by Matt Bird

Created on: August 06, 2009

Given how simple it is to keep your body trim, it's surprising how many overweight people there are in the world. Not that I'm making fun of those who tip the scales a bit much - for many of you there's little that can be done, thanks primarily to pure biological problems - but the rest of you often don't have an excuse. It's really easy to get in shape, even if said shape doesn't resemble He-Man.

Here are ten simple methods for keeping yourself fit. Follow as many of them daily as you can and you'll see a difference in no time.

1.) Walk. Walk wherever you have to go. It saddens me how many people take their car to a store that's ten or fifteen minutes away. My father often drives to a video store that's just down the road from the house. Get off your butt, get on your feet and start using them. You'll save money that way, too.

2.) If you want to get a bit more serious, jog. You don't have to go fast and you don't have to go far, so long as you jog regularly and work up a good sweat. Just keep pushing yourself a little bit further each day and eventually you'll be flying down streets for hours on end.

3.) Bike. It's fun, it's fast and it's almost as cheap as walking. It's also incredible exercise, especially if you opt to take hilly courses that work to your disadvantage.

4.) Do sit-ups and push-ups every now and then. Just drop randomly while you're in your house and do 10 or 20 of each. Do that several times a day and you'll feel your arms and stomach firming up nicely.

5.) Drink water, and water alone. Skip pop, coffee, tea, alcohol, all that stuff. Water is all you need and it'll help you bring your weight down.

6.) Avoid junk food. You don't need to cut it out COMPLETELY, but having one or two pieces of candy a week is probably enough. Avoid sugar whenever you can.

7.) Eat lots of veggies. Vegetables, especially celery, are tough to break down and will take up more energy doing so. You'll invariably lose some weight in the process rather than gaining it with richer foods.

8.) Lift weights while you're watching TV. Most of us are couch potatoes to some degree, so be productive in the process. Grab some hand weights and lift 'em while you're watching something. Even a 10 or 15 pounder will tone your arms.

9.) Go outside. It's quite difficult to avoid exercise when you're outside, regardless of where you go or what you're doing. Nature walks are especially good, though just being in the great outdoors is nice.

10.) And, last but not least, clean your house. If you haven't done it in a while you'll realize soon just how bad it gets. Cleaning can get tiring rather quickly, thus helping you stay in shape in the process.

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