You have heard of TV dinners, but have you heard of TV workouts? The problem with us adults is that after a long hard day, we just want to curl up in front of the TV till we fall asleep. And while the body needs rest, letting the television be a substitute for exercise can do a lot of damage. Take a lesson from kids. They run around till their bodies are basically breathless, and then they run around some more.
But okay, we aren’t kids, and so less excites us. Rather, we come up with different excuses why we cannot work out. The biggest one I’ve heard is the lack of time to dedicate to exercise. Well, you watch your favorite TV shows, right? Then it’s time to learn to kill two birds with the same stone, and sweat while you fantasize about McSteamy and Nicole Scherzinger. In fact, with the number of times guys take off their shirts on TV shows, TV should inspire you to work out. I’m still thinking about 90210, and how for some reason, they ALL have abs…
Anyway, what can you do while you’re catching up on the latest dramas? Here are a few suggestions:
- Exercise during commercial breaks: An hour-long TV show is technically about 42 to 45 minutes. So unless your TV time is limited to your DVR, you have at least 15 minutes every hour to do something. So maybe crank up some music and dance. Dancing is great cardio because it’s really just carefree jumping around.
- Work out while you watch: You have not watched a commercial since the invention of the DVR? You can still work out while your focus is on the TV. Stick to repetitive exercises you don’t need equipment or heavy concentration for, like jumping jacks (or star jumps), push-ups, abdominal exercises, yoga stretches, etc.
- Set tags for exercise bursts: Another option is to jump up and do something when a particular action occurs. For example, if it’s a romantic show, do a minute-long jump rope session every time there’s a kiss. If it’s a thriller, maybe do a round of push-ups when scary music plays.
- Stretch while you watch: Yoga does require some concentration, but it also allows you hold positions for an extended period. So you can decide to hold one pose per scene or something like that. And since you can’t tell how long a scene would be, it’s pretty unpredictable.
- Add to your list of favorite TV shows: There are shows that inspire even more of a workout. You can make sure you get those into your list of regularly watched TV shows. Some examples are: So You Think You Can Dance (and most dance shows), Biggest Loser, Thintervention, etc.
- Sit-ups (and most floor abdominal exercises)
- Squats
- Lunges
- Couch Dips
- Planks
- Jumping Jacks
- Bridges
- Push-ups
- Downward facing dog
- Side planks
Thank you for the support on our video last week. Look out for more!
Cheers Eights & Weights!
Photo credit: elementfitnessny.blogspot.com
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I watch quite a bit of TV so this will certainly come in useful. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThese abdominal exercise machines provide an aerobic exercise workout with out having to have nay high impact exercises. You are going to burn fat and calories twice as fast as you do with other exercisers out there since it is actually incorporating your entire body, not just your lower half.
ReplyDelete