Okay, I’m going to openly admit it, even though I have probably admitted it before, I don’t go to the gym as often as I probably should. It’s June and that last time that I was in the gym was this time last year. I typically head into the gym when I am off from my teaching job because I have more time, but I will admit that I do some sense of a workout throughout the school year. That workout just doesn’t involve me going to the gym, and honestly it doesn’t involve me getting off of the couch. And I know there are many of you out there who have an exclusive relationship with your couch or bed, so I’m here to share my non-workout workout that I do that keeps me on the couch and also keeps me in shape for whenever I want to take part in those fun runs or physical activities.
But before I get into what I do, I want to first share some ideas on my diet. I will openly admit that I do often engorge in fast food. It’s a bad habit that I try to break, but I do make sure to balance it out as much as possible. My focus is to make sure that my metabolism is at its peak. A great metabolism means that you can eat mostly anything that you want – which you should either way. If you want to eat your favorite foods, then do so. My advice is to eat moderate portions and make sure to eat three meals a day, and have small snacks in between. By having your metabolism working throughout the day, you’ll be able to keep your metabolism healthy.
But now let me tell you what I do…
{{Photos by Stephanie Vasilidias}}
1. Reach 10,000 steps a day
Now a days, everyone has a step tracker. Even if you don’t have it on your wrist, your phone actually counts your steps to the best of its ability and as long as you have it on you.
I have way to many step trackers for each an every occasion. The two main step trackers I use are the watch step tracker from Nokia (Nokia Steel HR) which I love because I can wear it every day and it looks like a very fashionable watch. It makes me feel like I am not really wearing a step tracker and just wearing a watch. Then for my more dressed down days, I’ve been wearing the new G-Shock watch that I recently snagged from a release event about a month or two ago.
You can reach that step milestone in a variety of ways without even having to think much about it. I reach my step goal unconsciously every day by just working and moving around throughout the day when necessary. At work, don’t take the elevator, take the stairs. Park further back in the parking lot to get a little more steps in walking into work. If you have a desk job, try to get up every once and awhile to go grab a snack or grab a drink of water. My trick is that I drink a lot of water throughout the day to keep me hydrated which makes me have to visit the bathroom more times than not. I’m killing two birds with one stone by drinking all of that water.
Then on your way home, walk to go get your mail. Take out the trash. Do some other small random chores that you know will need to be done eventually.
For the weekends, you can either take a break or head to the mall – which is a great way to get those 10,000 steps in with ease.
There are a variety of ways to reach that step milestone before you even make it home at the end of the day. So then once you make it home, you can just park yourself on the couch and continue on with your non-workout workout.
2. Get inspired with some couch workouts
After doing some research last year, I found some amazing couch workouts that you can do from your couch that I have shared with multiple people. I can’t sit here and take claim for these workouts, but I have made some adaptations based off of the couch that I have and the space that I am in. So, my advice is to take a look at the workouts and adapt it based off of you and your home.
The first workout is mostly all on the couch and doesn’t require you to get up at all. I actually have done some of these workouts while flipping through the channels watching some reality tv on MTV or VH1 or when watching the Bachelorette.
This second workout does require to get up a little bit, so these are great for the days when you have more energy or on the weekends when you aren’t getting up to as much to get those 10,000 steps in.
I often do these workouts when my husband isn’t home so that I don’t kick him in the face, plus he doesn’t like watching the reality tv shows that I put on, so I try to get out my indulgences before he gets home. Additionally, I don’t need him staring at me or messing with my form, which I know his silly self will do.
