Is Your Car Making You Fat?
It seems that the more time we spend in a car the fatter we become.
Over time we’ve simply got too used to driving a couple of blocks to run an errand when we could get there under our own steam.
And it’s funny, what do we do when we arrive? We drive around for 5 minutes trying to get a “decent” parking spot – the one that will mean we need the fewest steps possible to get to our destination.
We do all that – and then find we have to join a gym to keep fit and lose weight.
Now I know, some of the distances you travel are probably longer than a couple of blocks but I’m sure you get the picture. Could you do even a little more walking?
Research has shown that at least half the journeys made by car in urban areas are for 3 miles or less (and 41% are less than 2 miles).
It’s not that we can not walk – in fact going everywhere in a car is a modern phenomenon. It’s as if we can’t find our way anywhere under our own steam. It has become the default that we don’t even think to question.
Well why not question it from now on? Every time! Always ask yourself
- could I walk there (safely) or could I carry out the same errand on foot (say at my local store rather than an out of town mega huge faceless store)?
- could I park a little further away?
- could I enjoy my journey more by walking/cycling and getting in touch with what is going on in my local area?
- could walking/cycling mean that I can combine my keep fit routine with my chores today and save myself a bundle of time?
And remember if you are stuck driving in your car a lot you can still get some exercise – remember the 4 Easy Car Exercises post from a few weeks ago
4 Easy Car Exercises
No time to exercise? Stuck in a traffic jam with a long journey ahead of you?
There’s always a way to squeeze in a little exercise no matter where you are. Just make sure if you are driving that you only do these exercises when you have stopped or when it is absolutely safe to do them…
1. Tone Your Butt
You can tone the gluteal muscles almost anywhere by squeezing together your buttock muscles for 10 seconds and then releasing. Repeat 10 times.
2. Pull in Your Stomach
Faltten your stomach by breathing out and pulling your stomach in towards your back as far as possible. Hold for six seconds and release. Repeat 10 times.
3. Squeeze Your Thighs
Squeeze your thighs together as hard as you can. Hold for 10 seconds and release. Repeat 10 times. If this is too easy you can increase the toning effect by squeezing something like a ball of sweater between your legs.
4. Exercise Your Shoulders
Keeping your arms and shoulders relaxed and holding lightly onto the steering wheel, lower your shoulders and pull back as far as you can moving your shoulder blades together. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times.
Do you know any other great exercises to do in the car?
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