Ok, hope a few of you would like to help me out here I have tried various kinds of exercise, and much like finding the right career, if you want something you love, not something you dread, you gotta experiment a bit! I'm seeing loads of people getting discouraged because they haven't found THEIR exercise-that-doesn't-feel-like-exercise yet. So, I thought we could make a list of Every Single Thing that counts as exercise, to inspire anyone who wants a change, or is just starting out? Join in if you're up for it!
Ice Skating <3
Yoga
Hillwalking
Rock Climbing
Badminton
Boxing
Zumba
Swing Dancing
Roller Derby
Walking
Snowboarding
Tai Chi
I agree with IanG - we spent most of our history just "doing" things to exercise.
So, with that GARDENING!!! Landscaping... cleaning the garage, painting the house, etc.
Last summer I didn't go to the gym - no weights, no cardio. I took walks around the lake and area, rode my bike to the grocery store and I worked a TON on my yard. I went from 165 to 170. So, I did gain a bit of weight, but not much.
We then went on a month long vacation in Croatia. We walked, swam, hiked and ATE. I gained up to about where I am now, but... when I started back up at the gym? I was just as strong as before and even stronger in my arms/upper body. Jumped right back into cardio too.
I had taken a break from FORMAL exercise, but I had never stopped exercising. I was just doing more functional exercise which is what I plan to incorporate more and more into my life.
We bought a house in the last year. Pretty soon after a friend commented once you buy a house, you can cancel the gym membership. I was SO naive about how much physical labor would be involved. It is so true, our house IS our gym now. (...Currently repainting the picket fence, yikes. Power-washed and stained the deck and shed last summer - taking it slowly as I needed to with physical limitations (plus weather), which made it take a whole month. )
As part-and-parcel of the whole home thing, I find myself wandering into Lowe's, Marshall's, etc "just to look" a lot more often. I felt guilty about this for awhile because it seemed like such a waste of time and precious energy, but I realized that all that walking around IS actually exercise, it DOES count, and I don't need to feel bad at all! I'm actually multi-tasking!
I'll go with golf... That is if you walk the course....
And for any other fellow big city dwellers out there... Get off the subway a few stops early and walk the rest of the way... or get out of the cab 10 blocks from where you need to be and hoof it the rest of the way (especially good tactic during rush hour or pre theatre... saves a few bucks)
At work take the stairs... and just because you might work in a 40 story office building doesn't mean you can't take 5 flights here or 10 flights there... It all adds up...
I love to swim! Sure that could be boring in a gym's pool, but there is nothing better than hitting up the river or a lake with some friends on a hot summer day.
Interesting topic! Why did you think you pissed people off? I recently finished a book called American Idle that addresses the strange sequestration of "exercise" in the U.S., it was pretty interesting. I think it's because you can sell a gym membership, but you can't sell a walk.
My favorite forms of physical activity are....
Gardening
Riding bikes
Cleaning (ok, not my favorite, but I like that it leaves you an immediately tangible result)
I park in the back of the lot at the grocery store
Certain nocturnal activities involving my fiance, haha!
Dancing around the living room with my kids while listening to the Madagascar soundtrack (my personal fav.)
A prof. of mine conducted research in this area and I wanted to share this article he's in. I thought you guys might find if interesting. The headline is...Taking stairs, raking leaves may equal a trip to the gym (love it!)
Interesting topic! Why did you think you pissed people off? I recently finished a book called American Idle that addresses the strange sequestration of "exercise" in the U.S., it was pretty interesting. I think it's because you can sell a gym membership, but you can't sell a walk.
My favorite forms of physical activity are....
Gardening
Riding bikes
Cleaning (ok, not my favorite, but I like that it leaves you an immediately tangible result)
I park in the back of the lot at the grocery store
Certain nocturnal activities involving my fiance, haha!
Dancing around the living room with my kids while listening to the Madagascar soundtrack (my personal fav.)
A prof. of mine conducted research in this area and I wanted to share this article he's in. I thought you guys might find if interesting. The headline is...Taking stairs, raking leaves may equal a trip to the gym (love it!)
Thanks for sharing this... I recently saw something similar... and the researcher that they were talking with was saying that people who were more "active" throughout the course of their day might actually be getting more benefit than someone who sat at a desk all day but went to the gym after work and did a really hard 1hr workout...
It really has me thinking that "activity" monitors like the Nike FuelBand and FitBit and things like that are really going to start taking off... sorry to go off topic...
House cleaning/vacuuming/mopping counts for sure
Gardening/yardwork
Hey I even count the long walking distances I do when I go 'fun' shopping!!
Washing the car
Dancing
All the things that count as exercise!
I have tried various kinds of exercise, and much like finding the right career, if you want something you love, not something you dread, you gotta experiment a bit! I'm seeing loads of people getting discouraged because they haven't found THEIR exercise-that-doesn't-feel-like-exercise yet. So, I thought we could make a list of Every Single Thing that counts as exercise, to inspire anyone who wants a change, or is just starting out? Join in if you're up for it! 
I was SO naive about how much physical labor would be involved. It is so true, our house IS our gym now. (...Currently repainting the picket fence, yikes. Power-washed and stained the deck and shed last summer - taking it slowly as I needed to with physical limitations (plus weather), which made it take a whole month. 
