Physical activity doesn’t have to entail vigorous workouts at the gym, playing sports or running in the park, to stay healthy.  As it turns out, there are numerous everyday activities that will help us burn calories and lose weight!

In a world consumed by the 9 to 5 routine, sitting too long behind a desk and driving everywhere, it’s becoming increasingly evident that as a nation, we need to get moving!

Hundred’s of years ago, before the invention of the elliptical and treadmill, people moved more without being conscious of the fact they were burning calories and maintaining good cardiovascular health. Recent research suggests that we could once again benefit from this approach to exercise by simply thinking less and doing more. According to smallstep.gov, the movement we do throughout the day, may be even more important than our planned exercise sessions, when it comes to weight management. Tasks such as walking to the grocery store, raking up leaves, vacuuming the stairs, or walking the dog, are all excellent activities that will help you maintain a healthy body, and when done regularly, can help you lose weight.

The American College of Sports Medicine outline their basic recommendations for physical activity to include 30 minutes of moderate intense cardio, five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous intense cardio, 3 days a week. In addition to cardio they also recommend doing eight to 10 strength-training exercises which should involve eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week. In case you were wondering, moderate exercise means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, yet still being able to carry on a conversation. If you think about it, raking up the leaves for an hour qualifies as moderate exercise!

Perhaps even more encouraging is the advice one health expert gives Time.com “You cannot sit still all day long and then have 30 minutes of exercise without producing stress on the muscles,” says Hans-Rudolf Berthoud, a neurobiologist at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center who has studied nutrition for 20 years. “The muscles will ache, and you may not want to move after. But to burn calories, the muscle movements don’t have to be extreme. It would be better to distribute the movements throughout the day.”

So on those days when squeezing in a gym workout just doesn’t seem feasible, try adding 10 minute bouts of exercise instead. Research suggests this may be just as effective as exercising for 30 minutes straight. You can also dial up the intensity of many household chores to burn extra calories. Next time you are vacuuming the house, try incorporating some lunges and squats. Instead of bending and lifting with your back, think about releasing your hips into a squat and holding it for a time.  The trick is to increase our time spent moving throughout the day, by making small changes to our lifestyle that are easy to stick to. Smallstep.gov makes the following suggestions; don’t sit when you can stand, don’t stand when you can pace or walk and don’t just walk when you can walk briskly!