Most people don’t realize how very sedentary their life has become. The average adult expends about 300 to 700 fewer calories per day than his/hers parents did.

The good news is that a simple activity is an easy, effective way to shape up, burn calories, and get healthy. According to a study conducted by the Cooper Institute, lifestyle activities, such as climbing stairs and parking your car in the farthest space, offer similar benefits to those gained in a gym workout.

These eight simple ways will bump up your activity level and help you burn calories.

1. Take yourself off cruise control
Increasing the intensity of the everyday tasks, like vacuuming and walking the dog will help you burn more calories. Try turning on some music, adding in some vigorous bursts, and enjoying the movement.

2. Step it up—and down
Climbing stairs will strengthen your legs, because you’re lifting your body weight against gravity. Also, try stepping up and down on the curb while you’re waiting for the bus or filling your gas tank.

3. Put a pen between your shoulder blades. Standing tall burns calories and makes you look thinner
To improve your posture, stand or sit with your arms relaxed at your sides, palms facing forward. Visualize a pen placed vertically between your shoulder blades, and squeeze them together as if you were trying to hold the pen in place. Count to 6, relax, and repeat 12 times.

4. Use bags as dumbbells
Carry your groceries, balance a bag in each hand, even if you have to make several trips. You can also pack two smaller suitcases instead of one big one, so you can carry them yourself.

5. Have a ball
Try replacing your desk chair with a giant exercise ball. That way, you will have to engage the core muscles to maintain stability, and you’ll get a great workout right at your desk.

6. Go the distance
Stop using the closest rest room, parking space, or vending machine. Try, if possible, to take the longest route to the rest room (if possible on a different floor) and climb the stairs to get there.

7. Do chair-robics
Set a timer to ring hourly. When it goes off, stand up, and sit down slowly four times – this will boost circulation and give you a nice stretch, and you’ll be doing 4 squats an hour, or 32 a day. This is a great way to strengthen your lower body.

8. Play waiting games
Do a stretch while you are waiting for something, or try balancing on one leg, or do a few buttocks squeezes.

Sourced: prevention