Healthy Hobbies
When we think of sweating away excess weight, we more or less think sports. Running, cycling, swimming, and racquet sports—as well as crosstraining with weights, aerobics, yoga, or Pilates—are all cherished elements of the active lifestyle. But small increments add up over time and in the service of overall daily energy expenditure, active hobbies really do count. It may surprise you to learn just how much "lifestyle" can contribute to "activity" and therefore to keeping your body weight at its optimal level.
Any daily choice that burns a few more calories than we take in really adds up. For this reason, employers increasingly climb on board the health train advising workers to park further away, consider a bicycle commute, take the stairs, and even stand while working at a desk. Outside the office, there are tremendous opportunities to increase your weekly activity levels as well, and over time the benefits truly manifest. Three low-energy-seeming but still surprisingly good-for-you activities are: golf, gardening, and dancing.
Golf
Even riding in a powered cart, golf burns 3.5 times the metabolic equivalent of resting (METs). And for those who enjoy a day on the links walking while carrying clubs, expect a 4.5-MET return on investment. Furthermore, most people play a round of golf lasting far longer than one hour. A lone golfer playing on an uncrowded course should be able to finish in perhaps two and a half hours. A foursome playing a very crowded course might wind up spending five or even six hours on the golf course. Do not underestimate the aggregate caloric burn of this wonderful activity that also exposes you to a very healthy dose of vitamin D.
Gardening
Another outdoor activity not to be overlooked is gardening. There are a range of activities within the category we commonly call yard work—some clock in at as high as 6.0 METs, like wielding heavy power tools such as chainsaws. Even mowing the lawn burns a significantly high 5.5 METs. By comparison, horseback riding receives a MET value of 4.0. It's remarkable, then, that what we traditionally think of as gardening—digging, spading, filling, and composting—burns nearly that: 5.0 METs. This means that for a 5' 7", 120-lb female, an hour of gardening every day would burn just under half a pound a week.
Dancing
Whether it be ballroom, polka, square dancing, foxtrot, mambo, disco, tango, or two-stepping, there's no question a regular night out on the dance floor can keep the pounds melting away. The burn here is between 3.0 and 4.5 METs, depending on tempo. At these rates, an hour of this novel and fun activity burns the equivalent of one hour of stationary rowing at 50 watts. In addition to calorie expenditure, dancing is great for cardiovascular health, balance, strength, and flexibility, and has even been shown to improve brain function.
The good weather is upon us: that verdant expanse of golfing green beckons, just as the time is now for planting tomatoes for a late-summer harvest. And dancing? Maybe taking a ballroom class today will in a few months' time make you and yours exciting, well-received guests at that young relative's autumnal nuptials.
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