the lazy girl workout

i was flipping through jaya jusco's bi-monthly PEARL magazine (may 2008, issue 42) and came across a very interesting article titled "lazy girl workout".

the below extract caught my attention:

"vacuuming, tidying up and getting through a pile of dishes will burn up around 100 calories in just 20 minutes!"
with such a busy schedule, who could blame you for not wanting to slog a few hours at the gym?

learn how to get a great body without spending hours on the treadmill!

exercising and getting fit doesn't have to involve hours at the gym but do realise you have to do some form of exercise! writer Deborah English puts in aptly when she says, "don't believe in the old saying: there's no gain without pain. lazy girls can get fit too." our body can thrive on a little of the right type of exercise, a healthy dollop of recreation and plenty of rest. apply the following suggestions to your life and before you know it, you'll be fit, healthy and raring to go!

do housework if the last thing you want to do is go to the gym on the weekend, get stuck into the housework before you have breakfast. vacuuming, tidying up and getting through a pile of dishes will burn up around 100 calories in just 20 minutes! don't underestimate the workout you get while cleaning and tidying up the house. your arms get worked as you clean the windows and mopping the floor works your waist as you move your mop from side to side to get all corners after a hot shower and looking around clean, guilt-free house. so, you will be killing two birds with one stone - getting a workout while getting a spotless home!


when i was about to get married, i had an extremely vigorious workout at the gym almost everyday! i could burn up to 800 calorie per workout! that's a freaking half of the total calorie needed by a girl in a day. i had a very fit body then, all parts & curve were nicely shapped & toned. i was getting so slim that my colleagues commented that i looked too skinny already and that i should stop working out and eat more instead. wow! that was the best compliment that i had and what more, a very strong reason to indulge myself. life was a paradise then.

of course i didn't indulge myself crazy as my wedding was just around the corner. i really didn't want to end up looking like a coprse bride either so i worked-out & had normal portion of meals everyday. i had to have rice during lunch; well, i tried staying away from rice and just had some noodles for lunch for sometime and guess what, i couldn't even bring myself to burn 300 calories. i just didn't have the energy to brisk walk on the tread mill. finally i learnt the tricks - consume carbohydrate during the day and eat a smaller portion for dinner. and most importantly, no food intake after 8pm.

after i got married, the mission to maintain my body figure did not sound so compelling anymore, thus i stopped doing workout altogether. people were saying that for those regular gym goer, once they stop doing workout, they will bloat like nobody's business. thank godness it didn't happen to me. i did not officially go to gym for workout anymore but i did what the article above indicated. i did lots of housework to keep my home spotlessly clean. whilst doing that, i was burning calorie unknowingly. the only difference is that i couldn't keep track of the amount of calorie i burn and i don't sweat as much anymore. nevertheless, i still feel great & satisfied especially when my house is squeeky clean after all the cleaning.