Sneak Exercise Into Your Day, Simply Savor-Style
Aaand she’s back!!
So sorry for being MIA, but things have been crazy here with school, and I’m more about quality over quantity–I knew I wouldn’t be able to write the kind of posts that I wanted for you guys! But I’ve missed you all terribly and it feels great to be writing at Simply Savor again 
Some exciting news since I “spoke” with you last….I’m going to become an AFAA certified fitness instructor, and get my Kickbox and Zumba certification!! Once I’m certified, I’m hoping to put together some videos for the website…would you like that??
To celebrate, I thought I’d give you all a sneak peak into some of my own tricks that I use to stay in shape when the gym is the last place I want to go to.
Countertop Boot Camp: Drop and Give Me 20
This is probably my favorite trick and can be done anywhere with a counter top (think kitchen, bathroom sink, etc.) As I’m waiting for my AM coffee to brew, my facewash to soak in, or the microwave to go off, I’ll just start doing pushups on the counter. Just position your feet like the picture above until you’re at an angle and place your hands on the counter. You can push up keeping your elbows in (works triceps and biceps) or the traditional form with your elbows out (incorporates shoulders and chest). I try to challenge myself each time to see how much I improve. When I began, I could only do 5 in a row, and now I’m up to 30! Try this just 2 or 3 (or 10!) times throughout out the day and before you know it, you’ll have knocked out over 100 pushups without even thinking about it! As someone who dreads doing actual pushups, this was the perfect solution!
Old Lady Speed Walk
You’ve all seen it and laughed– the super-fast pace, the crazy swinging warm movements, the 80’s sweat bands. But maybe these ladies are on to something here? While I may not be willing to invest in a hot pink 2-piece outfit and 1 lb weights anytime soon, I am willing to kick my walk into high gear if it means getting to classes on time. No matter how much extra time I give myself to get to class in the mornings, I always seem to get distracted and end up flying out the door with 5 minutes to walk 2 miles across campus. My solution? The Simply Savor Speed Walk. It’s as easy as it sounds, just walk with a purpose and with speed (no crazy arm movements needed). Now I’m never late to class, and I’ve added a few extra minutes of heart-pumping (oops, just wrote pumpkin 
) activity in my day! By the time I arrive at class I’m wide awake, rejuvenated, have those added endorphins, and am ready to hit the books, Studies also show that exercise before exams or business meetings can help improve performance. I give this trick an A+!
Dance Party
(**hint: Guess what Simply Savor is being for HALLOWEEN! and yes, I plan to learn the whole dance)
You guys may be have seen me tweet a few days ago about how I DID NOT want to go to the gym, sooo …. I had a solo dance party instead! Kind of embarrassing to admit on the internet, but let’s be honest, you know you’ve all done this before! Just make a dance mix of your favorite songs on ITUNES, hit play and channel your inner Beyonce!. It’s a great full body cardio workout, and sometimes I’ll use light weights to incorporate strength training. My most recent playlist included: “Watcha Say” by Jason DeRulo, “Replay” by Iyaz, “Down” by Jay Sean”, “See You Again” by Miley Cyrus, “All the Above” by Maino, “It’s Raining Men,” “Starstrukk” by 3OH!3, and “I’m Bad” by Michael Jackson (to name a few.)
Cut to the Core
Who says you have to miss your favorite TV shows in order to fit a workout into your schedule—just combine the two! Start by doing crunches during every commercial break. You may not be able to do them for the entire time at first, but you’ll slowly build up to the whole 5 minutes. As you improve, try to continue your ab work during commercials and the show! You can do this lying down or standing up for variety. So when everyone starts asking you how you got that 6-pack, you can tell them it was from watching one too many CSI Miami marathons.
+ + + + + +
What are some of your sneaky fitness tricks?
**Check out this article from Natural Health Magazine on the concept of “Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis” AKA NEAT for more great ideas!
Great tips for sneaking in exercise. I am a big fan of walking the steps.
thanks for the tips Kristen! Missed ya!
Well.. i climb the stairs as often as i can.. even to the 6th floor of my college.. but i get all sweaty, and my friends think i’m nuts!
haha 6 floors…impressive!
I agree with the walking steps comment, great for the ol’ buns!!! Congrats on getting certified, that is awesome girl
great tips!! i never have time to watch tv but if i do-i try to do planks or crunches while watching. i’m a HUGE fan of multitasking!
and i LOVE that picture of the speed walkers-hilarious!!
