6. Push up bra-vo!
Did you know that five pushups work over seven different muscles and burns up to 10 calories? Not only do pushups target chest muscles, but they shape shoulders and tighten core muscles too. If you don't want to "get down and gimme five," place you hands on the edge of your desk or the back of your couch, step back far enough so your body is at about a 45-degree angle to the floor, then lower your body.
7. Do the can-can
Before you open up a couple of cans of soup at mealtime, do a few lateral raises to tone your shoulders. Holding a can in each hand, stand tall with your arms at your sides. Lift your arms up so your arms and body form a "T" pose. The cans add weight for resistance, so if you're feeling strong, choose chunky soups. Try 10 to 15 repetitions. One set will take you all of 30 seconds to complete.
8. Bring on biceps and bags
The next time you're carrying your grocery bags to your car, perform a series of biceps curls as you do. Keep your elbows at your sides and palms up as you hold the handles. Curl your groceries toward your shoulders. Lower and repeat until you get to your car or until your biceps tire out. Need more of a challenge? Park further away from the store's entrance.
9. Dine and dip
Every chair is a triceps-working machine waiting to tighten and tone your arms. Before you start each meal, grasp the front of your seat (knuckles facing forwards,) hoist your body weight into your arms, inch your behind over the edge of the chair and lower yourself down into a dip down and then push into your arms to come back up. Drop down 20 to 30 centimetres, keep shoulders square and solid, and extend through your spine (as if you're running it along the chair edge). Kill the jigglies by doing as many repetitions as you can.
10. Abandon the snack run
When it's commercials time, skip the trip to the fridge, and sneak in a set of crunches instead. Lie on the floor, tighten your abdominals, and then perform your favourite abdominal exercise 10 to 15 times. You'll be burning off during break time instead of adding on.
For more ways to sneak exercise into your day, visit Fitness Jumpsite's Calorie Calculator. Enter your body weight and the duration of your exercise and it'll display a list of hundreds of activities and how many calories you can burn. Find your activity (or a reasonable facsimile) and record your success.
Learn about the 5 kitchen tools that will help you lose weight.
Michelle Cederberg is president of Live Out Loud Fitness and Wellness Consulting. She helps people find more balance and success in fitness, work, and life. She believes that new exercisers should start small and turn activity into a habit so that success and enjoyment stay in the mix. For more information on how to become fit, bit by bit, check out www.liveoutloud.ca.
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