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Everyday
Exercise |
 (Originally published March 11, 2007) Burn calories with your daily activities By LIZA MARTIN Advocate Reporter NEWARK -- By now, you may have relinquished your New Year's resolution to a steady work-out regimen, or you may be ready to kick it up a notch. Everyday exercise -- such as taking the stairs rather than the elevator or hiking from the back of a store's parking lot instead of nabbing a front space -- can burn calories and benefit your health. "It keeps the metabolism going and stops us from being lazy, but (those activities) alone will not suffice," said Dave Alianiello, a physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist at Licking Memorial Hospital. About 19 percent of Americans say they have a high level of activity while at work and during their time off, according to a 2003 government survey. People who do more walking, lifting or carrying during their regular daily activities are more likely to be active in their leisure time than their couch potato counterparts. Alianiello, who suggests everyone should get in at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise two to three days a week, said "everyday exercises" should supplement a consistent exercise regimen. Muscular strength, or strength and resistance training such as lifting free weights and using machines; endurance exercises such as aerobics; and stretching and flexibility should be part of a physically fit person's exercise routine, Alianiello said. "You need to hit those three components to be considered in shape," he said. Dee Krier, a Hopewell hypnotist who assists people with weight loss, created a grocery store exercise program to get her clients to unknowingly exercise. Krier's program employs walking, lifting, resistance training and stretching to improve flexibility, endurance, and muscle strength and tone. "I tried to find an easy way for people to exercise doing activities they normally do," she said. "It's sneaking in exercise -- everyone has to go to the grocery store." Fifty-one-year-old Beth Vipperman said she recently found a way to squeeze in some exercise while at home watching TV: She marches in front of the screen to hour-long shows. "You really don't notice you're doing it so long because your mind is on the show," she said, adding she takes water breaks during commercials. After inactivity because of back surgery last year left Vipperman 30 pounds heavier, the Newark woman said she had to supplement her |
 treadmill exercises. "Sometimes I march if I don't have time to go to the gym .... or if it's nasty outside," she said. "I learned not to push myself because I don't want to get hurt or not go (to the gym) the next day." It's important to remember to change your exercise routine about every two months, Alianiello said. "If you've been exercising regularly since the New Year and you haven't changed your workout routine ... your body gets stale, gets bored," he said. He reminded exercisers to set clear goals for themselves to achieve in-shape success. "You have to set goals, and you have to achieve them," he said. "If you don't see the rewards, you'll just drop off."
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