Everyday activities like walking up a flight of stairs, instead of taking an elevator, can burn extra calories and rev up the cardiovascular system. Pictured here is Qcitymetro fitness writer Sondra E.Z. Hines. (Photo: Glenn H. Burkins for Qcitymetro.com)
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Sondra E. Z. Hines, AILT, is an adjunct professor of health & wellness and is certified to teach group fitness exercise and Zumba. Wednesday Wellness - Fitness News You Can Use is published weekly. Email: sondraezhines@yahoo.com.

I have a confession: As the calendar inches closer to the holidays, my workouts are becoming sporadic, and I’m finding it more challenging to make regular stops at the gym.

It’s not for lack of desire. I’m passionate about fitness. It’s just that my schedule, like yours, is full -- so full, in fact, that it sometimes seems that my exercise time is in a heavyweight boxing match with holiday-related tasks.

I feel like I’m losing my equilibrium.

In her book MyPlate for Moms, How to Feed Yourself & Your Family Better, Elizabeth M. Ward writes: “Achieving balance in any area of your life is no mean feat. It takes vigilance to monitor yourself so that you don’t take on too many projects, forgo regular exercise, raid the kitchen every night or all of the above!”

I don’t wish to skip exercise, despite a hectic schedule, and like a determined boxer, I’m in this fitness fight to win.

So with that in mind, here are some simple holiday workouts – quick things you can do to burn calories and revs up the cardiovascular system, because any exercise is better than none.

Although the exercises listed here are in Ward’s book, many of them you probably currently do, like walking the mall or stairs.

Each exercise mentioned burns approximately 100 calories, based a person weighing 150 pounds. So the actual number of calories burned will vary, depending on your particulars.

Lookout, calories; I’m going for a holiday TKO!

Until, next time, I wish you Merry Fitness, good health and wellness!
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Editors Note: For more health- and fitness-related content, visit our health page at Qcitymetro/health.
 

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