Getting fit doesn’t have to be a long hard slog. You don’t have to spend hours on the treadmill, or even do a fitness class every day to start to notice improvements in the way you look physically and the way you feel mentally.
There are a few things you can do to get fit without really trying if you’re the lazy type. Take a look at the following 12 things and see what you can do to get fit without even really trying:
- Buy A Pedometer And Take More Steps
It’s recommended that the average person take 8,000-10,000 steps per day minimum to be healthy and avoid some of the adverse effects of not moving enough. However, most people, especially those with desk jobs, barely get this much at all. If you want to make sure you’re doing plenty of steps, buy a pedometer and make a conscious effort to walk more. Take the stairs rather than the elevator, park a little further away from your workplace, and do anything else you can to make the steps add up. These little things really do make a difference and can significantly improve your overall step count.
- Pick A Sport You Like And Play With Friends
Playing sports is a lot of fun and something you can do with friends, which makes it a brilliant way to forget that you’re even getting fit at all. You could play netball with your friends, for example, and if you have a competitive nature you’ll be so caught up in the game that you won’t even realize what a great workout you’re getting. You could play football, tennis, badminton – any sport you like. Even golf gets you up and moving, it doesn’t have to be a high impact sport to do you some good.
- Practice Good Posture All The Time
Whether you’re sitting at your desk or walking to run some errands, make sure you practice good posture all the time. Bad posture will give you a sore back and neck, not to mention further problems as you age. Many elderly people have trouble with their back and shoulders because they didn’t practice good posture while they were young. The sooner you begin to get into the habit of having good posture all the time, the better.
- Eat Well 80% Of The Time
Now, you might think getting fit without really trying means you can eat whatever you want. You shouldn’t eat a huge takeaway every day, but you can have what you like in moderation. Simply pay attention to portion sizes, and make sure you’re aiming to get as much nutrition as possible from each meal. That means including some vegetables! Providing you do this most of the time, you can afford to have a little treat meal here and there. Make sure you stop eating when you’re full, and don’t attempt to eat as little as possible at any point. You might lose weight quickly, but this could make you ill, slow down your metabolism, and the results will likely only be short lived.
- Explore A New Place On Foot
If you have a trip coming up, plan to explore the new place on foot. See if there are any free walking tours, or download an app to help you make your way around. If you prefer, there are usually biking tours you can go on, too. Plan plenty of active days when you go away too. Perhaps you could hike, climb a mountain, or go somewhere with a lot of floors (like the Eiffel tower).
- Geocaching
Geocaching is the perfect activity for those who consider themselves secret pirates, and this is a great activity to do with kids. You go on the hunt for treasure with a GPS system and coordinates that you can find on the internet. Usually, you can take a piece of treasure from the box, but you have to put something back in return. If not, you could always leave a piece of paper with your name and the date you found it. The people who originally left the bounty might just go back to see who found it, and this can be lots of fun!
- Play With Your Kids/Nephews/Nieces Regularly
If you have kids in your family, whether your own or nieces/nephews, or kids of your friends, play with them. Kids are full of energy, so try to tire them out and you might just find that they do the same to you.
- Martial Arts
Martial arts make you feel like a badass, whether you’re trying Judo for the first time or Taekwondo. You probably won’t pick it up as fast as Neo from the Matrix, but with consistency, you’ll learn some new stuff and be able to have peace of mind thanks to your new self defence skills.
- Start Standing Up While You Work
You don’t have to sit down while you use a PC or a laptop, you know. Standing desks might seem unusual, but they help you to burn more calories during the day, as well as stay more alert. You will likely find you’re far more productive with your stand up desk!
- Suggest Active Ways To Meet Up With Friends Instead Of Coffee
When your friends as you to go for coffee, or even an alcoholic beverage, see if they want to try something else instead. Ask them to go for a work, or see if they’d like to join you at a class. Anything that gets you moving!
- Try Yoga
Yoga isn’t high impact, but it can certainly push your body in ways you didn’t think possible. Yoga can also be a spiritual experience.
- Play Games That Make You Move
Why not grab the Wii Fit, or relive your youth on a dance mat? Twister is a great family game to play too!
Which of these ideas will you try to get fit without really trying? Leave your ideas below!