By Emily Barr, MS,RD,CNSC –

The number one excuse for skipping a workout is (and I quote) “I don’t have enough time!”  Usually this line is followed by more excuses including your children’s schedules, your work schedules, house hold chores, or lack of sleep.  Time is valuable, in order to utilize every opportunity you have for a little calorie burn, you need to be creative!

Use your kids and their energy level to your advantage!

1. Include an afterschool activity that involves a walk, run, bike ride, race, or a mean game of tag.
2. If you have a small child or baby, take a walk with them in your arms.  The extra weight adds to the amount of calories you burn!
3. Play follow the leader.  When it’s your turn, try including funny plyometrics (i.e. high knees, power skipping, squat jumps), your kids will love your ideas!
4. Take your kids swimming.  There are a lot of calories to burn at the pool just by using the water’s resistance, including some simple moves, such as treading water, leg kicks, running and jumping.

Work out at work!

1. Take a stair break!  Find a route to the bathroom that includes a few flights of stairs.
2. Flex your muscles and your mind.  Try sitting up straight in your chair flexing your abs, then lift your feet off the floor in repetitions.  With your knees glued together, try swinging your feet to each side (you should feel this move around your upper thighs and waist!)
3. When possible stand up!  You burn more calories standing than sitting!
4. Lunch work out!  While your lunch is cooking in the microwave, use this time to do squats and lunges.  These moves work your large muscle groups; therefore, they burn more calories.

Calorie burning household moves!

1. Grocery groove.  Unload groceries to music! While you are putting things away, try lifting different foods (i.e. canned items, watermelons, and cantaloupe) in repetition.  Some easy lifts to begin with include bicep curls, side raises, side twists, above the head raises.
2. Power vacuum by incorporating lunges into each area  of your house you vacuum.
3. 2 minutes of laundry fun.  For each load of your never ending laundry, try incorporating 2 minutes of strength moves, wall sits, lunges, stairs, squats, and explosive jumps.
4. Bathroom breaks.  When cleaning the bathroom, scrub the tub clean with different arm moves and reps of pushups.

Burning calories at bedtime!

1. Bed abs, try doing v-sits, ab crunches, and bicycle reps of 20 each, every night.
2. Tooth brushing wall sits, just what it sounds like!  FYI, dentists recommend brushing for 2 minutes every morning and night!
3. Prayer time plank.  When taking the time to meditate over your day, don’t be afraid to drop down onto your elbow/forearms with a flat, flexed body, up on your toes into a plank, even 30 seconds will allow you to fell the burn.
4. Bedside dips, sitting on the edge of your bed, put your arms down next to you with your arms at a 90 degree angle, slowly lift your bottom off the side of the bed, using your triceps dip down and back up in repetition.

These are just a few occasions to sneak in some calorie burning moves!  You can always bust out some dance moves or flexing in the car, in the shower, or during commercial breaks.  Challenge yourself to go out of your way to burn more calories, you will soon find that you do have the time!