Exercise & Fitness Articles

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.

?2005 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS