lunch – it’s annoying to them, and it denies you the chance to burn calories
- Put more energy into the housework – vacuum, hang laundry or dust with vigor
- Put more energy into the yard work – I don’t really know what goes on out there, but do it with a good posture and sense of speedy purpose
- Put more energy into your, um, love life – do it more often or with more sprightliness
- Wash the car faster and more energetically
- Do some gardening – the kind where you have to cart stuff around, dig holes, squat, wheel wheelbarrows and such; pruning bonsai doesn’t count
- Switch from passive to active family time – instead of watching movies or playing computer games, go for a bushwalk, play in the park, ride bikes together, or play fitness-based console games.
Hint: Use a pedometer for extra motivation.
There’s something about tracking anything that makes you want to do better at it. Using a pedometer can help motivate you to take extra steps throughout your day. So if you’re looking for incentive to move more in your daily life, it’s worth a try.
Step 3
Choose at least three forms of micro-exercise, from my list or add your own, that you’ll commit to doing as a new habit.
What will you do for your micro-exercise?
Check in!
And you’re done!
Be sure to leave your comment below to check in and stay accountable. If you’re reading this by email or in a reader then please click here to leave your comment.
See you tomorrow!
After living in the same house for 12 years, it’s time for a real Spring Cleaning, I mean washing walls, yuk. I’m breaking it into small jobs, that take longer than 10 mins but less than an hour usually. It’s amazing how many calories myfitnesspal says that burns up. Why I can’t stand this, I’m heading outside for the yardwork or my bike…as soon as I get a license from our Police Dept 🙂
my new job has been great for micro-exercise. I walk 15 mins to and from the station to my office, and then up 3 flights of stairs to the top floor. just yesterday we had a new delivery of stock and I went up and down the stairs 5 times! very good for the thighs 🙂
last year when I was doing sessions with a personal trainer I would keep track of my daily steps – I think I should get my pedometer back out for even more motivation to keep moving!
treadmill x 10 mins 3 times per week.
After two years+ of parking closer to the store(s) after two accidents, I’m parking farther away again…at least in the daylight. Found stairs to walk when I’m in town, park up the hill and walk down to lunch, shop, appointments. Adding projects to weekends.
I’m committing to parking farther away, taking the stairs, and doing chores more energetically!
I typically look at this list & think, “I already do most of these things.” Not today! I”m going to park further away, increase chores, & improve my love life.
More energized housework… stop asking Kids to get things for me and walk around while on the phone. Thanks for the tips.
Park further away when shopping…motivate doing housework….walk the dog more often.
Choosing the stairs at train stations, riding bike to shops & gym, getting teenage daughter up in the mornings to join me for my morning power walks, and standing for parts of my all day meeting today :-<
I try to walk an extra 5 minutes each time I walk the kids to the bus, I am parking further away while shopping.
I have already started parking about 3-5 blocks from school, depending on how much time I have to walk to class. I have a lot of yard work to do in preparation of my veggie garden- which will end up being a 2 for 1 when it’s time to eat the results. For the 3rd form of micro-exercise I will clean house more vigorously.
I’m lucking, I live in beautiful DT Ventura and able to walk everywhere, the library, the post office, Main St, the beach. I started working on my garden and cleaning out my closets. Every day, a little bit more.
My best micro-exercises:
10 reps with weights.
dancing (any time I hear suitable dance music!)
trips from the car with groceries.
up and down stairs with laundry.
OK so my three forms of micro exercise shall be ride my bike to work providing weather is not raining, getting stuck into my housework (scrubbed out my two bathrooms today) and burning up some extra calories decluttering my house which I have been planning to start (been reading your 52 Get Organized Missions) so hoping that will burn off a few calories and get rid of some clutter as well. Just got to get past the procrastination and perfectionism that overwhelms me at times. 🙂
I have noticed my husband (who still weighs the same as he did when we first got married 18 years ago) is always moving. He naturally does these things, and I think that is what has helped his metabolism to stay super fast! I have been trying to make even cleaning the house more of a workout….running and working hard so I get really sweaty! I’ve also been trying to do the little errands I typically ask my kids to do just so I can burn a few extra calories…..like running downstairs to the storage room to get the can I need for dinner. 🙂
There are quite a few exercises I can do, the thing is, I just got to get started. 😉
oops didn’t get to this last night, too busy having extra sex. just kidding but I think I will use that one for my incidental exercise, as that is the best excuse I have heard yet, ( I have been telling my husband that for years) plus I will use the walking round while on the phone, especially those long chats with sisters, but I usually make those calls while on the treadmill using an ear piece and its surprising how quick the time goes by. I already use a pedometer most days and yesterday spent most of 8 hours walking around so I think I am in front on the exercise.
I’ve started to put more effort in exercises I do with my class. They seem to love it when I “wiggle wobble” with them.
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