Whoa, girls, what's the deal? Aren't we all reading constantly about how you have to exercise to be healthy, keep the weight off and make sure that everything is working correctly? Okay, so I'm a little sick of reading about how exercise is good and we're bad if we don't do it—but I didn't think that we weren't paying any attention!
New research has found that women get an average of just 18 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise a day. That's 12 minutes less than what men are getting every day, which leaves us more susceptible to problems like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and (of course) extra weight around the middle part of the body, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. But luckily there's some easy ways on how to incorporate more exercise into your every day.
Read more ¿Qué más? Weight Loss challenge day #10: 5 surprising benefits of taking a stroll on National Walking Day.
1. Join a low-cost health club for the basics: With the opening of more good-quality but cheap fitness clubs, like Planet Fitness, the trend is bound to keep going. More expensive clubs (the kind I certainly can't afford) are going to have to drop their prices or add more value to compensate, so now's a great time to start going to one of the great new cheaper options if before you couldn't cough up the cash.
2. At-home programs are going to get more challenging: If you already work out but have been lazy lately or simply not feeling your home fitness videos anymore because you've gotten too used to or bored of them, new high-intensity videos are coming to the market. Extreme challenge exercises like P90X and Insanity are drawing more people than ever, and you can get in on it too.
3. Workout videos can now be viewed from your computer: If you're too lazy to get to the gym and don't want to buy a fitness video, now you have an even EASIER way to get exercise into your life: subscription-based streaming video companies are getting in on the fitness need! You can join StreamFit or GaiamTV to watch exercises and workout directly from home in the easiest way possible.
4. More options for older adults, children and employer-based programs: If you need some extra motivation to get fit, why not do it with the whole family? There are more classes and programs opening up for older adults and kids, so your elderly parents and young children can get in on the fitness fun, too. Plus employers are beginning more incentive-based programs to help the people working in their companies stay healthy since it's now considered good preventative care.
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With so many options on how to get moving more, how can you resist? Whether you're joining a gym, trying new workout videos, getting fit with the help of online programs or getting the whole family involved, it's more important than ever for us as women to exercise in 2012.
How are you planning to exercise more this year?
Image via Augusto Mia Battaglia Photography/flickr
