Who among us hasn’t been inspired by the amazing physical prowess displayed by the Olympians in Beijing? If nothing else I’m sure there have been times when the competition has motivated you to get up off the couch to cheer on your favorite athlete. So there–you expended at least a few calories by standing, raising your arms, yelling and cheering. Compared to how many calories the athlete is expending it might seem insignificant, but if you live a relatively sedate life it’s at least a step in the right direction.
The point is: expending calories in an effort to lead a healthier life is not that hard once you find the motivation to get moving. Nike’s motto is “Just Do It,” but I prefer the saying, “You Can Do It,” because in all honesty, most of us really can. We really can carve out at least a few minutes in our day to walk, jog, bike or swim. In fact, most of us expend calories without even realizing were doing so. Consider how much exercise you get while dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing the bathroom floor or gardening.
If you are feeling unmotivated to get up and get moving take a look at the information below. It shows the number of calories burned during one hour of physical activity. The first set of numbers illustrates the calories burned for a 175-pound healthy man while the numbers on the right lists the calories burned for a 140-pound healthy woman.
The number of calories you burn in an hour for each activity may vary according to a variety of factors, including environmental conditions. You can figure out the number of calories you would burn during your workouts by writing down your weight and then dividing your weight by 140 pounds for a woman or 175 for a man. Then, multiply this number by the number of calories burned in an hour as shown below. This will give you the number of calories YOU burn for the same activity.
Cleaning House or Playing Golf: Man = 300 calories Woman = 240 calories
Gardening or Walking Briskly at 3.5 mph: Man = 460 calories Woman = 370 calories
Jogging a 9-minute mile or Swimming: Man = 730 calories Woman = 580
Running a 7-minute mile or Skiing: Man = 920 calories Woman = 740
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