Get in Shape by Going Green

Despite a winter that seems to be lingering on for quite some time, spring break isn't too far away. One of the most pressing concerns around this time of year is getting in shape. If you're like me, staying motivated to exercise can be very difficult. I've tried gyms and a variety of exercise programs over the years to get into and stay in shape, but with ever pressing financial and temporal concerns, it doesn't often take long before that goal falls by the wayside.

This year I found a method that worked quite well, and it came as a result of wanting to save energy and thus money. What I decided to do was to turn my office and my home heat down by four degrees. This keeps my heater from running as often, which decreases the frequency my oil tank needs to be filled and saves me money. Plus, burning less oil is good for the environment. However, as a tall, skinny person living in the Northeastern United States, that means my environment shifts from a comfortable 72 to a chilly 68 degrees.

Enter the other half of my plan, which was to use the chill to encourage exercise. When I got cold, I would exercise to get the blood pumping and keep warm. I set up a rotating series of simple exercises, pushups, situps, and squats for the office. These exercises are simple to do, get the heart rate up pretty quickly, and can be done almost anywhere. At home, I also dug out an old set of free weights to add those exercises to my list.

Impressively, it only took a few days before the conditioning of exercising to stave off cold kicked in. Every couple hours I'd be exercising for a few minutes. Once I was warm, I would stop. I discovered that this kept me from pushing too hard or worrying about my progress, and as time wore on, I progressively increased the amount of reps I could do and weight I could lift.

Over the past four months I have noticed a marked improvement in my physical appearance and strength. I'm also less stressed and more patient. So, if you're worried about getting in shape and have trouble staying motivated, and you live in part of the world that has chilly days left ahead, try turning your heat down and dropping to give yourself twenty whenever the cold cuts through. By the time summer rolls around, you might just find yourself looking pretty good.