London

In the bathroom
Don’t use an electric toothbrush Your wrist muscles have to work harder with a manual model.

Shower, don’t bathe Simply standing up uses an extra 0.3 calories per minute, while showering tends to be a more active method of cleaning ourselves than luxuriating in the bath.

Towel your hair dry instead of using a hairdryer This provides a gentle workout for your biceps and shoulder muscles, and is also a great stretch for your neck.

Use roll-on deodorant rather than a spray. It works the flexor and extensor muscles in your wrist.

Use the upstairs loo rather than the downstairs one, if you have one.

After a shower or bath, stretch the backs of your arms by holding a small towel in your right hand above your head, then grab the other end with your left hand behind your back. Hold for ten seconds, and change sides. Now briskly towel yourself dry.

In the lounge
Ditch the TV remote control Getting up and changing the channel manually ten times a day will burn an extra ten calories. That’s a total of 3,650 per year – good enough to burn one pound of body fat.

When you’re watching telly, sit on a fitball rather than slumping in an armchair. This requires you to use your core stability muscles, which will improve your posture and help to make your abs flatter.

Move around during the ad breaks Use the two- or three-minute gaps in programmes to stretch your legs and burn up six calories per minute.

After you’ve read the newspaper, crumple up each sheet This works the muscles of your fingers and wrists, and helps to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome where pressure increases on the nerves between your hand and wrist.

When you’ve crumpled the sheets, press them all together into a big ball This is an isometric contraction that will exercise the muscles of your shoulders and arms.

Now walk with the ball of newspaper to your recycling bin.

Cleaning up
Don’t skimp on dusting With the stretching and walking involved, up to nine extra calories per minute can be burned.

Sweep the path or patio regularly It’s a good workout for your arms, shoulders and abdominal muscles.

Wash your windows Not only do they look good when clean, it’s an activity that uses your arm and shoulder muscles and burns 60 calories in 15 minutes of vigorous rubbing.

Give your rugs and mats a good beating You’ll burn around 40 calories in ten minutes and your external obliques (where love handles grow) will get a good workout.

Even if you’re a shower person, give your bath a regular clean A five-minute scrub will burn around 20 calories.

Fifteen minutes of vacuuming burns around 80 calories and recruits your core stability muscles to maintain good posture.

Don’t use a dishwasher Do the washing-up yourself and reckon on using an extra two calories per minute.

When you’ve washed them up, dry the dishes instead of leaving them to drain and count on another two calories per minute burned.

And when you’ve dried them, put the dishes away one at a time Turn your body from side to side, allowing your torso to twist and give a satisfying stretch through the spine.

Wash the car by hand instead of using the carwash A 30-minute session of vigorous sluicing and buffing will burn around 100 calories.

Use good old-fashioned elbow grease rather than a host of wonder-products for polishing. The saw-type motion is great for toning your upper-back and shoulder muscles.


In the garden
If you’re pruning a tree, chop up the branches This is the original core stability exercise, building strength in the deep-set muscles that girdle the spine and are vital for good posture and flat abs.

An hour of vigorous digging, lopping and cutting can burn up to 500 calories.

Mow the lawn with a push mower rather than a powered version. As well as burning around 160 calories in 20 minutes, all your main muscle groups will receive a workout.

If you don’t have a garden, why not rent a plot on an allotment? You’ll enjoy fresh food, fresh air and plenty of exercise.

In the kitchen
Use a spoon to mix ingredients instead of an electric whisk It burns an extra four calories per minute and works the wrist flexor muscles.

Use your loaf and ditch the bread-making machine Kneading dough by hand is a good workout for your arm and chest muscles.

When putting food away after a shopping trip, think of it as a gentle weight-training session Do five shoulder presses with the bottle of water before stowing it on the top shelf, and five bicep curls with the bag of potatoes.

Opt for a traditional tin opener rather than an electric version. As with removing tops from bottles, this exercises the muscles in your forearm and wrist.

Don’t use a juicing machine Hand-squeeze the fruit yourself – good for wrist and forearm muscles.

Around the house
Polish your shoes more often It’s a gentle workout for your shoulders, arms and wrists.

Carefully ‘kick’ the light switches off Lift the knee first, then extend your bare foot (dry, of course) so that your toes push the switch. This is beneficial for your thigh and core stability muscles.

Always stand rather than sit to do the ironing and work your glutes by clenching and unclenching your buttocks.

Carry objects at arm’s length Keeping your arms fully extended requires a powerful static contraction of your shoulders and chest muscles, and is also good for your abs.

Use a doorway to help tone the sides of your shoulders Standing upright with your arms hanging straight down, push outwards against the door jambs with the backs of your palms. Hold for 60 seconds then step away from the door, relaxing your arms and letting them drop to your sides. Feel them ‘levitate’!

