I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend for those of you who are in the US!!
Dave “had the day off” but slept most of the day since he had to work overnight (again), but we were still able to head over to the twin cities’ Red White and Boom event.
We walked around quite a bit, grabbed a ginormous hot dog and then headed into the lovely air conditioning. We had the privileged of hanging out with my blend Becky and watching fireworks from their sweet downtown Minneapolis apartment!
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| Photo from Becky |
Although Dave had to work on his day off Friday…we did get to spend a lot of time together this weekend. We also talked about plans we have for here in the twin cities and for life, which is always good. I do LOVE my plans!!
Speaking of plans…I’m pretty sure I didn’t stick with my plan from last week’s Monday Moves at all (ps did you enter the giveaway??).
Do you know what I DID do? A whole lot of NEAT fitness (plus my back exercises to strengthen and alleviate lower back pain).
No, I’m not being my dorky self and calling my workout routines “neat.”
NEAT actually stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. This NEAT fitness is qualified as everything that you do that is not exercise (planned movement that is repetitive in nature), not sleeping and not eating (yes, you actually burn calories when you digest food).
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| Original image source |
So what kinds of activities can we do that are NEAT?
- Washing/putting away dishes
- Doing laundry
- Taking the stairs
- Parking far away at the store (so you have to walk)
- Taking out the trash and recycling
- Unpacking and breaking down boxes
- Hanging up pictures
- Rearranging furniture
- Getting the mail (especially if it is 2 floors down and you take the stairs both ways)
- Cleaning out your closet and taking items to donate
- Scrubbing your kitchen, bathroom, or really any kind of physical cleaning
- Cooking dinner (as opposed to ordering pizza)
- Making cookies from scratch and mixing them by hand (I never said you’d burn more than you’d eat, but at least you put some effort into the cookies other than picking them up from the store)
- Being one of THOSE people that jiggles his/her leg (yep! Fidgeting is NEAT!)
- Walking around on a trap range or at a festival (like on the 4th of July!)
- Vacuuming
- Shopping (heck yes!)
- Playing with your kiddos or pet
- Yardwork
- Assembling furniture
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| Thankfully we only have about 3 more boxes to unpack!! |
Now it’s easy to understand why I’ve found myself exhausted after a day of these types of activities when I didn’t get in a single “real” workout! I really had no idea how much work it would be to take care of a small apartment and only one other person besides myself! It makes me wonder what I’m going to do when we have kids!
Maybe I just need to get a job really fast so that Dave and I can re-work the whole Amanda-does-everything-at-the-apartment-since-she-doesn’t-have-a-job-or-school-yet thing. (Not that I think this arrangement is totally unfair believe in each person doing their best to contribute in a family. Also Dave did help me with laundry last night AND took out the trash!)
Since we are pretty much done unpacking (finally!) and I don’t have too many crazy errands this week (except for today)..I’m going to try again with the fitness plan!
I do have a “real” workout to share with you this week, but for now…think about how you could be NEAT in your daily life!
What do you think? Do you participate in NEAT fitness?
Would you be motivated to do more active things around the house or do the errands you avoid if you realized they were contributing to a healthy active life?
Linking up to the Healthy Diva:
Also linking up to Katie’s Fitness Friday:
Love your list of “neat” activities! 🙂
Thanks!
Love your list of “neat” activities! 🙂
Love the “NEAT” activities! It is amazing how hard it is to take care of an apartment or condo for just 2 people – mainly because the men aren’t the most helpful 😉 Haha! So glad you guys could make it down for the fireworks show – Mitchell obviously loved having you over 😉
Mitchell is adorable! I will walk him any time you want!! Actually I often think I wish I had a dog to walk when it’s dark out!
Love the “NEAT” activities! It is amazing how hard it is to take care of an apartment or condo for just 2 people – mainly because the men aren’t the most helpful 😉 Haha! So glad you guys could make it down for the fireworks show – Mitchell obviously loved having you over 😉
I love the idea of NEAT fitness! I’ve had so many days where I have a ravenous hunger but didn’t actually do a “real” workout. Looking at your list makes me realize it is usually the days that I am running around doing all sorts of activities that don’t necessarily happen in the gym. So great that you schedule your NEAT fitness into your workout schedule. I’m a major planner too 😉
The fireworks looked beautiful! My BF is from Edina, Minn and every time I visit I am in awe at how gorgeous Minneapolis is. Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!
Isn’t it crazy?? But just think about back in the day when most things like laundry were done by hand and they didn’t go to a gym to keep fit…they just did their chores!
Hope YOU had a great fourth as well! 🙂
I love the idea of NEAT fitness! I’ve had so many days where I have a ravenous hunger but didn’t actually do a “real” workout. Looking at your list makes me realize it is usually the days that I am running around doing all sorts of activities that don’t necessarily happen in the gym. So great that you schedule your NEAT fitness into your workout schedule. I’m a major planner too 😉
The fireworks looked beautiful! My BF is from Edina, Minn and every time I visit I am in awe at how gorgeous Minneapolis is. Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!
Mitchell is adorable! I will walk him any time you want!! Actually I often think I wish I had a dog to walk when it’s dark out!
Isn’t it crazy?? But just think about back in the day when most things like laundry were done by hand and they didn’t go to a gym to keep fit…they just did their chores!
Hope YOU had a great fourth as well! 🙂
Thanks!
I am all about NEAT fitness! Lots of walking, stairs and chores in my life
Every move counts! 🙂
I am all about NEAT fitness! Lots of walking, stairs and chores in my life
Every move counts! 🙂