Microwave Exercise Plan

Okay, this is off the subject of inventions, but with spring and shorts around the corner, I wanted to share my amazing 20-minutes-a-day ‘stop me from standing around’ fitness secret, absolutely free! My Microwave Exercise Plan. But wait!…What’s that you ask?

Now, I’m not speaking to the ladies who make it to the gym everyday for their spin class. Good for you, you rock, and you’re probably solid as a rock. I’m speaking to the ladies, like me, who spend hours-a-day working on some type of project or job, in addition to keeping the house clean, laundering, carpooling, cooking dinner, helping with homework, and most likely have made it to the end of day without a formal “workout.”

I noticed I was doing a great deal of standing around waiting for that beep when I heated my coffee back up for the 4^th time. I started taking that time to stretch, did a few leg lifts, and then I challenged myself to hold down in a squat waiting for the 30-second ding. The 2-minute popcorn was painful the next day; I was actually sore. Wow, that’s really sad, I thought, but then I added up the amount of time I spent doing lunges waiting for the kids potatoes and peas to ping. It was indeed comparable to a half-hour gym class.

The next time you are microwaving something up, Stop, Drop, In-a-Squat, at home or at work (hey, you could start a trend.) Try it out for a day. Continuous squats, lunges, leg lifts, donkey kicks, push-ups, or sit-ups, up until the bell sound. I’m not suggesting this as your only exercise plan forever, but it did get me in a good habit of doing some muscle work every day. The kids have even taken to it. (At first, I’m sure they thought, “What’s wrong with Mom?”)  Now, when I start microwaving, they think it’s a dance party.

Tomorrow, I’m breaking out my arm weights.

~Susan Bee

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