I’m not gonna lie. I hate gyms. Perhaps that is what I love about running. I can do it outdoors and whenever the mood strikes. Dreadmills are reserved for the one monsoon rain a year I wuss out of running in. Now the thing is, as much as I love running, I’ve been looking to get in some overall strength training and cross-training fitness as well. In the last month I’ve made it a mission to find ways to squeeze in some non-running workouts. Here’s what I came up with:
1. Don’t use a lazy shopping cart at the supermarket. Carry two hand baskets. As they fill up they become heavy and are a great way to work the arms. I actually do bicep curls in the aisles.
Also, instead of using a mop get on your hands and knees and scrub floors with a sponge. And don’t go to the car wash, wash it yourself instead. These are great functional ways to retain fitness.
2. Make a defined space in your home for doing some simple exercises. Make more than one space if you want. I have a nice area of the garage that I made inviting. Wednesday nights when i have to go in the garage to get my recycled garbage packed up I will put my boxing gloves on and hit the bag for a few, jump rope and use the resistance bands to do a few upper body exercises (the best invention ever is that little strap that allows you to attach your resistance bands to the door jamb.) But I also have a foam roller, some 5 pound weights and a few resistance bands upstairs in my living room as well.
garage exercise space with a furry personal trainer imposter
3. Speaking of living room….put on your favorite playlist and dance around in your living room. This is a GREAT way to get in some cardio and sweat out some stress. I’m loving that new Robin Thicke song “Blurred Lines”.
4. I tend to stay committed when my smartphone/tablet is involved. I’ll use the stopwatch function to show how long i’ve held a plank. I’ve got digital subscriptions to some fitness magazines and when there’s a great article with cool ab or kettle bell exercises i’ll take screengrab photos of them and store them in the phone/tablet to refer to. (Eventually i’ll organize them in folders).
5. I commute to work by bus each day. I’ve been getting off the bus a few stops early and walking a quick 10 minutes the rest of the way. I also take a 10 min walk at lunchtime. Right there i’ve just added in 30 extra minutes of walking to my day.
Question: Can you add anything to this list?
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