Make the Most of It!

Life presents us with thousands of opportunities to keep up our fitness. We can look for them in them smallest or grandest of places. Whether you’re going on a two hour run in the mountains, riding your bike through town or carrying the dog food all the way to the dog house in the alley instead of driving it, there are just simply ample opportunities each day to maintain our fitness.

A couple of my favorite places to catch a quick strength workout are in the garden or around the house. Raking and sweeping constitute two great ways to work your core muscles if done correctly. Pulling towards yourself is the most effective. Hauling and stacking the firewood is another great place to flex some muscle.

Among jewels in the home that I can think of are the stairs...run em’, skip steps, or even go up and down a couple times. Carry laundry up and down. Vacuuming can be good too. If you have young children at home, they love to run from the vacuum and dodge it. Play with your coordination and switch it out of your dominant hand for a greater challenge. In the kitchen you can stir the bread dough, cookies or muffins especially if you’re planning on eating them. Remember to load them with wholesome goodness!

When you are out an about see if you can take a more physical mode of transport. Dust off that town bike or break out those sneakers to run those close errands. You’ll also put more fresh air in your day which does the body good. Swing by the church on the way home and say hello to Jesus. Maybe this evening when you plunk down in front of the T.V. you’ll sit on the floor and stretch for the duration of the show. You never know who’s watching and might like to join in.

Take small steps when possible to keep up on your strength and cardio fitness, especially if you have a desk job or an inactive lifestyle. Enjoy manual labor in a whole new way this week.