by Erin Yarrobino

Created on: April 01, 2008   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Alot of people say that if they do not have time to exercise after or before work, then they have no way of ever working out at all during the day. This is not true. Just because you are not dressed in exercise clothing and sweating does not mean you cannot burn extra calories all day.

If you drive to work, park a couple of blocks from your building. This gives you an opportunity to burn some calories while taking some extra steps.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator. It has been said time and time again, but taking the stairs is like working out with the stairclimber, one of the best cardio machines around.

Walk around the neighborhood on your lunch break. It would help to get rid of extra calories if you ate a particularly high-fat or high-calorie lunch.

Take a walking break to visit other employees who work in your building. I have read that you could actually lose 10-15 calories just doing this.

Volunteer to make any deliveries each day at your office, whether or not the destination is to another part of the building, or an outside errand. Doing little things like this also help you from feeling too groggy and tired.

If you live close enough, consider even walking to and from work each day. It will get rid of calories, and you will also spend less money on gas and transportation as well.

When you go grocery shopping, carry your bags to the car instead of using the shopping cart. It helps to tone your arm muscles.

If you really learn that you have no time either before or work to exercise, why not work out during your lunch hour? The average person generally takes only twenty minutes to eat, so that is forty minutes of exercise which could be used up. It also allows for you to concentrate better for the rest of the day, once exercise helps to alleviate stress and worry.

Use your animals as exercise pawns. Take the dog for a brief, brisk walk. It will also help to keep them in shape as well. Pet obesity is also at an all-time high, just like in humans.

If the weather is not nice enough to stay outside, play with your pets indoors. Throw the ball and make them catch it, and when they run after it, chase them too. It sounds silly, but I know from experience it feels like you are taking an aerobics class right in a gym. There is nothing like building a good heart rate to feel energized.

When the weather is nice in the spring and summer, there is plenty of exercise you could get just by going outside. Try planting some flowers in the garden, which works up a sweat. Some work watering the plants, or maybe cleaning out the garage and shed also adds up.

It does not even have to be nicer weather to exercise outside. Doing things like shoveling snow will work up a great sweat. All of that lifting and bending really works some muscle groups important for allover toning.

You may think these things could not possibly add up to lots of calories burned, but I will guarantee that it really the truth. It may not feel like it, but these things still mean exercise to your body. You body does not have the logic to know whether weights and snow machines are the same thing. As long as you are feeling the burn and getting a great heart and lung conditioning, you should not have any regrets.

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