15 minutes a day and you can get fit
Whether you’re looking to shift some baby weight or just get fit, here’s how in just a few minutes every day
Whether your baby is a few weeks old, a few months old or reached their first birthday, at some point we all want to get back into shape and lose the baby weight, so we’ve put together this handy guide to get you back to fitness and all you need to do is find 15 minutes a day to do one, some or all of these.
1. Dance
In 15 minutes you could burn 100 calories.
2. Jumping Jacks
You can burn 150 calories in 15 minutes or do a few 5-minute bursts throughout the day.
3. Exercise bike
If you’ve got one great, if not borrow one. Someone you know is bound to have one they’re not using. You’ll easily burn over 100 calories pedalling at pace for 15 minutes.
4. Walk
If you live within walking distance of local shops make sure you do. Or if you’re going in to town park in the car park furthest away, or get off the bus one stop earlier.
5. Take the stairs
Wherever possible take the stairs. This might mean that being worn in a baby sling rather than pushed in a buggy may be your baby’s new means of getting out and about.
6. Power Walk
Make sure you hot foot it round the shops too.
7. Walk, don’t wait
Next time you arrive early for something like an appointment or baby class, don’t stand around waiting. Take a brisk walk around the block.
8. Go out of your way
Instead of taking the shortest, quickest route always ask yourself how you could add another 10-15 minutes walking to your trip.
9. Jog on the spot
Sometimes there’s no need to go out of your way. Just get on your feet and jog on the spot throughout the adverts of your favourite hour-long TV show and you’d have managed at least 12 minutes jogging. Go as fast as you can for the last 3 minutes and you’ll have burned between 180-200 calories between shows.
10. Workout while you watch
And while you’re watching TV, why not strap on some weights or grab a Pilates resistance band and get some leg-toning exercises in whilst you watch?
11. Standing Push-ups in the kitchen
Get dinner on and instead of setting a timer, do standing push-ups against the work surface to tone your arms and shoulders.
12. Get outside after dinner
Join the kids in the garden or pop to the park after dinner for a kickabout. 15 minutes of fun can burn you 150 calories.
13. Get cleaning and gardening
Put some effort into the housework! Vacuuming for 15 minutes could burn as many as 100 calories. Don’t forget the garden either – weeding, digging, mowing the lawn, trimming hedges or bushes and sweeping up are all great muscle toners and calorie burners. Digging the garden over for 15 minutes can burn 120 calories and 15 minutes mowing the lawn can burn another 100 calories!
14. Don’t leave things to pile up
Leaving things to pile up at the bottom of the stairs ready to take up later might make sense to most of us – but if you take individual items upstairs as soon as you need we recon you’ll soon have clocked up 15 minutes extra exercise!
15. Simple Squats
Fit in a few bursts of squats here and there. For example, twice a day while brushing your teeth or each time you’re waiting for the kettle to boil. Doing 50 squats in two minutes can burn around 25 calories at a time.