The Power of Running Shoes

Keeping motivated can be one of the greatest challenges in maintaining a fitness plan. There’s nothing worse than knowing you need to get moving and start exercising, yet you can’t seem to peel yourself off the couch. This post is dedicated to my favourite way to combat this: wear your running shoes!

When I am not at work, I am almost always wearing running shoes. I have one pair for indoors and another for outdoors. This way I can always have a pair on without wearing dirty shoes in the house.

Wearing running shoes around the house keeps me on my feet and raring to go; rarely do I even sit down when I am wearing them. It’s when I am not wearing my running shoes that I sometimes find it difficult to get my chores done, let alone get outside for a run.

My suggestion to you is to wear your running shoes throughout the day (when you can). You will feel more energized to keep active throughout the day, and hopefully more motivated to fit in your daily exercise routine.

Got 10 Minutes?

10 minute sessions
throughout the day adds up

When you can’t fit in a 60-minute workout, that’s okay. SparkPeople says we need to get rid of the “all or nothing” mentality when it comes to exercise. Multiple 10-minute workouts throughout the day can be just as beneficial to our health and our fitness plans. Of course, these multiple 10-minute workouts add up throughout the day, so keep that in mind when you think that 10 minutes just isn’t enough to make any differences.

SparkPeople recommends you follow a similar schedule to the one below for your 10-minute workout:

1-2 minutes – warm up (include stretching)

7 minutes – medium to high-intensity workout

1 minute – cool down (include stretching)

When I know I will not have enough time to do my workout in one session, I like to do some of the following things:

For strength:

+ Use resistance tubes

+ Push-ups

+ Lunges

For cardio:

+ Climb stairs

+ Stationary bike

+ Treadmill

Just remember, every bit counts. 

Keep a clean home AND stay fit – yeah, seriously.

You’re busy, so squeezing exercise into your schedule is tough when you have a full line-up of things to do each day: get the kids to school and to extra-curricular activities, put in a full day of work, make sure dinner is on the table at a certain time and maintain a clean home…among other things.

If your household is anything like mine, sometimes chores are abandoned. This has always been an irritating thing for me because when I get a bit of free time, I feel obligated to catch-up on my household duties. Ultimately this means that instead of getting outside for a walk, I am stuck inside cleaning – yay.

Fortunately for you and me, keeping a clean home and staying fit can work together. Barbara Hagen, Provincial Coordinator for Alberta’s Be Fit for Life Network, said, “Anything that you do that is active is going to increase your health benefits.” Guess what? That can include housework!

Calorie Counter, a free online diet program, suggests a 150 lb person can burn the following amounts of calories (per hour) for each household chore:

+ Vacuuming – 238 calories

+ Scrubbing floors/bathtub – 258 calories

+ Washing the dishes/putting them away – 156 calories

+ Laundry – 156 calories

+ Grocery shopping – 156 calories

+ Gardening – Yes, it will be that time soon! – 272 calories

Also, for all of you stay-at-home moms, carrying a child for an hour can burn up to 204 calories!

So, when you have to choose housework over going for a walk, keep in mind that if you put serious physical effort into your chores, you are still working towards your goal.