Being in good shape not only means being able to run a marathon. It also implies being able to do daily chores without feeling wiped out. An active lifestyle is the best complement of regular exercise. But even if you can’t follow an exercise routine as often as you’d like, you can try to increase your activity and incorporate it into the simplest tasks and chores.

Small changes, big results

When it comes to keeping in shape, small steps taken consistently over time are usually a lot more efficient than big changes that only last a few months. Among other reasons, because it is difficult to modify habits. There is a saying that goes: “it’s easier to switch religions than to change a habit” and for some people that may be quite true.

However, some small adjustments in your daily behavior in the short term may bring you considerable results in the long term. If you have a stable diet, burning 100 to 200 calories a day may not mean much in any given day, but kept up over time it will show.  

Some tips to increase your activity

You spend many hours at home and there are many chores you do there. Taking advantage of these daily chores to burn a few extra calories will help you keep in shape and, in the long term, may even imply losing weight. Following are some tips you may want to try:

• Ask someone in your family to hide the TV remote. Standing up to switch channels or to increase the volume will help you move a bit more during the sedentary activity that watching TV is.  

• Do the dishes by hand. Besides adding exercise to your day, you may benefit the environment if you don’t use too much water.

• If you have a backyard and are able to do so, line-dry your clothes. You’ll save energy and your clothes will smell clean, while you get some exercise when hanging out the laundry and taking it down.

• Take out the garbage yourself. Volunteer to take out the garbage to the container and then take a short walk.

• Go up and down the stairs to get something you forgot. Sometimes we do without what we needed, to avoid this extra effort.

• Park your car a little farther from the house and walk that distance to the house.

Have fun cleaning

One of the things that most motivates us to dance is music: salsa, rock or any other genre that you enjoy. Take advantage of our natural tendency to dance to music, while you go about your daily chores. Choose a CD that you know will help you move. If you don’t know which to choose, then buy a CD designed for exercising.

Pump up the volume and dance! Shake your body while you dust or make the beds. Express yourself freely. Not only will this be a great calorie-burner but it is also wonderful stress and tension-reducing therapy.