Many people feel they have
neither the time nor the inclination to pursue a formal exercise program.
Whether such attitude is justified is not important, so long as they maintain a
high level of fitness simply by weaving physical activities into their daily
schedule. House and yard works are in reality a sort of hidden exercise and can
have the same beneficial effects of the body as formal exercise or sport.
Reaping
the benefits of such hidden exercise, however, requires a different kind of
thing than most of us are used to. As pointed out earlier, our sedentary lives
and labor-saving gadgets are making many of us lethargic and flabby. If we are
as concerned about his as we should be, yet have no opportunity or inclination
to engage in regular exercises or sports, we should deliberately make of our
daily activities a physical fitness program.
Household
chores are understandably not as interesting as ball games and other sports,
but they are perhaps no more boring than calisthenics and gymnastics
Furthermore, they serve a practical purpose. The floor gets scrubbed, the rug
vacuumed, that lawn mowed, or the vegetable garden planted.
Work in
and around the house involves a surprising amount of physical activity.
Compared to the more rugged chores of our grandparents, the workload in our
modern homes could still be quite heavy for us, because our physical work
capacity is comparatively lower than that of our forebears. Thus-within safe
limits – if we engage in a housework that burns off a large number of calories
and improves our cardiorespiratory fitness, the result of such hidden exercise
is fitness.
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MARCH 6
