Commercial-cize

Don't "have time" to exercise but make time to watch your favorite show on DVR?  I'm not judging.  I actually do this too sometimes.  Right now I could be exercising but instead I am typing this blog and watching The Weight of the Nation On Demand.  Now this documentary doesn't have commercials but I will be sure to get moving once finished with this blog post.

So what is Commercial-cize?  It is exercise during commercial breaks.  Many of us DVR our favorite shows and watch them after a long day at work.  Then we fast forward during the commercials to save time since our days are jam-packed.  Well how would you like to get a little exercise in while watching your favorite shows.  Well of course you can exercise during the show but if you'd rather just VEG OUT during the show, then you can use the commercial breaks to commercial-cize!

I am going to give you some simple suggestions for getting your body moving during television viewing.  It might only be 3 minutes of activity but if you watch an hour long show with five to ten commercial breaks, that's 15 to 30 minutes of exercise!  And if you watch television for a couple hours then you can actually get the daily recommended 60 minutes of activity in just while watching t.v. 

Also instead of snacking during your favorite television show, you will be engaging in a healthy activity that will be burning calories.

And bringing your heart rate up every ten minutes or so will help to keep your metabolism revved up for a longer period of time.

This is also a great way to get active as a family.  Get the kids involved and get them moving too.  Today many children spend most of their time playing on computers and with video games rather than running outside.

Why is exercise important?

Increases muscle strength and endurance

Protects muscles and joints from injury

May improve performance in a particular sport

A healthy body composition

Stronger bones

Improved self-esteem

Elevated mood (decreased chance of depression)

Maintain a healthy blood pressure

Better heart and lung function

Lower blood cholesterol levels

Overall well being

A good fitness habit that lasts a lifetime

So you can count your moves and aim for 15 repetitions of each move or what I like is to do one move for an entire commercial and switch moves at each commercial.  Then I just repeat those moves by picking up where I left off at the last commercial.  So for example first commercial I do push-ups, second commercial I do squats, third commercial I do sit ups, fourth commercial I do leg lifts, and fifth commercial I do tricep dips.  Then repeat.  If you don't know what a move is, just look it up online!

Commercial-cizing moves without weights or equipment:

PUSH-UPS
SIT-UPS
CRUNCHES
LEG LIFTS - lay on back, lift legs to 45 degree angle then lower to 2 inches above the ground, repeat
SCISSOR LEGS - lay on back, lift legs two inches off the ground and scissor kick them in and out
BICYCLE CRUNCHES
PLANK
RUSSIAN TWISTS
REVERSE CURLS
TRICEP DIPS
SQUATS
LUNGES
BURPEES
JUMPING JACKS
HIGH KNEES
JUMP SQUATS
ICE SKATERS

Commercial-cizing moves with weights or canned goods:

BICEP CURLS
HAMMER CURLS
TRICEP KICK-BACKS
TRICEP EXTENSIONS
SKULL CRUSHERS
LATERAL SHOULDER RAISES
FRONT SHOULDER RAISES
UPPER CUTS
FRONT JABS (ALTERNATING ARMS)
HOOKS

This should be enough to get you started.  For more exercise ideas visit Pinterest.com or BodyRock.tv