Ask Kristy

“How can I exercise?  I am stuck inside at a relative’s house with 6-12 inches of snow outside.”

First, why are you stuck in the house??  Did you bring a coat and gloves?  If so, get outside and walk in the snow.  Have a snowball fight.  Build a snowman.  Your body will burn additional calories trying to stay warm.   MOVE YOUR BODY!

Does your relative have inside stairs?  If so, go up and down the stairs 10-20 times in the morning and 10-20 times in the afternoon.  These up and downs are in addition to any times that you may incidentally go up and down during the day.  As much as possible, you should try to do all of them in succession without stopping

If there are no stairs in the house, try a dance party.  Turn on some fast music and DANCE!  The crazier you dance the better!  I suggest dancing for about 20 minutes straight and/or sweating through at least 5 songs in a row.  Throw your dance party once in the morning and once in the evening.  Kids LOVE them!!!

You can also have a family stretching/yoga session.  My 4 year old actually asked me to do that today while I was at my chiropractor appointment.  (Not the best time, so we waited for later.)

Additionally, if anyone in the house received any fitness video games and/or Xbox 360 Kinect or Wii games for Christmas, play them.  Get up off of the couch and get into it. 

Finally, if the house looks anything like mine after Christmas, it needs a good cleaning!  Cleaning house burns lots of calories and the faster you do it, the more you burn.  If you are at a relative’s house, they will be so very grateful that you helped them clean up!

The key is to MOVE YOUR BODY!  Look for ways and opportunities to do it.  Use this experience as an opportunity to find new ways to move instead of as an excuse to snuggle on the couch for the day.

Looking for more tips and tricks?  www.moveyourbodytransformation.com