The A-Z of Incidental Exercise

Incidental exercise can make a massive difference to your weight loss and health and fitness journey. The best thing about incidental exercise, most of the time you don't even realise you are improving your general health and fitness levels - but you are. Simply find more ways to incorporate incidental exercise into your daily routines and you will achieve your health and fitness goals much faster.

This is our A-Z of incidental exercise, but we're sure you can create your own:

A = Appointments. Walk as if you are late for an appointment to boost cardiovascular activity

B = Brushes, Brooms. Get sweeping - great upper body exercise.

C = Car washing and Detailing. Another great way to stretch the body, reach over the top of the roof and lock in the core. Add in bending, stretching and you are working all the muscles in the body.

D = Dog walking. If you don't have a dog, then borrow one. Talk a ball and start throwing it. Great all over exercise, but add in lots of arm movements for a complete all over body workout.

E = Elevators and Lifts. Get a great leg and butt workout and use the stairs.

F = Floors. Get scrubbing. If I want an all over body workout I go back to the old fashioned scrubbing brush and your floors look amazing too.

G = Gardening. The best bit about doing your own garden is the amount of calories you burn bending and straightening. AND if you mow your own lawns you save money too.

H = Housework. You knew I was going to say it. But cleaning one room a day can keep the house looking fantastic and you get added exercise.

I = Ironing. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart for a great twist and stretch upper body exercise.

J = Jokes. Laughter may not use up many calories but we feel so much better for having a good "belly" laugh on a regular basis.

K = Killer Abs. Sick of doing a million crunches and not getting anywhere. Well sometimes we do need to re-train our abs, so try sucking it in. Imagine a piece of cotton through your navel and pulling it backwards and tying a knot behind your spine. Works wonders.

L = Lying down. No this is not an excuse to have a rest, but you can take time to tighten and release each muscle group in turn. Great stress reliever too.

M = Make your own bread. Get physical and awesome bread at the same time.

N = Nature. As in get outside and get walking. Spend some time walking in the open air, we spend so much time in recycled air we can be forgiven for not knowing what real air smells like. Try and walk during your lunch break and get out of the office.

O = Outside play time. Take the kids to the park, push them on the swings. Go with your mates and kick a ball around or throw a frisbee. It's not hard to work up a sweat and have a great time too.

P = Painting and decorating. When was the last time you re-decorated your house? Get the steps out, get reaching and stretching. But the beauty of painting and decorating is that not only do you get a sustained workout, your house looks fantastic too.

Q = Quickstep and other dancing classes. Take your partner and exercise (I mean dance) together.

R = Running for the bus. Now I am not advocating that you deliberately leave the house later, but if you can incorporate short sprints into your "walks" then you can increase your health and fitness levels dramatically.

S = Shopping malls (centres). These are a great place to walk especially if the weather isn't too good. Don't take any money with you, just walk with purpose as if you are late to meet someone. Walk all the way to one end of the mall, then turn around and walk back again. Given the size of the shopping centres and precincts this could take some time.

T = Talking on the phone. Don't just exercise your jaw, use the time to get some stepping in while you talk.

U = Underneath. As in get underneath the furniture. Move it around and vacuum underneath. Amazing how many calories you can burn and pens you will find.

V = Vacations. Don't just sit by the pool sipping cocktails though. Take your training shoes and track pants and go and explore - otherwise you could save yourself some money and stay home and drink those :-)

W = Wash windows. If you have as many windows as I have, this one household chore can take several hours and burn a lot of calories and is a great all round body exercise.

X = X-rated. Need we say more.

Y = Yawning. This gets oxygen into the lungs, refreshes the blood supply and if you deliberately "yawn" you can use the opportunity to stretch the face / jaw / neck muscles as well.

Z = Zumba. This is the latest dance craze, so why not grab a couple of friends and go join in.