Easy fitness: Summer bodies are made in winter – here’s how

Winter is literally around the corner, and it is the perfect time to get your body in shape for when summer eventually makes a comeback. If you aren’t able to get to the gym — even though you promised yourself a hundred times, there is still a way for you to burn calories – and it is surprisingly easy.

The best part is that you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home — most of the time.

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Burn calories just by going about your day

Did you know that you are burning calories every day, just by doing everyday things?  

Personal Trainer Eliza Flynn explains: “You do not need to go to the gym or get a workout in to burn calories. Even things such as digesting food or standing burn calories. You are even burning calories while you sleep!  

The exact number of calories a person burns is affected by many things such as intensity and weight, so you can only get a rough estimate. However, here are 7 routine activities and the calories burnt, based on a person weighing 70kg and engaging in these activities for 20 minutes.” 

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1. Washing up 

A mere 20 minutes of doing the washing up standing up, burns an estimated 44 calories! To increase this, be more vigorous with your washing up and do more of it! 

2. Carrying and storing shopping 

The next time you head to the shops, know that if you are taking 20 minutes to walk back to your house and put the groceries away, you will be burning 61 calories. To increase this, carry heavier bags and put things away which require you to stand on a stool. 

3. Cooking and preparing food 

You might be tempted to do more cooking that involves chopping up veg and herbs for 20 minutes when you know you can burn 49 calories. If there is more hard work involved, such as filling several heavy pots with water or whipping cream by hand, this increases the number of calories burnt to 86! 

4. Redecorating the house 

Trying to upcycle that chest of drawers by giving it a new lick of paint? Or to add an accent wall to your lounge? Only twenty minutes engaged in these activities burns 81 calories. Imagine if you were painting the whole house!  

PT Mayatts adds: “A good spring clean or general housework can help burn a lot of calories! Hoovering, ironing, and hanging clothes get your body moving and help to stay active at home. So do not see it as a chore, see it as a way to get that extra burn. In the end, your body will thank you and so will your clean house.” 

5. Gardening 

Green-fingered people burn a lot of calories taking care of their garden. For example, planting fruit and vegetable seeds or plants for 20 minutes burns 105 calories.

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And if you are hoeing the soil, that is 123 calories burnt. Even pottering about the garden or even your house, watering the plants for 20 minutes burns 37 calories. The more you do in your garden, the more calories you burn! 

PT Mayatt adds: “Taking care of the garden is an intense activity and anyone that does it will agree. Mowing the lawn has you walking, and planting flowers have you bending, standing, and moving in all directions. If you have a garden and it looks a mess, then get out there and start working out!”  

6. Sightseeing  

To take a break from computer work, sightseeing is also a good option to get out and explore the city. Have you ever thought about how much you are burning and walking when simply doing something like sightseeing on a day out around walking around your town? In London, some days you could be walking 25-30,000 steps, without realizing it because you are taking in the sights of the city. You can burn up to 150 calories every 30 minutes of walking!

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