6 Ways to Stop Being a Couch Potato

6 Ways to Stop Being a Couch Potato

Nobody likes being a couch potato, but today’s life gives very little chance of having what is considered an active lifestyle when you have an already packed schedule. Even if you do find the time, you’re probably too tired from all you’ve done during the day to lift a finger! Don’t you wish you could get more out of daily life while staying active and healthy? Well, you can if you follow this list of amazing tips to keep moving throughout the day.

 

The following tips are just what you need! We will tell you how to have a more active lifestyle without making any drastic changes. If you are the type of person to feel like taking a nap after watching someone go up a flight of stairs, you will find these tips to be easy to follow and adapt into your daily routine. Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile and keep adding more and more details to your routine. 

 

Walk everywhere

 

“Walk more” might sound like the throwaway suggestion when you want to know how to be more active, but it really does help if you take it seriously. You would be surprised at just how many opportunities for walking we pass on thanks to modern conveniences (from food-delivery apps to older ones like elevators). Wherever you need to go during the day, go on foot; to pick up lunch, a meeting with friends, picking up the kids, work in the morning (with a little help from public transportation). 

 

Drink more fluids at work

 

Take more trips to the water fountain! Not only will you be hydrating more, which is very good for you, but you will also be walking more from going for water and then from the increased bathroom breaks. If your building has bathrooms on different floors or sections, always go for the one that’s further away. It might not feel like much at the beginning, but it adds up.

 

Catch up on your favorite shows

 

Yes, we know the purpose of this list is to help you avoid becoming a couch potato, but if you just can’t miss out on streaming your favorite shows, then how about doing so with some exercise? You can create your own little routine spanning as many episodes of your favorite show a day as you want. Or, if you feel like investing a little, you can buy a cardio machine (such as an escalator or a treadmill) and use that to get your heart racing faster than any cliffhanger episode.

 

Set an alarm for workouts

 

Do you have a very involving, engrossing job? Something that has you glued to a desk for hours on end. Well, it’s important that you get enough activity through the day, so set up alarms every hour for you to get up and stretch for a couple of minutes. There are even apps that will give you easy exercise routines to do every hour after sounding an alarm, and track your progress daily, which will serve to motivate you into longer and more demanding workouts!

 

Get your dog’s help

 

We all know that owning a dog means frequent walks and playtime, but you can take that a step further if you want to add further activities to your daily life. Take your pooch out on daily walks following increasingly longer routes around the neighborhood (don’t forget your waste bags). You can totally follow this up with a longer weekend stroll around a dog park or a nearby forest trail to change things up. You will both be healthier and happier in no time!

 

Clean, clean, clean!

 

Do you feel tired after a thorough cleaning session? Those are calories burning! An intense session of cleaning and tidying the house can burn up to 200 calories per hour, so it has even more benefits that you though. Still, if you think 200 calories are not worth all the effort and you’d rather focus on other chores and exercises (or are just too tired), then you can let someone else handle that.

 

It’s not hard finding ways to stay active during the day, just remember to do them every day (or as regularly as you can) for them to take effect. You will no longer feel winded just by seeing someone else run, and who knows, you might be the one who starts running after a while!