Very exciting girl! Are you getting just general kick boxing? Or are you doing it through a group (turbo kick/Les Mills- Body combat??)
well i was looking into just the Kickboxing, but would LOVE to do turbokick/Les Mills! Would you recommend it??
Great tips! And that’s great news about the AFAA certification–can’t wait to see some videos!
Congratulations on your new certification plans! I think some videos would be awesome
Haha I had to laugh at the “old Lady speed walk” thing
HAHA I love that picture with the old lady speedwalkers! When I first got a stress fracture that prevented me from running, I started going on long, fast walks. My roommate made fun of me for being an old woman–but it did the trick!
Love your dance party tip the best!
And, I would love those Zumba/kickboxing videos! Congrats on making the commitment to get certified; I’ll totally come to CT for a class!
Glad you’re back, girl!
There is nobody aroudn my office right now, I’m about to try these counter top push ups now!!
ah i love it!
Ok I thought I was weird but it’s good to hear you do pushups too while waiting on stuff.
Doing those while waiting for something in the microwave is pretty much a ritual for me.
The old lady speed walking made me laugh
Great news on the certifications! Looking forward to the videos!
Love all your tricks! And good luck with the certifications!
I’ll be honest, I have a dance party at least two or three times a week. If I’m home alone, the music is on and I’ll be getting down. I’ll have to try these other tips too. Especially the tv one. God knows I watch too much tv on Wednesdays.
Glad you’re back! Good luck with your certifications. & I’d love to see the videos. : )
Taking the stairs, doing tricep dips on my desk chair, and doing little things like crunches during commercials. Plus, walking to work this past spring, summer, and now fall has made a huge difference. It really toned me up and has kept me at my ideal weight.
Congrats on becoming certified…I would love workout videos. Oh and yes I have done dances in my house…all the time. It is a great way to reduce stress and just let loose!
ZUMBA! wow good for you girl! i dont do zumba often (to hard on my back injury) but love to watch my friends do it. here are some vids of my friends at my YMCA for inspiration!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0ghJ254WtM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn01MxbQdf8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl0Joj8XbsY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_E-OojqdJk
this is great, thanks for these clare!
great post! my favorite way to incorporate workouts in to my day is squats, lunges, and pushups during TV commercials
Welcome back, Kristen! Those were some great tips! My fave way to sneak in exercise is to walk everywhere, take the stairs versus the elevator and escalator, lug the groceries (as much as I can) from my car, which is about a 1/4 of a block away from my house and tightening my abs/core while I’m blowdrying my hair or while I’m sitting in traffic. Have a great weekend and congrats on your news!
Love your blog! And the colors – haha – makes it very inviting
. Hmm…I love fitness and am a Physical Therapist, so ’sneaky fitness tips’ are good to know about.
Some basic ones that come to mind for me are: going for a short 10-min walk on my lunch break or before I head to work in the morning; I also like to doing a random set of jumping jacks/high knees/skater jumps – probably only a couple of minutes – but higher intensity – when I first get up and before dinner with a set of crunches and the plank pose. I also go through phases with weight training – sorry but I hate it
…so I walk to the grocery store when/if I can and lug back the load – holy shoulders !!
I started my own blog and have lots to learn so if anyone wants to check it out that would be great. Have a good one!!
Kristen!
I hope school is going well!
It’s awesome that you are getting your Zumba/kickbox certification – I’m looking into getting spin certified! : )
Hope all is well!
Andd….arm dips! An exercise you can do almost wherever, whenever! This is by far one of my favorite arm exercises! Use a bench, chair, etc… 4 sets of 15……. great toner!
Congrats on going toward kickbox/Zumba cert! I would love to see videos!
Sneaky fitness tricks: just 20 reps with 5-lb weights every day can do wonders! Going up the stairs on tiptoe is great for calves – I do this whenever I remember to. Also, anytime I know I need to do something (like pushups), I just tell myself I only need to do 5…I usually do a lot more, but it’s so much less overwhelming if I tell myself that!
I love it! Jillian Michaels talked a lot about NEAT near the end of her radio show. I always thought it was interesting. I do try to fit in as much activity/day as possible, but I’m all about actually going out of my way to workout more than fitting it into my day.