Make hanging out the washing into a workout Bend to the basket to collect each item of clothing, give it a vigorous shake then reach up to the clothes line.

Don’t leave cardboard boxes intact for the recycling van to collect – rip them up first. Tearing corrugated cardboard is especially good for the muscles in the upper and middle back, shoulders and arms.

Don’t spray flies, swat them You’ll use the rotator cuff muscles in your shoulder as you swat them, and most other muscle groups as you chase them.

Use a wind-up radio Every 45 minutes you’ll have to walk over to it and wind it up, burning calories and working the wrist and forearm muscles.

Crush tins by foot or hand before taking them to be recycled – by foot works the front of the thighs, by hand recruits the forearm muscles.

When moving furniture, lift in the style of a ‘deadlift’ with thighs parallel to the floor and back strong throughout, before straightening your legs and pushing your hips forward. In this way your shoulders, upper and lower back, thighs and calves are all recruited and you will lift without danger of injury.

Use a cordless phone and walk around while you’re talking. Every minute burns six calories.

Turn down the heating in your home or workplace and, by doing so, turn up your body’s inner furnace, thereby burning more
calories.

Check your posture regularly Chin in, chest out, shoulders relaxed, back tall, stomach in. Slouching will make your gut appear bigger and can cause pain in the lower back.


At work
Don’t make internal phone calls Why not walk over to the person you would have called?

For exactly the same reason, don’t send internal emails

Lift the bin up with your feet before putting litter in This works your thigh and lower abdominal muscles.

Go through regular doors rather than the automatic ones Pushing the door recruits your triceps (back of the arms), shoulders and chest muscles.

If your chair has castors, use it to move around the office Sitting upright and pulling with the balls of the feet is a great hamstring toner.

Don’t keep a bottle of water on your desk Walk back and forth to the cooler.

Changing the water container works the chest when the bottle is hugged, the thighs and lower back when it’s picked up, and the abs throughout.

Getting around
Stand rather than sit when travelling on the tube or train, and try to balance without holding on tightly to a strap or handrail. Just ‘roll’ with the movement. This is a good workout for the core stability muscles that girdle your lower spine, and can help to prevent lower-back pain.

On the bus, always climb up to the top deck It’s a good, intense workout for your legs.

Pace up and down the platform when your train’s late and you’ll burn six calories per minute.

Use a small-wheeled, collapsible bike for your commute The wheel size means it’s harder work to move, plus you have to carry it around. Riding a regular-sized bike at 12mph burns nine calories per minute.

Don’t wait for the bus Stride out to the next stop – six calories burned for every minute walked, plus a gentle workout for the core stability muscles and the external obliques (sides of the abs) when you twist round to see where the bus is. And maybe a sprint when it arrives!

If you have to drive, park at the top of the multi-storey car park then walk down the stairs (four calories per minute) and back up again later (ten calories per minute).

When the traffic lights are red, pull in your tummy muscles and clench your buttocks Hold until the lights turn green – it’s a great trick for firming your bum.

Walking
Carry your paper and bottles to the recycling station Every minute you walk will burn six calories – far more if the load is heavy.

Carry your baby in a sling or backpack You will burn around 20 per cent more calories than using a pushchair. The core muscles around your lower spine are recruited, too, so that you remain firmly upright.

Walk down escalators This burns four calories per minute, a figure that increases if you lower your legs more slowly.

Walking up escalators is a good form of resistance work which burns around ten calories per minute. If you go up two steps at a time it’s particularly beneficial for the gluteal muscles of your bum.

Always use the stairs instead of the lift As well as burning an extra ten calories per minute, you will work your abductor muscles at the side of the thighs when you turn at the tops of landings.

Walk off-road Harder surfaces instantly ‘return’ energy to the feet whereas softer surfaces don’t, making walking harder.

Out shopping
Carry a basket instead of using a trolley at the supermarket. This recruits the shoulder, upper and lower arm muscles, and challenges your core stability.

Make frequent walking trips to the supermarket and try to restrict your big visits by car. You’ll burn 200 calories for every mile that your supermarket is away from home.

Be forgetful! If you always have to ‘go back to get something’, you’ll burn an extra six calories per minute for the walking.

At the pub
Even if it’s not your round, help carry the drinks from the bar and burn six calories per minute. Raising yourself from your seat will work all the muscle groups in your legs.

Play a few games of darts and boost your hand-eye coordination as well as the calorie-burning effect of walking to and from the board.

A game of snooker or pool will get you bending over the table to line up and make each shot, boosting your flexibility and helping to justify that pint.

Extracted from ‘365 Ways to Get Fit’, by Andrew Shields in association with Sport England (Collins & Brown, £7.99).