Everyday Activities That Burn Calories (Yes, they really can!)
According to Kimberly Lummus, MS, RD, Texas Dietetic Association media representative and public relations coordinator for the Austin Dietetic Association in Austin, Texas, in 30 minutes a person who weighs 150 pounds can burn the following number of calories: (everday Health)
Raking leaves = 147 calories
Gardening or weeding = 153 calories
Moving (packing and unpacking) = 191 calories
Vacuuming = 119 calories
Cleaning the house = 102 calories
Playing with the kids (moderate activity level) = 136 calories
Mowing the lawn = 205 calories
Strolling = 103 calories
Sitting and watching TV = 40 calories
Biking to work (on a flat surface) = 220 calories
Now, couple those everyday activities with some real exercise and you have a chance to burn calories, get healthy and improve your health numbers.
Fit Camp is a fun and innovative health and fitness program only offered at the Minges Wellness Center! This class uses movement and equipment to build strength, burn calories, and improve flexibility. These movements include motions such as the following: standing • sitting • lifting • pushing • pulling • walking
These natural, primal movements are not only safe and effective, but essential to a well rounded fitness routine. Best of all, Fit Camp is FREE to all Minges Wellness Center members! Bring your canteen and get ready to get fit at FITCAMP.
FITCAMP is appropriate for beginners but modifications will be given for those who want to ramp it up! Call 252-522-7207 for more information.
Minges Wellness Center Program #1
Minges Wellness Center Program #2
FriarFit Instant Recess Workout Video
Here’s A List Of Free Exercise Videos
Workoutz - Ab exercise videos, arm, chest, triceps, back, total body, yoga, stretch and more that you can play online, download to an ipod or print.
BodyBuilding – Free strength training instructional videos and workout plans.
AsktheTrainer – Free short-instructional videos that include upper body, lower body, by exercise equipment, core exercise and more.
Watergym - Free water aerobics exercise chart and free online video water aerobic exercises.
SparkPeople – Sign up for free and you’ll have access to; Bootcamp, core, ab, Pilates workouts and more. There’s even a 15-minute desk workout video you can do on your lunch hour! (They also have great recipes and food plans)
Prevention – They provide you with a number of short “Dance It Off:videos that include HipHop, ballet, jazz and more!
Exercise Tips
Eating before you exercise. According to experts at Mayo Clinic, you should fuel your workout by eating. So, if you exercise in the morning that means getting up early enough to eat breakfast or a snack before your workout. But, make sure you allow the appropriate time for your food to digest before you begin exercising. Here are some general rules to follow:
Large meals. Eat these at least three to four hours before exercising.
Small meals. Eat these two to three hours before exercising.
Small snacks. Eat these an hour before exercising.
Common barriers to exercising. Time, being too tired or thinking exercise is boring are all common barriers. Here are some suggestions to overcome these barriers.
Too little time to workout? Stop making excuses and come up with simple solutions to add a little exercise to your day, like getting up a little earlier, going out for a brief walk at lunch or instead of sitting at the movies on a Saturday afternoon, go for a bike ride with friends and family.
Exercise is boring. This is a very common problem and excuse for not exercising but changing up your exercise routine by:
Dancing with friends instead of walking on the treadmill
Learning how to strength train with weights
Challenge yourself to walk or run a 5k race in your community
Create an exercise group in your neighborhood or at work
Self conscious about how you look exercising.
If you're uncomfortable exercising around others, go solo at first. Try an exercise video. Or consider investing in a stationary bicycle or a treadmill.
Remember that as you become fitter and more comfortable exercising, your self-confidence is likely to improve as well.
Too tired or no energy to exercise? Without exercise, you have a tendency to feel drained but if you exercise it can increase your energy. Just get started!
Setting exercise goals:Map out a walking or running route and set your goals to go a little farther every day. Check out our link to “Map Your Route”.
Fun Summer Exercise Activities
to Help Keep You Fit
Summer is here! This fun season brings longer hours of daylight, hot temperatures and a lot of opportunities to be outside. Summer also brings a chance for outside activities that you can add to your fitness routine that can also provide calorie burning benefits and overall fitness advantages.
Below is a list of some fun activities you can try out as a beginner
or improve your skills if you are already familiar with them.
In-line Skating
Advantages: Inexpensive to get started. All you need is a smooth, safe path to skate on. So, that means you probably can try out some new scenery practically every time you put them on, which will help keep things more fun and motivating. Make sure you wear protective gear as well as a helmet. Calorie Burning Potential: A 150 pound person can burn 563 calories in 30 minutes!
Swimming
Advantages: You get to stay cool while being active. Even beginners, who can’t “officially” swim strokes, can perform water activities that keep them fit. Many swimming pools/clubs offer water-aerobics that can tone your muscles as well as burn calories. Calorie Burning Potential: A 150 pound person can burn 360 calories in 30 minutes!
Ultimate Frisbee
Advantages: Great non-contact sport. Burn calories and stay fit while having fun with your friends. Ultimate Frisbee allows you to use some of your competitive juices and get you moving outside. Calorie Burning Potential: A 150 pound person can burn 360 calories in 30 minutes!
Cycling
Advantages: All you need is a bike. You can cycle most anywhere. It is an appropriate activity for beginners and you can continually advance with your workout. It’s a low impact workout. If you want a more competitive ride, you can join a bike club in your area and train for a bike race. Calorie Burning Potential: A 150 pound person can burn 380 calories in 30 minutes!
Here’s an interval treadmill workout that will help you maximize your workout and get better results.
How to Burn Calories Faster
Now that you've made the commitment to lose weight and get healthier, we're here to help you burn those calories faster!
Did you know that people with more muscle and less fat generally have a faster metabolic rate, while people with more fat and less muscle generally have a slower metabolic rate? So, that means you have to increase your muscle to fat ratio in order to increase your metabolic rate. And, you guessed it, that means you have to exercise! But, before we talk about exercise, let's find out what "metabolism" means?
According to WebMd, "Metabolism" refers to your body's systems for using or converting energy.
This includes breathing, digestion, the building of muscle, and the storage of fat, circulation of blood -- anything that's part of your body's systems for converting energy into an activity you need to live."
Now we're ready to help you burn more calories, faster! Here are a number of ways to increase muscle in order to increase your metabolism to burn more calories:
Build muscle with this FREE basic strength video - this video will not only increase your muscle but will sculpt your body as well!
Step-by-Step Weight Training Guide from Mayo Clinic that walks you through a multitude of strength-training exercises that will build muscle the right way.
Examples of various activities and how many calories they can burn:
(Calculated with180 pound person exercising for a duration of 30 minutes) Basketball - calories burned: 245 Bicycling – calories burned: 145 Dancing – calories burned: 225 Pilates – calories burned: 245 Soccer – calories burned: 286 Swimming – calories burned: 245 Tennis – calories burned: 327
Check out MapWalk. With this tool you can map out a course by putting in your starting point and clicking to add your route that you’d like to walk or run. This online program will figure out the distance of your course, calories that you will burn and you can email it to a friend
Walk Whenever Possible
Walk instead of drive, whenever you can
Walk your children to school
Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator
Experts all agree that exercise is important to weight-loss. Sure, anyone can lose a lot of weight if you cut way back on calories without exercising, but physical activity is the key to maintaining your weight-loss. Because no one can sustain an extremely low-calorie diet forever, you are more likely to gain your weight back without exercising. Read more…
Walk instead of drive, whenever you can 
