What is Lifercise? It is a word I made up. At least I think I made it up. A Google search showed no direct hits. So allow me to define this new word for you:

life-er-cise (lyfercize) noun.  The practice of taking opportunities that arise in your daily life to get exercise. Example:

“Jim wanted to take the elevator but I told him we should get some lifercise so we took the stairs.”

or

“My arms are sore! Putting in that new garden bed yesterday was great lifercise.”

You get the idea. I have long been confused about the idea of gyms. I guess I can see it as a social thing, although I can think of many other ways to meet people socially. Here is a list:

• The library

• a farmers market

• a coffee shop

• at church

• at a concert

• walking your dog at the park

• social media

• disaster relief in a 3rd world country

• anywhere

Ok, so beyond meeting people maybe gyms offer people a feeling of luxury, like using a nice heated indoor pool, hot tub, or a steam room. I get it, thats fine, I love to swim, soak and steam too. So if you love all that stuff, no judgment. I just have always felt a slightly dystopian stirring deep in my gut when I drive by one of those giant mega-gyms and I see a hundred people on treadmills with earbuds watching screens in front of them. I am sorry, but it is super creepy and it gives me the willies. There are fun ways to work out at gyms now, like cross fit, barre, Zumba and ninja gyms and a plethora of other possibilities. But what if we just found ways to get exercise in our regular life? A la lifercise. I lived in one of the blue zones, Nicoya Peninsula, for about a year and a half. Blue zones, in case you haven’t heard, have a higher population density of centenarians than any other places on earth. There are five of them. I lived in one, and guess what? There is no gym in the little village I lived in. Yet people are healthier and living longer there than almost any other place on earth. I go deeper on all the reasons why here, but in this post I just want to focus on physical activity and why we should embrace movement as a way of life and not something to be avoided. Here are some ways you can ditch the belief that you need a gym to get fit and the idea that work, fun, recreation, social time, exercise, and play all have to be in separate compartments of your life.

Do Your Own Yard Work

Some people may really feel that yard work is punishment, maybe in your life it really was punishment, like when you got in trouble in high school and your parents made you mow the lawn for three months. Really examine the reason why you are paying someone to do all the yard things for you and see if you could find it within yourself to do it on your own, and maybe even enjoy it a little bit. Or enjoy it at least as much as you enjoy the gym. Mowing with a push mower, pruning hedges and trees, planting flowers, pulling weeds, moving mulch, growing vegetables, these all get your heart rate up and get your muscles moving. Choose to work during an enjoyable time of day, like early morning or in the evening after dinner. For sure it will not be as much fun if you feel like you are going to pass out from heat exhaustion. If you have children, get them involved, even if they are small. Teach them to pull weeds or help plant flowers. Maybe give them a little bucket to fill with mulch to move. Let them help water. If you act like you are enjoying it, they may enjoy it too.

Find Ways To Get More Steps

Take the stairs, even if you have to plan a few extra minutes to get to work or school on time. Also, you can try parking farther away from places. When I have all my children I often look for the closest spot to the store that is also directly next to a cart return because parking lots can feel like treacherous places when you have toddlers. When I am by myself, I park as far away as I can get and still be in the same parking lot. We homeschool, and another way I get a few extra steps is that when we read aloud I will get up and walk around the kitchen table or the room my children are in instead of sitting the whole time. Although I do sit sometimes when we read because, well, snuggles. I also make a point of moving around when my children are at the park instead of sitting on a bench. I either chase them around or walk a nearby path. I am not as good at doing this the first year after I have a baby because I am often exhausted and I use that few minutes of their play time to rest. I see lots of new moms pushing those jogging stroller and running or wearing their tiny little brand new babies while walking, you go ladies!

Bike Or Walk To Work

This could be a huge potential life change. Even if you live farther from work than you would want to ride or walk, maybe you could drive part way and then walk the rest of the way? You may even be able to find a buddy at work who would want to do this with you and you could combine walking or riding with carpooling. This change would be great for you and the planet! Also less cars on the road during the morning commute would be less stressful for everyone. If you do not already have bike paths in your city or town, consider reaching out to your city planners and council members to express that this is a change that you would like to see.

Be A DIY’er

Being a do it yourselfer can save you lots of money and help you to get more exercise. If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of doing renovations, repairs, or maintenance on your home there is an endless amount of information to be found online. Videos can be found on YouTube on just about every topic you can imagine. Involving your family members can be a fun way to bond, and it feels great to complete a project that you previously had no idea how to do. As a reward maybe treat yourself to something on your wishlist with some of that money you are saving!

Do At Least One Active Weekend Activity

Do you live in a place that has miles of beautiful hiking trails to explore? Or maybe you live near a beach or a lake to swim in? Have you and your children ever built a snow fort? Or a regular fort? Or tried geo-caching or frisbee golf?There are so many leisure activities that can involve simply sitting down inside, and those things can be great fun, but try bonding with your family and friends or treating yourself to some entertainment in a different way.

There are endless ways to get lifercise, it is your life so  the ways that will work the best or be the most fun for you may not be on the list. Be creative, have fun, enjoy the outdoors and connect with others when possible. Lifercise is a more holistic way of approaching your physical fitness by simply figuring out ways to be a more active person. Some of my favorite ways to use my body include gardening, hiking, swimming, yoga (outside when I can), walking, and playing tag and red light green light with my kids.

What are your favorite forms of lifercise? I would love to hear from you!