In this day and age of automation, we have electrical appliances that do our cooking and cleaning for us. We drive cars and take buses, watch the news on flat screen televisions, and do a majority of both work and play on computers. When it comes time to exercise and keep our bodies healthy and strong, there are health clubs full of electronic equipment.
Wait a minute. I think there's something wrong with this picture. Since when did electricity and the fossil fuels needed to supply it become parts of our daily health routine? Treadmills, rowing machine, elliptical trainers and stair steppers all have digital video screens or the unit is electrically powered in some way. Although they do provide good workouts, there are other, less polluting and better ways to do this which won’t cost you the price of a health club membership.
There is a discipline for exercising called cross training. In a nutshell, cross training is doing different types of exercises that target different areas of your body. The more areas that can be targeted, the better your body will become and the less injuries you’ll get from doing the same routine over and over again. To that end, here are some green cross training exercises that most people should be able to do, which will get you out of the health clubs, save a little money and all the while be environmentally friendly.
Mowing your lawn — 30 minutes of mowing burns about 230 calories. Ultimately, get yourself a modern manual scissors type mower. It uses no gas or electricity, and it is a great way to get the lawn work done as well as take care of your body.
Walking or jogging — At a good 4 mile per hour pace, walking burns about 130 calories per mile. Jogging burns about 280 calories in 30 minutes. Some people can’t jog because of the higher impact, so walking is a better option for them. The best part of both of these activities is that you can get out and about, be out in the fresh air and see the trees and the wildlife around your area instead of being cooped up in a sweaty and musty-smelling health club.
Playing with your kids — Getting involved with your kids and being active burns up about 160 calories every 30 minutes. Not only is this good for your body, it’s good for your soul and great for the life of your children. Your body will love you for this, and so will your kids.
Go shopping! — 30 minutes of shopping burns bout 100 calories, but realistically, who can only go shopping for 30 minutes? Stimulate the economy, get a healthy body, and go shopping!
Calisthenics — Here’s an oldie but a goodie. Jumping jacks, running in place and shadow boxing all qualify. You’ll burn a staggering 320 calories in 30 minutes with this one, and this can be done virtually anywhere!
Any kind of sport fits in this category as well, like biking, basketball, swimming, even playing catch. All of those can be done outside or inside, they take no special skill and will burn mega calories, and every one of them is completely green.
Get out of that health club mentality and green up your cross training exercise lifestyle with some of these ideas, Because Action speaks louder than words!
Source: BecauseAction.com
