Wed, January 27, 2010

Every Day Ways to Boost Calorie Burn

Increase your metabolism by changing your daily habits - one step at a time

You can burn off the same number of calories (or more) as you would in a 1-hour aerobics class without ever setting foot in a gym or snapping on spandex. It's easy and it probably used to be part of your lifestyle.

1. Take yourself off cruise control
Increase the intensity of your everyday tasks, from vacuuming to walking the dog, recommends Douglas Brooks, an exercise physiologist and personal trainer in Northern, CA. "Turn on some music, add in some vigorous bursts, and enjoy the movement," he says.

2. Step it up - and down
Climbing stairs is a great leg strengthener, because you're lifting your body weight against gravity. In addition to taking the stairs at every opportunity, try stepping up and down on the curb while you're waiting for the bus or filling your gas tank, says Brooks.

3. Practice standing tall
To improve posture, Taylor-Kevin Isaacs, an exercise physiologist and professor at California State University, Northridge, recommends the following shoulder girdle crunch: Stand or sit with your arms relaxed at your sides, palms facing forward. Visualize a pen placed vertically between your shoulder blades, and squeeze them together as if you were trying to hold the pen in place. Hold for a count of 6, relax, and repeat 12 times.

4. Use bags as dumbells
Letting someone else load your groceries or carry your suitcase is an opportunity missed for strengthening and calorie burning, says certified coach Beth Rothenberg, who teaches a class for fitness professionals at UCLA. "Carry your groceries, balanced with a bag in each hand, even if you have to make several trips," she says. "And pack two smaller suitcases instead of one big one, so you can carry them yourself."

5. Have a ball at work
Replace your desk chair with a giant exercise ball, says Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise in San Diego, where many staffers have adopted this idea. "You have to engage the core muscles to maintain stability," he says, "so you're getting a great workout right at your desk."

6. Go the distance
"Stop using the closest rest room, parking space, or vending machine," says Minneapolis fitness trainer Sandra Swami. As the instructor of a program that's designed to help working women get more active, Swami urges her clients to get in the habit of taking the longest route to the rest room (on a different floor, if that's possible) and climb stairs to get there.

7. Do chair-robics
Set a timer to ring hourly, advises Swami. "When it goes off, stand up, and sit down slowly four times," she says. "This will boost circulation and give you a nice stretch, and you'll be doing 4 squats an hour, or 32 a day. That's a great way to strengthen your lower body."

8. Play waiting games
Don't just sit there while your computer is downloading or the copier is collating. Do a stretch (place both hands behind your head, open your elbows, and lean back), try balancing on one leg, or do a few buttocks squeezes.

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