Fun ways to exercise without going to a gym

March 17, 2021

Looking for ways to keep active outside of the gym? Here are a few tips and tricks to help make your everyday workouts more exciting.

2 min. read

a woman does yoga while watching her laptop screen — Start small and establish a regular routine that incorporates fitness activities that you enjoy.

Thanks to quarantines, stay-at-home orders, or classic Canadian weather, many people have decided to shift their workouts outside of the gym and adapt their fitness regimens to life at home.

Engaging in regular physical activity is a beneficial long-term habit to make part of your daily life. Research shows that physical activity helps reduce the risk for several types of cancers. In fact, if more Canadians became active, about 26,000 new cancer cases could be prevented by 2042.

With a little creativity, you can keep your workout varied and exciting, even outside of the gym! Start small and establish a regular routine that incorporates fitness activities that you enjoy.

Here are a few things you can do to help you get started:

Fit activity in throughout your workday

Make a habit of adding activity into your daily routine by doing bicep curls with bags of groceries, lunges down the hallway, calf raises while brushing your teeth, desk push‐ups before sitting down and wall sits while on the phone or reading the paper.

Swap 30 minutes of screen time for 30 minutes of walking

Rather than spending all of your day in front of a computer screen, get some fresh air and take a walk when you have the opportunity! Try getting your steps in around your home, within your community or even take a stroll in your own backyard.

Designate your latest streaming series as workout time

While streaming your favourite new series, take time to try out some fitness moves. Instead of sitting, lift weights or do sit‐ups, walk on a treadmill or ride a stationary bike, jump rope or even stretch.

Stretch throughout the day, and if you haven’t already, check out online classes

Stretching throughout the day can help relieve stress and give you a break from sitting at your desk all day. Think you’d like to try more? Online yoga classes and fitness courses have become popular during the pandemic—if you’ve been thinking of joining a class and trying out something new, now’s a great time to get started!

Instead of watching your kids play, join in with them

Make playtime with your kids physical for everyone! If you have kids, play tag with them, join a game of soccer or hockey, or even throw a frisbee around your yard to get a bit of exercise and encourage the whole family to get active.

Try out a new outdoor sport

The pandemic has given many people an opportunity to try a new hobby, such as mountain biking, hiking, running and cross-country skiing. Try out an exciting new sport or activity that will keep you motivated to get outside and keep active.

To find out more, please go to cancer.ca/prevention. Have fun out there and we hope you enjoy some new ways to stay fit!

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