exercise - Exercises for Couch Potatoes

Exercises for Couch Potatoes

by Tom Manfredi

Have you ever had the chance to observe an animal in the wild up close? Did they look over weight? Probably not. Why do you think that is? It’s because they get all the exercise they need in their regular daily lives. They don't need to join a health club or buy expensive exercise equipment. Everything they need to stay in shape is in their environment.

Generally, modern day humans seem think that they must do some extraordinary things to keep their bodies in shape. If you are a professional athlete or body builder, that may be true. But, for those of us that just want to stay fit, the challenge is different. It requires a little bit of a mind set change, but it's a lot easier and more convenient than you might think.

Do you watch television? Do you consider yourself something of a "couch potato"? Many of us spend a few hours a day watching something on the TV. Well, guess what? If you watch TV that means that you are subjected to commercials. Commercial breaks, on average, last anywhere from 2 to 4 minutes and there are at

least 6 to 8 of these during every hour of television. That means that for every hour you are in front of a TV, you have at least 20 minutes you can devote to the pursuit of your fitness.

Let’s look at some of the things you can do while commercials are trying to get you to buy the latest low fat snack food or explain to you why you really have to have that new car. While seated in your easy chair or on the couch, you can raise your arms over your head or reach down toward the floor and stretch your shoulders, your back, your arms, or your legs. Also, if you keep some stretch bands next to that easy chair, you could pick them up during a commercial break and do some repetitions to strengthen your arms and legs. If you push yourself to get up from that favorite chair, you could get down on the floor and do a few sit ups or push ups, or you could do a variety of different floor stretches. The point is, that with little or no equipment or room, you can turn those wasted minutes during commercials into valuable exercise time that can help you

become more fit.

Animals in the wild, and even our household pets, know how to make the best use of their time and circumstances to get the exercise they need to stay fit. There is no reason why we can’t do the same thing just by utilizing the wasted time we spend in front of our TV’s during commercials. And, if you want to get really motivated and fit, you can expand the idea of stretching and exercising to include the entire time you are in front of a TV. For many of us, that will give us hours every week in which to fit in the exercise we didn’t think we had time for.

*******************

Online fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site fitness-after-50.com. He has a master's degree in exercise physiology and over 20 years of practical exercise experience.

This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. Learn more by going to fitness-after-50.com

Other Articles:

Here's Where to Start When Trying to Lose Weight!
I often hear from many people that they just don’t know where to begin when trying to lose weight. Often they just don’t feel like they have the energy to start at all! Well that is all understandable because when you feel bad you don’t want to start anything or do anything for that...

5 Productivity Tips from The Integrated Mother
Ever felt like your “to-do” list is growing exponentially? Every time you cross an item off the list you’re blindsided by at least three additional tasks. Of course they all feel like priorities so you’re left feeling out of sorts as you scramble to get everything done. You’re in...

Menopause- Testing Time for Women
For many women this period becomes one of the most testing times of all. It will not be proper to say that menopause is a simple passing stage in the lives of females, in fact it is not! Menopause is surely a worrying and difficult time of life for every woman during which she...