The exam period has given you plenty of time to dream up summer plans of sunshine, beaches and bikinis, but after realising all those “revision treats” have taken their toll, fitting into last year’s swimwear may be posing a bit of a problem… Scrolling through social media has left you at a loss with which fitness fad “really works”, but what if there was a way to improve your health without going on a no-carb-vegan-lettuce-marathon-running-diet with minimal changes to your daily routine? Welcome to the wonderful world of the lazy-girl fitness routine!
No need to climb mountains, take the stairs!
Whether you’re mooching around your local shopping centre or catching the train home, instead of taking the lift or the escalator, work your booty and your heart by pacing it up the stairs and with all your shopping and luggage in tow, you’re sure to burn some calories…
Cardio is boring, so take a Zumba class
What better way is there to get fit than to have a good giggle while trying (and usually failing) to dance to some very upbeat and fast-moving music? Not only is a fitness class like this a good way to get your sweat on, but it’s so much fun that it doesn’t feel like your usual boring workout at all!
Workout with a friend
Best friends are usually your biggest supporters but also your biggest rivals! Go for a jog or a game of tennis and catch up on the latest gossip while the revision fat you’ve accumulated melts away… Combining healthy competition with good company, what could be better?
Miss the bus…
Walking or cycling to campus or town not only looks after your body, but saves you cash! You’ll save money on trains, buses and petrol as well as improve your fitness! Walking or cycling at a decent pace for an hour is a great way to get some fresh air and light exercise whilst not messing around with your daily routine.
Healthy swaps
Being fitter isn’t all about exercise, bin those biscuits and pick up some healthy snacks instead! Be aware of the sugar content of the foods you consume and go for fresh, homemade options rather than readymade foods with unknown ingredients you can’t even pronounce. There are hundreds of healthy alternative meals sprawled across the internet waiting to be discovered!
Sleep enough
How can you have the energy to try this new active lifestyle if you have no energy in the first place? Sleep is when your body repairs itself and allows you to start the next day fresh and ready to go! We’ve all have nights out that last until 6am, wondering how on earth you ever made it home (and where the contents of your bank account went), but try and keep these ones to a minimum so you can get your eight hours and kick butt the next day!
Use a fitness tracker
This is a great way to guilt trip yourself into exercising. After lazing around the house all day, you casually check your phone only to realise the only steps you’ve managed are from bed to sofa to fridge and that apparently hasn’t burned of the calories of the three Snickers, two pieces of toast and bowl of Cheerios you munched on earlier… Hmmm… Having a vague idea of how active you’ve been in a day (we all tend to overestimate!) is also helpful for making sure you’re not over or under eating and there are plenty of free apps to monitor this, so the pennies remain in your pocket!
So maybe after reading this you’ll be thinking this isn’t really a lifestyle for a lazy girl, but maybe that’s the whole point! With these small changes, you could be gradually transformed from a lazy girl to a happy healthy girl without even realising! Good luck and if you decide not to ditch the biscuits, we won’t judge.
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