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You Don’t Need to Go to The Gym... What?!

By on July 31, 2018
Anto Article

By Antonietta Mannarino

In my last article, I mentioned how crucial it is to have an important “why” behind any workout program or a physically active lifestyle. To have a long-lasting, positive relationship with a physically active lifestyle, your reason to sweat it out every day has to be deep-seeded. Your reason has to be substantial enough that it will always convince you to stay active.

But what does it take to create or establish a physically active lifestyle? Most people will think it’s getting a gym membership and hauling ass on a daily basis while hoping it will offer the results you planned for from the beginning. As a personal trainer, I can tell you that you don’t need to get to the gym to get your sweat on every day! Not everyone likes arts & crafts or classical music so why should going to the gym be any different? We can be creative in our own way by decorating our own home, and we can like alternative music or country while still appreciating music. The same goes for physical activity.

After establishing your “why”, your next task is to figure out what you can commit to on a daily basis that will make you feel great while moving your body and not feel obligated to something you don’t relate to. What kind of activities would you love to do and can see yourself doing on a daily basis without feeling tortured in doing so? The possibilities are endless, and they can vary on a regular basis and break the conventional ideas of going to a gym to lift heavy weights and sweat away on a treadmill. I’ve heard many times from friends, colleagues, and clients that they are not gym lovers. They’ve tried time and time again to stick to a program but finally, get fed up and cannot commit to it in the long run. Some don’t like the environment, the people or even the smell of sweat! That’s okay. You can’t force yourself to like something just because it’s good for you!

However, I do encourage you to schedule your workouts or “move it” time as though you were scheduling an important meeting or a doctor or dentist appointment. It’s “you” time, and it’s time to enjoy your body. Scheduling it in your agenda or phone will help you keep your time organized and keep yourself accountable for that part of the day that is devoted to your health and well-being.

Let’s look at the breakdown of being physically active and what we can play with to make it fit into our personal lives.

According to the WHO, exercise is defined as “any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure”. They suggest 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity throughout the week for ages of 18-64 years old (WHO, 2011). This is the basic outline to follow to lead a healthy life. However, we can tweak this to fit your conditions, your preferences, and your life!

You can train your muscles with weights as well as your own body weight. Performing basic calisthenics (bodyweight exercises) will give you a great workout, and you can perform these anywhere. Getting your heart rate up to working to 75% of its maximum capacity can be accomplished by just about doing anything that involves moving. (Check below to calculate your maximum heart rate!) The key here is to follow activities that suit your liking and will keep you invested because you find it fun, not an obligation. We will stick to doing something that is pleasurable as opposed to something that makes us feel like we’re dragging along with a ball and chain.

Your options can range as mentioned below, and remember; you can switch it up every day! You can choose both conventional and unconventional ways of keeping active or selecting one or the either. By conventional, I am referring to the mainstream way of working out by the average population (cardio machines, Zumba classes, weights). Unconventional ways are those creative ways that can be used and still count as “working out”. You are limitless and bound only by your own personal preferences! Here is a list of both unconventional and conventional ways that you can choose to keep active on a daily basis.

Conventional ways:

  •  Join a class: a gym will usually have different types of classes from Zumba, yoga and boot camp to African dance or Pilates.
  • Calisthenics: perform bodyweight exercises to failure such as push-ups, pull ups, planks, crunches, lunges, and squats
  • Sports: soccer, racquet sports, basketball, swimming, cross-country skiing, volleyball, badminton
  • Jogging
  • Weight training at your local gym
  • Cross Fit

Unconventional ways:

  •  Dancing in your living room (ever heard of dancing like nobody’s watching? Bust your moves for 30 minutes non-stop!)
  • Hiking (with or without a backpack for extra weight); explore nature while pumping those legs!
  • Join a class outside of the gym: Your city is bound to have various groups ranging but not limited to dance, hiking, biking, mountain climbing or wall scaling, walking, Nordic walking, boxing
  • Speed walking around your neighborhood
  • Interval jog with sprints in a schoolyard or field
  • Housework: you heard me! Get some good music on, put your sneakers on and get a circuit going from carrying laundry up and down the stairs, vacuuming, scrubbing the tub, dusting at a fast pace for 30-40 minutes non-stop! You can also include push-ups and squats every time a new song comes on!
  • Gardening or yard work: we’re talking about toiling, raking, filling up bags and carrying them around, and planting. Add some body exercises in there like lunging from one place to another in the yard!
  • Park gym: some cities are establishing outside gyms in parks for free! You can go through a series of machines to form a circuit and walk/jog to add cardio in between your circuits! You can also give the monkey bars a go! Ninja warrior, yeah!
  • Create a circuit at home while using household items for hand weights (soup cans or water jugs will do the trick). Most exercises can be done using bodyweight only (i.e., push-ups, squats, lunges, bicep curls, pull-ups!
  • Playing tag or any other game outside with your children or grandchildren
  • Basketball in the schoolyard
  • Rollerblading
  • Skipping rope (this one will get your sweating in no time!)
  • Volunteering to help a friend move, paint, clean or declutter, or even at a community project such as cleaning up a park
  • Taking an outdoor Zumba or fitness class (check your local Facebook groups!)
  • YouTube videos: there are countless videos you can watch (for free!) to follow a circuit, a kickboxing routine, or a basic sweat-out session
  • Shoveling snow (seasonal-specific work out)

In essence, you can work out every day doing something that you find enjoyable! If you like variety, mix it up. You can hit the gym 2-3 times a week and then be creative on the other days. The idea is to keep moving more than being sedentary. Humans weren’t made to sit around all day long. Regardless of your fitness level or if you have a medical condition, you can move! Even if you are wheelchair bound, there are no excuses. You can still get a good sweat on by working your upper body. The idea is to tap into your interests, get creative and remind yourself that you are worth it to lead a healthy lifestyle.

If you do have a medical condition, please consult your physician before starting any program whether it’s conventional or not. Once you get the go-ahead, don’t be afraid and start moving! Most importantly, keep it fun and interesting. Your body and mind will thank you for it!

Keep your workouts at 75% of your maximum heart rate about 3-4 times a week or 80% of your MHR about two times a week.

Calculate your maximum heart rate! (MHR)

Maximum heart rate calculation:  220 – (your age) = _______beats per minute

Example: 40-year-old woman 220 – 40 = 180 beats/minute
Her maximum heart rate is 180 beats/minute!

Target heart rate at 75% of her maximum heart rate:
Maximum heart rate x 75% = ______ target heart rate at 75% —–> moderate-intensity

40-year-old woman: 180 x 75% = 135 beats/minute for moderate intensity

Target heart rate at 85% of her maximum heart rate:
Maximum heart rate x 85% = _______ target heart rate at 85% —–> vigorous-intensity

40-year-old woman: 180 x 85% = 153 beats/minute

WHO (2011): Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health.
http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/physical-activity-recommendations-18-64years.pdf?ua=1

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antoAntonietta is an author, teacher and personal trainer. She holds two Bachelors and is an avid lifelong learner. As a co-author to the new best-selling book “Simply Woman: Stories from 30 magnificent women who have risen against the odds”, Antonietta reveals her unwavering independence from a young age and how her resilience broke through the odds of living with a chronic medical condition despite her doctors’ prognosis at birth. Her life has been an active journey from studying in a Police program to embarking on a 6 day solo-hike trip in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She lives in beautiful Vaudreuil with her two cats. Antonietta can be reached on Facebook at Anto Health & Fitness and at https://antomannarino.wixsite.com/antoniettamannarino

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