(ARA) – With the cost of everything so high these days, people are looking for ways to trim their budgets. Among the most obvious places to cut back, eliminating that morning cup of coffee, bringing a lunch from home instead of dining out and canceling those services you can really do without – like cable TV and that gym membership you don’t really use much anyway.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t stay active, however. Numerous studies have shown that regular exercise is a critical part of staying healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), regular exercise helps people maintain a healthy weight and delay or prevent the onset of diabetes and heart problems.
Regular activity is so important, in fact, that the Federal Government recommends American adults get at least 30 minutes of exercise five times a week. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to head down to the gym, which can be more of a chore than a fun activity, not to mention expensive.
Here are some ideas for getting that 30 minute workout anytime, anyplace:
1. Most employers offer an hour long lunch break and two 15-minute breaks throughout the day. Use some of that time to get up and get moving.
If you work in a tall building with lots of floors, use your break time to go up and down the stairs. If stair climbing is not an option, walk around the building at a brisk pace a couple of times a day, stopping occasionally to stretch.
2. If you’re a stay-at-home mom or dad, turn the baby stroller into work-out equipment.
Head on down to the park or just around the block with baby once or twice a day and as you move, use the stroller as a piece of work-out equipment. You can jog behind it, incorporate walking lunges and use bands for resistance training. Not only will you get the benefit of exercise, your baby will love it.
3. Take up sports hula hooping.
Ten minutes worth of vigorously wiggling your hips and moving around can burn off 110 calories, which is about as much as you’d burn if jogging or running an 8-minute mile. But burning calories quickly isn’t the only benefit the activity offers. It also promotes correct body alignment from the circular motions and proper posture in the upper body.
Substitute that light, plastic hula hoop your kids play with for a weighted one like the Acu Hoop offered by California’s Sports Hoop, Inc., and you can get even more health benefits.
When swiveled for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, weighted sports hoops can provide cardiovascular benefits, help tone muscles, burn calories and fat and facilitate weight loss. Do it religiously every day, and you can trim your waist two inches and lose four pounds every month until fit.
Weighted hoops come in a variety of styles and sizes, ranging from 1- to- 6-pounds in weight. No matter which one you choose to use, here’s how to get started:
1) Find enough space around you. Keep your feet one foot wide. Relax your knees, waist and body.
2) Relax your elbows. Lift the hoop and place it tightly against the back of your waist.
3) Grasp the hoop and keep it in a horizontal position before swinging out. Do not position the hoop at a tilt.
4) Horizontally swing out the hoop against your waist, fast and powerfully. Move your waist immediately.
5) Move your waist in a circular motion, all around pressing against the hoop.
6) Keep your motion fast enough to match the circulation speed of the hoop for it to stay up on your waist.
“The best thing about hula-hooping,” says personal trainer Rosemary Torres, “is it can be done anytime, anywhere.”
It is estimated there are now more than one million people throughout the United States using Sports Hoops as their major waist-trimming fitness equipment. For more information on the weighted hoops offered by California Sports Hoop, Inc., or to place an order, visit www.sports-hoop.com or call toll free (866) 700-5668.
