Some days you simply don't have time for your usual workout. Perhaps you have graduation parties, summer BBQ’s, weekend trips and vacations, work traveling, or you have meetings from dawn ‘til dusk. Or maybe something totally unexpected comes up and your workout time disappears.
When life steals your exercise time, however, you do not have to forgo your workout. If you have just a few minutes, you can burn off 100 calories, get your heart pumping fast and redeem at least a little of your workout.
Here are 10 ways to torch 100 calories
You can use them on busy days or even to supercharge your normal workout days. Most estimates are for a person weighing approximately 130-150 pounds. If you weigh more, you can probably shorten the duration, but if you are lighter, add a few minutes to ensure that you burn at least 100 calories.
- Take the stairs. Stair climbing for 15 minutes will burn 137 calories. Have a 15-minute break at work? Find a staircase and set your phone alarm to alert you when 15 minutes have passed.
- Run a 5-minute mile. By the time you are 4 and ½ minutes in, you will have already burned 100 calories. If you can’t get outside, just run in place.
- Ride a stationary bike at 20 mph for 4 minutes 54 seconds. Or get on on your bike and enjoy the weather. You can also put in a little work on that Assault Bike!
- Work on the lawn. Pull weeds for 17 minutes, rake leaves or 20 minutes, or dig dirt for 16 minutes.
- Calisthenics. Spending 15 minutes doing some light body-weight squats, lunges, jumping jacks, get-ups and knee-ins will burn about 137 calories. If you need more ideas for quick body-weight circuits ask our coaching staff, they would love to help you.
- Go for a walk. A 150-pound person will burn approximately 117 calories by walking at a 4 mph speed for 20 minutes. Walk in place if you do not have a good area to walk in outdoors. Try walking in place while you watch your favorite television show! Or come in and use our Trueform Runner which will help burn more calories.
- Kettlebell Swings. If it takes you five minutes to do 50 swings at 10 swings per minute, you'd burn around 100 calories in that time. To reach the whopping 1,212 calorie burn per hour, you'd have to work your way up to completing 250 to 300 swings using a kettlebell that's between 20 and 35 pounds.
- Chop firewood. Summer camping trips or sitting around the fire with friends and family this summer? If you're having S'mores with the kids chop some wood so you can enjoy them too! Spend 5 minutes chopping firewood and you will burn 100 calories.
- Swim laps. Enjoy the pool during the hot days. It only takes 12 minutes to burn off 100 calories while swimming.
- Mow the lawn with a push mower. If you are someone like me who actually enjoys doing yard work, it only takes about 14 minutes zap 100 calories.