After the festive season – what with all its rich food and many snacking temptations – many of us make the most of January and February as the months to start losing any extra pounds that might have appeared. And one of the best ways of losing any extra weight that’s built up over the holidays is by getting active.
Exercise doesn’t just help with the weight control, either – it helps build muscle mass, and it’s also a powerful mood booster too. Just the thing for those grey January and February days!
We’ve teamed up with health insurance provider AXA PPP healthcare to look at ten of the best ways to get fit quickly and put a spring in your step for the rest of the year.
Exercise doesn’t just help with the weight control, either – it helps build muscle mass, and it’s also a powerful mood booster too. Just the thing for those grey January and February days!
We’ve teamed up with health insurance provider AXA PPP healthcare to look at ten of the best ways to get fit quickly and put a spring in your step for the rest of the year.
After the festive season – what with all its rich food and many snacking temptations – many of us make the most of January and February as the months to star... more
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1
Swim
It’s cheap, it’s good fun, and it can actually reduce your risk of illnesses such as strokes and heart disease. Swimming works all the main muscle groups, too – so you can be sure you’re getting a very effective cardiovascular workout when you’re in the pool. And of course swimming requires no expensive equipment, just grab your swimming costume, put it on, and dive in!
2
Run
If you’re looking for an efficient way of burning calories and getting active, then running is a great choice. If you’re new to it and have a health condition, or any other concerns such as your level of fitness, then see a GP before doing any running. And don’t run for too long when you’re beginning. You can build up your distances over time.
3
Join a gym
If the weather outside is frightful (and it often is at its coldest and wettest during February) you might prefer to do your exercise indoors. And with all the gym equipment available you’ll be spoilt for choice in terms of things to do to get fit. With all those treadmills, cross trainers, rowing machines and so on, you will hopefully find a range of exercises to suit you and that you enjoy doing.
4
Get walking
Walking is an extremely convenient form of exercise – something we can do every single day. It’s also easy to build into the daily routine – a lunchtime walk to the shops or maybe walking part of the way home. And if you manage to walk for 10,000 steps a day, you will be burning off hundreds of calories. The NHS choices page on running advises that someone who weighs 11 stone can burn around 440 calories by walking 10,000 steps at 3.5 miles an hour.
5
Get on your bike
Whether you’re mountain biking or just cycling to work, cycling is a fun way to get fit. It’s low impact – so it’s easier on the knees and ankles than some other forms of exercise. And of course cycling isn’t just exercise – it’s a very handy way of getting around, too! This means you can incorporate it into your daily life, maybe cycling to and from the office a few times every week.
6
Pull on your football boots…
… or your hockey boots. You don’t need to be at the skill level of a professional to have fun out there on the sports field. And playing team sports is also a great way to burn up some energy, plus if you’re a member of a local sports team, the training is structured and often quite challenging.
7
Dance
There are few more fun ways to keep fit. And the sheer amount of different dancing styles to choose from means that you’re bound to find something to suit. Whether it’s Zumba, salsa or Scottish country dancing – one thing’s for sure, you’ll be having so much fun that you’ll hardly notice the exertion!
8
Skip
Yes, just like you’ve seen training boxers do in Hollywood movies. Skipping provides excellent cardiovascular exercise and burns quite a lot of calories – around the same amount as jogging.
9
Skiing
If you’re fortunate enough to be near snow, then take to the slopes for a bit of skiing. Downhill and cross-country are both excellent exercise. And you don’t even need snow for downhill skiing if you have an artificial slope in your area.
10
Power chores
Mopping, vacuuming and other necessary household tasks such as dusting and polishing may not be the things you look forward to most, but approach them vigorously and they make for a calorie-burning mini-workout while helping with the housework
[source: AXA PPP healthcare ]
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