
When people hear about burning calories, they instinctively think of getting all sweaty at the gym or doing high-intensity activities.
This is not always true. Exercising should not feel like a chore. It should be basic and exciting — just like it is when you add calories.
Take a ride with these 20 cool activities over getting into a gym.
- Trampoline jumps: This activity will bring back those fun childhood memories. Trampoline jump builds muscles, burns fat, and totally exercises your body. Here is the catch — 20-minute trampoline workout routine can burn as many calories as running 10 km/hr for the same time.
- Walking: Running is not for everyone, and that is fine. The good news is that walking at a fast pace can be as beneficial as running. In fact, research shows brisk walking burns an average of 90 calories per mile and improves your overall body health. To increase the intensity, you can walk on routes with hills.
- Cycling: It can be leisure or a power ride, but one thing cycling guarantees is lots of fun and boost to your health. An hour of cycling can help you burn between 450 to 750 calories on average.
- Aqua aerobics: This is a low impact exercise good for those who find it hard to run, walk, or do high- intensity activities because of achy muscles and weak joints. This is particularly an excellent way for seniors to get the body going.
- Kayaking: An hour of kayaking can burn over 350 calories, depending on how hard you paddle. Kayaking uses the upper body, and it is a great way to tone your arms and shoulders.
- Yoga: Yoga is a low impact exercise compared to running or hiking, and it helps to strengthen muscle groups.
- Play with kids: playing with your kids can make your home a healthy one. Play games with them and do activities that will make them move and get some sweat.
- Hiking: Hiking is an interesting activity that totally gets you off your routine. This activity will activate all your body parts, tests your resolve, and make you create a wonderful experience. And the beauty of hiking is you look back at the experience and realise how you pushed to the edge and succeeded.
- Take self-defense class: burning calories while you learn to protect yourself gives a thrilling outlook to the activity.
- Volleyball: The calories you burn playing volleyball depend on the type (court or beach) and an average person burns about 364 calories per hour. The sand on the beach acts as a resistance requiring more muscles for play.
- Tennis: Tennis is a high-intensity aerobic activity, and the good part is that you can reduce the intensity when you play doubles. A person who weighs 77 kilograms can burn about 600 calories every hour of exercising.
- Shopping: Shopping: A leisurely activity that can accumulate major steps by shop hoping. An average of 500 calories can be expended in huge malls.
- Dancing: Whether you are hitting the dancefloor or mimicking the reigning dance step, a sure thing is that you are burning off some unwanted calories. A person who weighs 57 kg burns an average of 5.5 calories per minute of moderate-intensity dancing according to Harvard Health Publishing.
- Ditch the elevator: Using the stairs is one piece of advice that stares you in the face because it is beneficial. For every stair you climb, you burn an average of 0.42 calories.
- Basketball: If you have been wondering what basketball feels like, then this might be the perfect time to team up with friends and enjoy the court game. Basketball is a naturally high-intensity game that activates different parts of the body. Playing in a full-court can burn about 500 calories in an hour.
- Nurture a garden: working in the garden can work wonders on your health. Spending half an hour digging and shoveling can burn 250 calories. The same half an hour for weeding is 105 calories, while raking helps you burn 100 calories.
- Golfing: It is a low impact exercise that involves the cool swinging of arms. But golfing incorporates cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and even balance and coordination. Plus, it is a good way of getting natural air.
- Mow the lawn: Apart from being a great way to burn calories, pushing a mower back and forth the green grass poses many benefits for your health. On average, pushing a mower for 15 minutes burns 93 calories for a 77 kg person. This equates to briskly walking a mile.
- Wash your car: The scrubbing, wiping, and rinsing done when cleaning a car can help burn about 250 calories per hour. When next you drive into the car wash on a weekend, know you are missing a wonderful opportunity to burn calories.
- Jump rope: With just 15 minutes of jump rope, you can burn about 200–300 calories. In fact, jump rope can burn 25% more calories per minute than running. It is time to get your jump ropes.
- More ideas: mop the floor, cook, try a partner workout, join fitness challenges, outdoor painting, paintballing, ATV rides, and many more.
Have you got ideas? kindly share in the comments section.
