How to Reach Your Fitness Goals AND Watch TV

Here's a sad truth that arguably a large contribution to the obesity problem in the U.S.: Americans watch a lot of TV. Here are some interesting statistics from TVTurnoff.org:

• The average American home has the TV on for 8 hours a day
• The average American watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of television each day
• The average American household is 2.55 people, but the average home also has 2.73 televisions

Statistically, we have more TVs per household than we do people in this country! We have very quickly become a lazy, entertainment seeking people. No wonder we have such a large problem with people being overweight and obese. This is no news flash, but when youre just sitting in front of the TV you are contributing to an overall sedentary lifestyle - a lifestyle that is proven to be prime ground for becoming overweight and obese.

The purpose of this article is not to suggest that everyone turn off their TVs for good (although that might not be a bad thing), but rather to suggest that we could all at least make some good use of the time spent sitting in front of the TV.

So how can we make this time more productive? Actually get up and do something rather than just watching the tube! Either during the show you're watching or at least during the boring commercials, get down and do some pushups. During a standard commercial break you could probably get in at least 20-40 pushups depending on your fitness level. Then maybe during another break do some crunches or other body weight exercise. The idea here is that if you're going to sit around a watch TV, at least do something productive and helpful towards achieving your fitness or weight loss goals.

Here is a short list of exercises that you can easily do at home that require little or no equipment that you could do while watching TV:

• Pushups
• Wall Squats
• One-Leg Squats
• Quick Jog Around the House
• Chair Dips
• Angled Calf Raises
• Anything with Bands or Free Weights that you have at home

Get creative! You could even come up with little mini workouts you can do, or even have a competition between you and other people watching the show. See who can do the most pushups before the show comes back on. That way not only are you getting in some good exercise, but you're also have a good time with those around you and motivating each other to achieve your best.

About the Author:
Dan Patterson is an editor of BodyFitnessInfo.com.

Our goal is to help people learn to gain muscle and use techniques for natural weight loss.