12 EASY EXERCISES

By being more active, we can improve our mental and physical health.

Research has shown that as little as 30 minutes of exercise per day can boost our general health and well-being. Going to the gym isn't always possible, though!

See below for tips from our Accredited Practising Dietitian and Personal Trainer on how to incorporate exercise into your daily routine.

 

Increasing your steps! Use a Fitbit, app on your phone or a pedometer to measure your steps, finding ways to increase this. Try these tips:
  • Increase your incidental exercise e.g. walk instead of drive, take the stairs instead of the lift, park further and walk
  • Walk while talking on the phone
  • Go for a scheduled walk around the block
While the amount of kilojoules  / calories burnt varies from person to person, the more active you are, the more you burn.
Walk Walk Walk! Walking is a great way to exercise. It's free and can be done anywhere. Try these tips:
  • Plan 3-5 days a week where you will walk for 30 minutes or more (if just starting out, you could do shorter walks and build up or 2 lots of shorter walks in a day)
  • Walk on the treadmill or in the shopping centre if it's wet, cold or dark outside
  • Plan to catch up with a friend for a walk
  • Walk the dog
  • Walking for 30 minutes can burn around 120 calories/500kJ or more
Light jogging or jogging and walking If you're able to do some light jogging or jogging and walking you could burn from 180-250 calories/750-1000kJ in 30 minutes. Obviously don't start jogging if you don't normally do it, first start walking and build up to this in time.
Kick the ball around with the kids or with a friend This is great way to get not just yourself active but the kids too. They will love that you're spending the time with them and it's a fun way to get some exercise. You could burn around 130 calories/550kJ in 30 minutes.
Vacuuming, sweeping and mopping floors It's amazing but getting into household duties could see you burning some serious calories. Just 30 minutes of vacuuming, sweeping or mopping could see you burn 120-150 calories/500-630kJ and have nice clean floors while you're at it!
Washing the car Not many people look forward to washing the car but 30 minutes of scrubbing your car can burn around 150 calories / 630kJ. Not a bad way to get a clean car!
Cleaning windows Window cleaning burns more calories than you'd expect at around 160 calories / 670kJ per 30 minutes.
Mowing the lawn Mowing the lawn manually can burn as much as 120-150 calories / 500-630kJ per 30 minutes.
Cycling around the neighbourhood or on the stationary bike. Get on the bike and cycle around your neighbourhood at a moderate to fast pace and you could burn up to 200-250 calories / 830-1000kJ.
Swimming Swimming is a great way to exercise. Not only does it put less pressure on the joints but can result in serious calorie burn! Head down to your local pool and you could burn up to 200 calories / 830kJ in 30 minutes.
Walking up stairs Skip the elevator and take the stairs! Walking up stairs can burn 7 calories / 29 kilojoules in 3 minutes. It may not sound like much but do it several times a day and this can add up.
Dancing around the house to your favourite tunes Put your favourite tunes on and get dancing. 30 minutes of active dancing could burn up to 150-250 calories/630-1000kJ.