Getting fit in 2013 doesn't have to be such a grind
Remember what it was like when you were a kid and you thought nothing of playing tag for hours on end? That spirit still lives. You just need to wake it up. Here are some tips.
1. You "work" all week. No wonder you don't want to "work" out. Find a way to move more and have fun doing it. Take a Zumba class. Even if you never go back, it will redefine your definition of exercise.
2. You know that lazy, sluggish feeling you get when you drink alcohol? That's your metabolism slowing to a halt.
4. Buy a pedometer. (We love the Omron HJ-112 Pocket Pedometer). Slowly work your way up to 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day.
5. Gardening and heavy-duty housework, like cleaning out the garage, do count.
6. Write a long list of all the fun, sexy, sassy reasons you want to achieve your fitness goals. ("I want to rock a bikini!" "I want biceps worthy of the cover of Men's Health.") Make copies of that list and stash them everywhere.
7. Recognize: Six-packs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. If you have only 30 minutes, you're better off using that time to prepare the following day's breakfast and lunch than working out. We just gave you an excuse to skip a workout, but only if you use that time wisely.
8. Jump on the boutique gym bandwagon. Try a funky, fun fitness haven. The classes fly by.
9. Eat all the raw, non-starchy vegetables you can stand.
10. Exercise while doing household chores. Put in a load of laundry before you press "play" on a fitness DVD, and pause partway through to make the washer-to-dryer transfer.
11. Give up extreme thinking. Don't give up chocolate for 2013. How about: Give up bingeing on chocolate in 2013.
12. Ask yourself a magic question: "How can I reach my health and fitness goals and enjoy the process?" You don't need to answer the question. Let your brain percolate on it. (Credit motivational guru Tony Robbins.)
13. Got a tablet? Download a movie and prop it on a treadmill at the gym.
14. Stop trying to be Julia Child come dinner time. A grilled steak plus a bagged salad equals dinner.
15. Use social media. Find fitness fanatics to follow and draft off their enthusiasm to bolster your resolve. Use Twitter to announce your goals.
16. Find more ways to move at work. Stand at your desk or while you're on the phone.
17. Home workout DVDs can get expensive. Band together with some like-minded (and trustworthy) friends or coworkers: Invest in a few DVDs and swap them.
18. You absolutely, positively have no time to work out? How about a 10-minute walk in the morning, at noon, and when you get home at night?
19. Register to walk a half marathon. You can download free training programs online.
20. Don't you wish someone would pay you to get in shape? Pay yourself. Put $5 in a jar every time you work out.
21. Your two best fitness buddies: Your kids and your dog. Walk to parks and just have fun.
22. Explore your town. Playing tourist is a blissful way to add steps to your pedometer.
23. Earn your dessert. Craving ice cream? Make it a single scoop that comes at the halfway point of a four-mile round-trip walk.
24. Create a private Daily Mug Shot account and commit to taking a picture of yourself every day in 2013. (Men go shirtless, women in a sports bra.) Take a spin through those photos when you need encouragement.
